If your next job hinged on a successful background check, would you get the job? Most people don’t know the information reported on most background checks. Find out what’s reported on background checks and how to get your own.
What would someone find out about you if they ran a background check? Would they find a few simple parking tickets or a pattern of behavior that could cost you a good job, home or even a future spouse?
Companies and private citizens are increasingly turning to background checks as a way to vet those they’ve recently met. The volume of information contained in these checks is staggering and can be used against you when making decisions on everything from employment to housing and more.
Below is some of the information reported in a background check. After learning what can be reported, we recommend that you use one of the best background check services below to find out what’s being reported about you.
Personal Details
You general personal details will be included in a background check. This includes your age, date of birth, address, former addresses, associated names (including maiden names), and your marital status.
County, State, and Federal Criminal Records
Background checks will show criminal records from anywhere in the United States. The exception is if a state has a limit on how far back records are reported. Some checks may even contain driving record information.
Credit and Financial Information
Some background checks may include a full credit and financial history. This will also include any collections, judgments, and bankruptcies.
Social Media Profile
Any social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even LinkedIn will be included in the report.
State and Federal Licenses
If you hold any state or federal level licenses or certifications, personal or professional, these will be listed on your credit report. Note that expired certifications may not show, even if the knowledge is still relevant.
Education Information
If you’ve gone to college, it will be included in your report along with when or if you graduated. Don’t lie about having a degree because a background check will tell on you.
Employment History
Expect to find a majority of your employment history on a background check. If your boss didn’t like you and thinks you’re unemployable, that may show up.
Military Records
If you’ve served in the military, this information will be included. Typically a report will show when you served, which branch of the military served in, rank, any rewards received, and your discharge status.
Use the Best Background Checks Online
Background check websites offer you the opportunity to run instant background checks directly from your PC or mobile device. They are convenient, and often an inexpensive way, to uncover background information on anyone.
Below is our short list of the best background check companies. People often use these sites as a way to find former friends or family members, search for suspected criminals and sex offenders, or just vet someone they’re suspicious about. Best of all, you don’t have any special skills to conduct a search. Just enter in what you know about the person, often just a name and location, and the site will do the rest.
BeenVerified
BeenVerified curates data from numerous public record providers, providing access to billions of data points on individuals. Their reports provide a clear explanation of where records originate and their reports regularly update to provide the freshest information.
In addition, BeenVerified has a Court Runner service where a physical researcher will go to a local courthouse and run a check on a person when digital records are not available. The platform is available for PC, iPhone, Android, and mobile web capable devices.
BeenVerified offers two subscription services. The first is a monthly subscription at $26.89 monthly. Save 35% by signing up for their quarterly service. For $52.44, or $17.48 a month, you will unlimited background checks and can opt-in to receive notifications if reports change.
Intelius
Intelius offers specialized a la carte services that allow you to provide fast and accurate searches on an as-needed basis. Their People Search searches will allow you to find basic information on a person such as their full name, present and past addresses, phone numbers, date of birth, relatives and any aliases.
If you want a complete background check, you have two options, you can either run a statewide criminal check or you can conduct a nationwide check. Nationwide checks are best for those that have lived in multiple states.
Pricing depends on the services you need. You can run unlimited People Searches through Intelius Premier for just $19.95 a month. New subscribers get $10 off their first month.
Background checks are priced individually. You can get a statewide check for $19.95 or a nationwide check for $39.95.
You can also sign up for Intelius Premier Plus and save money each month on your background checks. For $29.95 monthly, you will get unlimited People Searches along with a voucher for one background check. Unfortunately, there are no unlimited options for background checks.
TruthFinder
TruthFinder provides a complete overview of individuals. In addition to providing public record data such as criminal records and civil judgments, TruthFinder digs deeper and provides you a complete profile on a person, including social networking data and even a photo of the person when available.
TruthFinder will also scan the Deep Web to find hard to find data such as aliases, friends, associates, alternate phone numbers and more. A Deep Web search may uncover information not typically uncovered through standard public record searches.
TruthFinder offers two subscription plans with both offering unlimited reports. Their monthly service is $27.78 a month or you can sign up for their Power Users plan and get two months of unlimited reports for $46.04. You can pay for service using a credit or debit card, PayPal or Amazon pay.
CheckMate
CheckMate offers some of the most comprehensive searches in the industry. Their standard searches provide standard information such as criminal and arrest records, traffic violations, and location information.
Their premium reports provide specialized data on individuals such as corporate affiliations, property holdings, weapons permits, business associates and even who their neighbors are.
In addition to the desktop app, Android users can use the Instant Checkmate app to get background checks on the go.
Checkmate offers two plans with unlimited searches. The first is their monthly plan at $34.78 a month. If you’re planning to use the service long-term, then you should sign up for their Power Users plan at $27.82 a month. You can pay for service with a credit or debit card and PayPal.
When You Can and Can’t Do Online Background Checks
While online background check sites are extremely useful, you are limited in how you’re allowed to use the information. You’re permitted to use online background services for the following reasons:
- To find former classmates, friends or long-lost family members
- Check out the new neighbors
- Investigate new friends or business associates
- Vet the parents of kid’s friends
- Discover the background of your new boy/girlfriend
- Vet social media connections
- Investigate unknown phone numbers
- Check what’s presently being reported on yourself
Note that you are not allowed to use online background services for ANY of the following:
- Screen employees for any reason
- Screening tenant
- Screening any professionals such as doctors, teachers, coaches, etc
- Credit reports
- Financial aid qualifications
Online reporting sites are bound to federal and state regulations such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), so if using a report will violate any federal or state laws, then you’re not allowed to reports for those purposes.
Keeper or a Creeper – Find Out With a Background Check
Whether you’re checking out the family that moved in next door, looking to see if your daughter’s new boyfriend is an ex-con, or if that creepy guy in the cubicle in the corner is a sex offender, background check services can provide a wide variety of useful information.
Thanks to an explosion in digital records technology, online background check reviews are more comprehensive than ever. In the past, you needed a physical researcher to conduct searches and this often proved ineffective.
Thanks to the internet, it almost impossible for someone to cover their tracks, making an online background check the perfect tool to investigate anyone. Online background screening services are a perfect way to find out if a person is a keeper or a creeper.
