Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View RecordsBackground Checks
Background Check Search
The FBI Identity History Summary is a fingerprint-based record that an individual can request for personal review.
A “background check search” starts by choosing the product, not the website
Personal FBI self-review
You want to see the FBI identity-history summary tied to your own fingerprints and correct it if necessary.
State repository check
You need the official statewide criminal-history product defined by a state police/CJIS agency. Availability, fingerprints, fees, and dissemination rules vary by state.
Court-record verification
You need the actual criminal case, filed disposition, judgment, or docket from the court that handled a known prosecution.
Employment consumer report
An employer is ordering a third-party background report for an employment decision; FCRA process and authorization matter.
Tenant screening report
A landlord/property manager uses a report that may combine credit, rental, criminal, employment and risk-model data.
For your own FBI record, use the fingerprint-based Identity History Summary process
-
01
Confirm this is personal review
The FBI product is intended for you to review your own Identity History Summary and pursue corrections.
-
02
Submit fingerprints, not just a name
The FBI FAQ states this service does not provide name checks; a current fingerprint submission is part of the identity process.
-
03
Pay the FBI fee
The FBI FAQ lists an $18 fee for each Identity History Summary request; participating USPS fingerprint submission or channeler services can add their own charges.
-
04
Challenge errors through the FBI process
The FBI says challenges carry no FBI fee and reports an average response time within 45 days after receipt; supporting court/source documentation can help a correction challenge.
Purpose determines whether the FBI self-review is even the right product
| Purpose | Better starting product | Why |
|---|---|---|
| See/correct your own FBI identity history | FBI Identity History Summary | Fingerprint-linked personal review. |
| U.S. job, license, or adoption requiring official screening | Requesting employer/agency or authorized state/federal channel | The FBI review notice says the personal-summary route is not provided for those ordinary authorized-use purposes. |
| Verify one known prosecution | Official court file | The filed disposition/judgment answers the case-specific legal outcome. |
| Check one state’s official criminal repository | State police/CJIS repository | State scope and dissemination rules differ; a county court search is not automatically statewide. |
Employment screening is a permission-and-notice workflow when a reporting company is used
Before the report
The FTC guidance says the employer must give a clear standalone written disclosure and obtain written permission before getting a consumer background report.
Before an adverse employment action
If report content may cause the employer not to hire, retain, or promote, the person must receive a copy of the consumer report and the FCRA Summary of Rights before the decision is finalized.
After adverse action
The notice identifies the reporting company and explains that the reporting company did not make the employment decision, allowing the person to obtain/dispute the report.
Local law can add restrictions
FTC also advises checking state/municipal rules. A generic internet record search does not itself satisfy every employment-screening rule.
For tenant screening, inspect the report that actually drove the decision
-
✓
Ask what report was used
The CFPB tenant-screening guide says a tenant report can combine criminal records with credit, rental history, employment verification, registries, watchlists, or a risk score.
-
✓
Read the adverse-action notice
If the report caused denial or worse terms, the landlord must identify the reporting company and the fact that the report affected the decision.
-
✓
Request the free report promptly
The CFPB adverse-action guide states the applicant can request a free copy from the identified screening company within 60 days of adverse action.
-
✓
Dispute wrong-person or outdated data
Challenge inaccuracies with the reporting company and, for an underlying court/repository error, correct the source record as well.
-
✓
Do not assume a court search shows the whole tenant file
The decision may depend on non-court components such as credit or rental history, so review the actual consumer report.
Use public criminal-record sources as a verification chain, not a one-click “national” answer
| Stage | What to capture | Verification rule |
|---|---|---|
| Repository/name search | Full name used, DOB/identifier if allowed, jurisdiction, lookup date | Treat common-name results as candidates until identity and source scope are checked. |
| Court case | Case number, court, charges, disposition/status | Use the official court for the exact filed outcome rather than a republished summary. |
| Certified document | Document title, certification, issue date | Use when the recipient expressly needs court-certified proof. |
| Consumer report | CRA name, report date, purpose, adverse-action notice if any | Dispute within the report workflow and correct underlying source records where necessary. |
When two sources disagree, verify the source record before drawing a conclusion
-
01
Check identity first
A mismatch can be a same-name problem. Compare DOB/case/other permissible identifiers before deciding the sources conflict.
-
02
Check scope dates and jurisdiction
One product may cover a single county, one state, federal identity history, current custody, or a consumer-report aggregation.
-
03
Open the official case file for the disputed event
The court that entered the disposition is usually the best place to verify the exact judicial outcome.
-
04
Correct the origin and then the downstream report
If the court/repository is wrong, use its correction process. If the origin is right but a consumer report is wrong, dispute with the consumer reporting company too.
The safest final record is a small audit trail
Write down what was searched and what it was not
For every background check result, save the purpose, product, jurisdiction, official or reporting-company source, date, identifiers used, and known exclusions. “No result” only has meaning inside that documented scope.