As you can see, the difference between a basic employment background check and a background check for someone who will hold a position of trust, influence, and fiduciary responsibility is significant in scope. And for good reason: a thorough background check offers well-rounded insight into the past experience and behaviors of your prospective employee. This insight gives employers the ability to make solid predictions about how an individual is likely to perform in a given role. The benefits of background screening are well-documented and the cost associated with these background checks is a small price to pay for the opportunity to make better hiring decisions that protect your brand, decrease turnover, avoid liability, and much more.

Here you’ll find descriptions of each service listed in the above table:

Components of a Basic Background Check:

1. SSN Locator

A SSN Locator report verifies a logical connection between an individual’s stated name and social security number, and determines the validation of the number against issued numbers and against the death index. The SSN Locator serves as the basis of further background screening efforts by determining jurisdictions and names to include in local criminal records and related searches.

2. National Criminal Database Search

National criminal database searches are used in basic background checks as a quick way to search more than 240 million criminal records from 49+ states before pursuing records from specific local jurisdictions. It is NEVER a substitute for a local criminal search, but it does supplement those efforts.

3. Sex Offenders Record Search

Basic background checks should also include a sex offender registry check conducted through the Department of Justice portal, which offers access to data from each state’s registry.

4. Local Criminal Records Search – Current Jurisdiction

In a basic background checking scenario, you’ll often find that a current jurisdiction local criminal records search is enough. These records can uncover felony convictions, misdemeanors, bench warrants, and other local-level court actions in the location your applicant currently resides.

4. Motor Vehicle Records Search

Recommended for most basic background checks is a motor vehicle records search that includes items such as license status, endorsements, points, and infractions.

Components of an Extensive Background Check:

Each of the following services as described in the basic background check above:

• SSN Locator

• National Criminal Database Search

• Sex Offenders Record Search

• Motor Vehicle Records Search

 

Local Criminal Records Search – 7 Year History

Similar to the basic background check version of the local criminal records search, the 7-year local records search looks at the applicant’s past 7 years of residency.

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Federal Criminal Records Search – 7 Year History

This search centers on the districts in which the applicant has resided over the past 7 years and offers reported information among the 93 districts that handle federal criminal cases.

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Employment Credit Report

Used to further assess an individual’s level of responsibility, an employment credit check provides a summary of balances, payment history, liens, judgments, bankruptcies, and official inquiries.

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Education Verification

Stories of corporate CEOs and others who are discovered to have attained their jobs with false degree claims underscore the importance of education verification. This service checks the post-high school educational degrees to verify your applicants’ claims.

 

Employment Verification

Employment verification's are also conducted as part of a higher-level background check. These employment verification's can range from simply checking the dates and positions of prior employment to going well beyond with online systems that facilitate the gathering of in-depth insight from previous employers.

 

Media and Civil Records Searches

Media searches cover extensive news amalgamation database searches of all major media over a given time frame using the individual’s first and last name. It can also include social media searches, looking at the individual’s internet identities and reviewing any social media profiles, such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.

Adding to this, civil records searches involve searching civil court records at the County (upper and lower courts) and Federal levels, based on the type of information being sought. Typically a 7 year time-frame is covered.

 

Drug Screening

Employment drug screening for common illegal and/or prescription drugs of abuse is another important component of a higher-level background check.

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