Please Note: The material on this website is provided for informational purposes only. It is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by The Fair Credit Reporting Act and should not be used to determine an individual's eligibility for personal credit or employment, or to assess risk associated with any business transactions such as tenant screening.

Many people think that running a background check is the same thing as going over the criminal history of a person, if any. However, the two are quite different. You should be well aware of these differences no matter whether you need to conduct checks as an employer, tenant or a private person. Discover all details which you need to know now.
The Scope Matters
A background check covers the criminal history of a person. In fact, the state agencies, organizations and individuals that act as employers, landlords and the like have access to more details compared to ordinary members of the public. The main reason for this is that they obtain consent to run such checks. They can expect to get details on misdemeanor and felony convictions and possibly on arrests. Sometimes information about the results of drug tests and polygraph tests included in criminal records may be available.
The background check goes well beyond a person’s criminal history, however. It can cover credit history, bankruptcies, previous employment and education, to name some of the main aspects. Even if someone is not a criminal, this doesn’t mean that this person could be the right employee or tenant, for example.
The checks of the criminal records are much more detailed when it comes to people’s criminal history compared to the traditional background ones. The contain information about all arrests and convictions without exception plus details on people’s inmate status, time spent in prison, paroles and probations. The physical features of individuals are also described in detail in their criminal record. The list includes height and weight at the time of the arrest plus hair color and eye color. Any unique features such as scars, marks and tattoos are also thoroughly described.
Legal Aspects
As you can see, a genuine criminal record check can provide a huge amount of detail on a person who has criminal history. At the same time, some of these details may not be accessible to employers, landlords and members of the public. If you think that you will need to dig deeper before hiring a person or leasing your property to them, you should check what information will be accessible to you in advance. Another important thing to note is that if a person or organization wants to run a formal background check on someone, they have to obtain the person’s consent.
Overall, a standard check including general information from the criminal records should be sufficient for employers, landlords and other parties to make a decision.