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- Q: What information do I need to run a background check on
someone?
A: At a minimum: correct first name,
last name, and date of birth. In most cases, the middle name will
also be required in order to correctly discern that the criminal records
found concerning "John Q. Public 03-24-1972" do (or do not) belong to
your "John Quincy Public 03-24-1972."
We request that you provide a
social security number if you have it, but name and date of birth are
critical. Because of identity theft concerns, most courts do not use
social security numbers to track criminal records, do not record social
security numbers with criminal records, do not search for records using
the social security number, and will not release social security numbers
if they have them. But there are occasions when our professional
retrievers can have a court clerk verify that the social security number
of your "John Q. Public" does (or does not) match the social security
number of the person convicted of "felony larceny."
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- Q: Do I need a release form to do a background
check? Do you have one we can use?
A: If you intend
to use a criminal background check for employment purposes, the Fair
Credit Reporting Act requires you to inform the applicant in a clear and
conspicuous manner and obtain written authorization from the applicant.
If you do not have a form already available, click here for our release forms. You may edit the forms as needed.
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- Q: What legal requirements do I need to be aware
of?
A: Employment screening is covered by the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and applicable state laws. Key requirements
of the FCRA include:
- Prior to performing a background check for employment purposes you
must inform the applicant in writing, in a document that consists
solely of the disclosure, that a background check will be conducted,
and obtain written authorization from the applicant (this means have
the applicant sign a release form) (FCRA 604.b.2.A)
- If you intend to take "adverse action" against someone as a result
of performing a background check, including but not limited to
termination or failure to hire (promote, transfer, etc.), prior to
taking the action you must do the following:
- Provide a copy of the report to your subject (the candidate),
along with our contact information.
- Provide the subject of the report a written summary of their
rights under the FCRA.
Regarding the rules for adverse
action, it is important to realize that the rules are designed to
protect the subject of the report in case there are errors in their
record. Proper notification allows them a chance to dispute the
results with the appropriate agency. Therefore it is very important
that these steps be done prior to taking the adverse action. Your
"John Quincy Public" may not be the "John Q. Public" that has the
criminal record. Additional regulations may apply. We do not provide
legal advice and will not be liable for any actions taken or not taken
as a result of the statements here.
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- Q: What kind of information can
BackgroundAnswers.com provide?
A:
BackgroundAnswers.com can provide the business decision information that
you need, including Background Checks/Screening, Previous-employment
Verifications, Education Verifications, Employment Eligibility
Verification, and more (click
here for a list/description of the most commonly used
searches/verifications).
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- Q: Where does BackgroundAnswers.com obtain the
information?
A: BackgroundAnswers.com is online with
the Social Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security and
other agencies. We supply, on an as needed basis, a professional search
service that conducts searches of current records maintained by states,
counties, the federal government, other government and private sources,
and we retain field agents that can visit any courthouse in the United
States to search through or verify records. Each search or verification
report is prepared by a skilled search professional at the time it is
requested, so the information provided is always the most up-to-date
that is available.
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- Q: How is BackgroundAnswers.com's National Criminal
search better than the competition's?
A:
BackgroundAnswers.com filters through the millions and millions of
records available and returns the records that apply to your "John Q.
Public." We don't charge you $19.95 that other companies charge and
provide you with pages of useless names that are similar to your
subject, but have nothing to do with what you need (see "What information do
I need…" above). If the "other" background search company does not
ask for the subject's middle name, then how do they search for the
correct "John Quincy Public?"
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- Q: Can I get a National Sex Offender
search?
A: BackgroundAnswers.com has the best Sex
Offender search available anywhere. Our National Sex Offender search
checks the Sex Offender Registry of all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Indian Country - for a very low
price.
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- Q: Is your website secure?
A:
Yes. Our website is protected by SSL encryption and other methods. All
web communications, including credit card numbers, are secure and
encrypted.
If you need to e-mail us for any reason, please be aware
that e-mail is not secure.
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- Q: Will the person I am doing the search on know
that I have checked their background?
A: Criminal
records and some other information is open public info, so the person
will not necessarily know. Please comply with all applicable laws, and
have them sign a release form when required. Otherwise, all searches
performed by BackgroundAnswers.com are anonymous to the extent permitted
by law.
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- Q: We have a business and would prefer to be
invoiced monthly, can you help us?
A: Of course we
can. Click
here to go to our semi-monthly invoice site for businesses..
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- Q: I have a very large number of background checks
that need to be done. Do I need to enter them one by one on your web
site?
A: No, we have other options for you -- you
can submit names to us via Excel spreadsheet or other formats. A small
charge may apply. Please contact us for more information.
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- Q: I'm not part of a business. Can I still get a
background check?
A: Of course you can. You can
check the backgrounds of your friends, neighbors, boss, clergy - just
about anyone!
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- Q: What are "added fees"/where do the "added fees"
come from?
A: Many of the agencies that we contact
to obtain the information that you need (County Courts, State Gov's,
Colleges/schools, previous employers, etc.) charge a fee for access to
their records or there is a fee to perform the search. We list in
advance those services that incur added charges for access/retrieval
fees and only add the fee that is required for the specific service. Too
many of our competitors charge a single large price so that they make a
very large profit on the majority of the services where the
access/retrieval fee is low or moderate (most common), and they make a
smaller profit for those few places that have a high access/retrieval
fee (less common). We feel it better serves you to charge a low
base price, and pass the access/retrieval fees directly through with no
price markup.
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- Q: You provided my employer with a copy of my
criminal record, but there is an error in it. Can this be
fixed?
A: Yes. BackgroundAnswers.com is committed to
providing accurate information. Please contact Customer
Service and we will help you with the necessary steps to get the
record corrected.
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Note: the above references to a fictional "John Q.
Public 03-24-1972" are entirely made up and are NOT related to any real
person. It is a fictional name being used as an example.
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