Convictions involving violations of Federal law are recorded in US District Courts. Searches should be conducted in areas where the applicant has resided or worked. There are 94 District Courts and each state has at least one. Florida has four court jurisdictions. New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and many others have one. Population and geographical area determine the number of Federal court jurisdictions in a state. Federal Criminal cases involve serious offenses such as: Bank Robbery, Embezzlement, Weapons Charges, Drug Trafficking and Immigration Violations.

Records involving bankruptcy and lawsuits involving disputes between private parties, corporations and the government are located here. Over 100 matters involving contracts, stockholder suits, product liability, torts, personal injury, aviation liability, civil rights and student recovery cases are located through this search.

This is a search of a nationwide criminal database and includes records from all 50 states and includes over 200 million criminal histories. Data is obtained from multiple sources, which include Department of Corrections, Parole, State repositories and others. A search of this database should be an adjunct to a County Criminal search because of inherent gaps in coverage.

This is a search of felonies and misdemeanors from various state repositories including Bureaus of Identification and Correctional facilities. Statewide criminal background checks are a valuable tool to supplement any County Criminal Record or National search.

A County Criminal Record Search is probably the most effective method to determine if an applicant has a criminal record. Oftentimes arrests are not reported to State and Federal repositories so there is a gap in coverage. Felony and misdemeanor offenses are located at the county courts. The County Criminal Record Search is conducted in counties where the Applicant is most likely to have any information filed, such as a residence address or employment location. Fidelity Data Service has direct electronic integrations with over 2,200 county courthouses so retrieval of criminal records can be obtained in usually under 1 hour.

A Civil Litigation search locates lawsuits filed against or on behalf of an applicant, tenant, business or organization. A civil suit is a non-criminal dispute between two parties and can involve contract disputes, evictions, collections, liens, etc. This search will disclose elements of the eviction process; Complaint, Motion for a Default Judgment, Writ of Possession, Dispossessory Warrant and Demand for Damages where applicable. It should be noted that there are National Eviction Data Bases, however, experience has shown them to be incomplete and often times unreliable. The civil litigation search must be conducted at a county court and is not available statewide.

A civil search may also turn up evidence of criminal wrongdoing. For example, if an employee has been embezzling funds and the District Attorney declines prosecution because he does not feel he can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, companies have filed civil suits to recover embezzled funds. The proof in a civil case is “a preponderance of the evidence,” so the high standard of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” is not required as in a criminal case. Without searching civil records important criminal information would be missed.

These reports are generated by the national credit bureaus. It gives an insight to an applicants or tenants responsibility level by showing both credit and debt information. The debt level can be an alert to financial situations that could have an impact on an applicant or tenants ability to pay their rent or other financial obligations. A Report includes the amount of debt an applicant has accrued, previous debts, payment history, bankruptcy records, liens, judgments, collections, civil litigation and previous residential address history. Credit history is a must for any applicant handling money or having financial responsibilities. A credit score is included in the report.

The Social Security Trace provides past and present address information; current and past employers and other names (aka) used by the applicant as well as other Dates of Birth (DOB) used by the applicant. It identifies non-used, inaccurate, mismatched and falsified social security numbers. With previously unknown addresses, DOBs and names a county criminal check can be made in order to develop additional background information.

This search verifies that the Social Security number provided by the applicant matches the applicant’s name, date of birth and gender. The submitted information is matched against the SSN. Where applicable, a death indicator will be reported when records reflect that the SSN holder is deceased. It is not uncommon for an individual to use the SSN of a deceased person in order to conceal derogatory information contained in their background. This search can be either pre or post employment as long as consent is obtained.

An MVR should be ordered on any employee who drives a company vehicle or drives their own vehicle for company use. An MVR shows driving history, including commercial driving license status (CDL), for at least three years and up to seven years. It captures all infractions including DUIs and suspensions. MVRs are available in all 50 states. An MVR can also show violations in jurisdictions other than the applicants home state.

The National Sex Offender Search combines Sex Offender Registries from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state is required to maintain and update current addresses on persons convicted of sex-related offenses since 1994. Offenses include sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact and other violent sexual crimes including those against children. These records generally show the offender’s name, age or date of birth, employer, last residential address, location of conviction and description of the offense.

This search locates information on previous or existing workers compensation claims and can be done only after a conditional job offer has been made in compliance with state and federal laws. A workers compensation search helps control fraudulent claims helps maintain a safe workplace. The report includes name, DOB, address, employer, injury type, case number and legal representation if any.

This search is based on a review of county civil records. There are several eviction databases available by geographical area which experience has shown to be unreliable. Therefore, we search using only civil court records.

This is an extensive search of over 30 global agencies including the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC); Departments of Treasury, Justice, Defense and Commerce. It contains information from the FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, Secret Service, Postal Inspectors, Military Intelligence Agencies and Interpol. Also included is information from Canada, Australia, European Common Market (EU), World Bank and other foreign entities. Data from the foregoing include, fugitives, potential and known terrorists, excluded parties, fraudulent and corrupt organizations and entities engaging in illegal financial activities.

This is a data base that contains a list of individuals and businesses which are excluded from participating in Federally funded health care programs such as Medicare. It is generated by the Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals/Entities ( OIG LEIE ) of the Health and Human Services Office.

This search will yield information on the character of an applicant as well as employment history, job performance, employment dates, salary, title and eligibility for rehire. However, some former employers will only verify dates of employment. It is, therefore, critical that the person verifying employment be experienced in order to get as much information as possible.

Level of education is an important concern when making a hiring decision or considering an individual for possible promotion. Education is also one of the two considerations, along with related experience, most commonly used to determine the appropriate starting salary. Unfortunately many applicants inflate their educational credentials. Failure to verify education can easily lead to inflated salaries, poor performance and/or high turnover due to lack of qualifications for the position.

If verification is needed we recommend interviewing the landlord prior to the last landlord because often the last landlord is so happy to get rid of the tenant he will give him a glowing recommendation. A county civil search will reveal if the tenant has ever been evicted or had an eviction complaint filed against them.