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.

Traditionally, criminal history checks have been performed by employers and other organizations that want to ensure that they will deal with trustworthy and dependable people. In recent years, the access to public records has become much easier due to their presence in online databases. This enables any person to obtain the necessary information about others or herself. Find out when this is absolutely necessary.
Checks on Other People
You would certainly like to know if a person who will work in your house has criminal history. It is essential that you run checks on all employees which you hire as a private employer. The list includes housekeeping staff, cooks, chauffeurs, gardeners and especially caregivers. If you plan to hire a nanny or a qualified person to take care of an elderly or disabled relative, you have to ensure that this professional is completely trustworthy as well as highly qualified for the job.
You have to keep in mind that even when you hire people as a private person and not as a legal entity, you will still have to abide by the employment laws in the state where you live. Given this, you will have to use the services of a provider who has special authorization to perform such checks on prospect employees. You can be certain that such companies have access to all the information which is important and that they will pass it on to you timely.
Personal Checks
There are cases in which you are legally required to search your own criminal history and to provide copies of the documents kept on your record, if any. There are different situations when you will have to do the search yourself. This is usually the case when you apply for employment in another country. Since the foreign employer does not have the legal right to access the information, you will have to present it directly.
Copies of the documents in the record are required for international adoption as well. Again, you are the one responsible for providing them since the authorities in the country where the child is from do not have legal grounds for requesting the information. In some cases, the results of a criminal check have to be presented for visa purposes and for obtaining citizenship in another country.
Finally, you should take into consideration the amount of time which the criminal history check will require. You must also check how long it will take for you to receive certified copies of the documents kept in the record.