Often times a consumer will disclose information about records that we may not report under state and federal employment law.
Have the records in question been sealed or expunged? We are legally unable to report sealed or expunged records.
The record may have been dismissed or considered a non-conviction. We report misdemeanor and felony convictions and, in certain jurisdictions where permitted, pending cases.
Is the case older than 15 years, or older than a reporting limit that applies to it? County-level criminal searches will search up to 15 years where federal and state law allow. Pending cases, where we report them, generally can't be reported after 7 years, and some states limit reporting further. Some counties archive their records after 7 years, making them inaccessible to our court researchers.
The record may be missing key identifiers such as middle name, date of birth, or address, making it impossible for us to link it to your candidate.
Was the applicant charged under an alias name such as a married or maiden name? County criminal records are searched using the applicant's primary name and DOB. By default, other names found in the SSN trace are searched in the national criminal database search only, not in county searches. You can order alias county searches à la carte in the candidate report. A record found under another name is reported only after it is matched to the applicant, for example by date of birth.
Was the case tried on a Federal Level? If so, we recommended adding a Federal check to your report if you have not already done so.
Was the case tried in juvenile court? We are unable to report juvenile records unless they were tried as an adult.
For these reasons, we always recommend conducting county searches. The Complete package will conduct county searches in all counties where the applicant has lived in the last 7 years, based on the address trace we conduct. The 7-year address history is used to find the counties where the applicant has lived. The criminal search in those counties covers up to 15 years where federal and state law allow. To compare packages, see What's included in each background check package?