Q. - Where does your data come from?
A. - We obtain criminal records from publicly available sources. Our instant criminal data may contain information from county courts, state courts, the state Administration of Courts and the state Department of Corrections. We also collect publicly available information such as bankruptcy information, current and previous address history, property records and much more.
Q. - What is a comprehensive background check?
A. - A comprehensive Background Check is a single comprehensive report that can be run on virtually any individual found in our database. When you run a name, address, or phone search, click on one of the returned names to get the details for that person (if available) and click on the "Buy Now" button. A Comprehensive Background Check searches over 10 billion records and automatically cross references the results to return a single comprehensive report.
Q. - Can I search people from other countries?
A. - While, we do not offer international People Finder or criminal record searches for individuals we do collect national security information from many sources, of which many are international such as: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Sanctions List, European Union Terrorism Sanctions List and Interpol Most Wanted just to name a few.
Q. - Is anyone notified I am searching for them?
A. - No one is notified that you have ordered a report on their name.
Q. - How current is the data I am searching?
A. - We collect publically available information from hundreds of data sources which include county courts, state Administration of Courts, state Department of Corrections and many more. We have limited control in their update frequency as it is set by and varies by each datasource. However, data strength is one of many aspects that sets us apart from our competitors and we go to great lengths to acquire and maintain our data. We are continually evaluating our processes to ensure timely and quality results.
Q. - What are public records and publicly available information?
A. - Public records is information that has been filed or recorded by local, state, federal or other government agencies, such as corporate and property records. Public records are created by the federal and local government, (vital records, immigration records, real estate records, driving records, criminal records, etc.) or by the individual (magazine subscriptions, voter registration, etc.). Most essential public records are maintained by the government and many are accessible to the public, availability is determined by federal, state, and local regulations.
Q. - Do you have information on people under the age of 18?
A. - Juvenile records are not part of our coverage. Information on most juvenile offenses is not released and most courts and states do not provide information on people under 16.
Q. - Do your reports provide credit history?
A. - No, we do not provide results on an individaul's credit history. Ones credit history is not publically available and is considered private information.
Q. - Do your reports provide Date of Birth and Social Security Number information?
A. - No, Social Security Number information is private and is not publically available. However, date of birth information is commonly found in public records. Many of our criminal record data sources include date of birth in the information they provide.
Q. - Do you provide financial records, such as bank account information?
A. - No, bank account information is considered private and is not publically available. However, we do provide reports that may include bankruptcy information which is publically available and may be viewed as a financial record.
Q. - I wasn't able to find the person I was seeking.
A. - There are several reasons why 0 records might be found.
- The search was conducted with incorrect information like a misspelled first or last name and/or the incorrect DOB or age.
- You entered a hyphenated name, middle initial in the first name box, a suffix such as JR, SR II, III, IV at the end of the last name or a special character in the first or last name box.
- The search was conducted by name and DOB; but available public records do not associate this name and/or DOB with this.
- The person searched is a minor and we do not search juvenile records.
- Hyphenated Names, two First Names, Nick Names and Middle Names
- - Our database does not provide results for hyphenated names, therefore, you must enter the last name with a space rather than a hyphen (-) or you may use the last part of the hyphenated name for the best results. Do not add any generations such as Jr. Sr. II or III.
- Two first names
- - We are referring to names like Bobbie Sue, Amy Lynn and Billie Joe - please do not use them. Use only the first part of the two-part name as any extension of the name will be reported. Example, if you are searching Amy Lynn - Just use Amy and if there is a match with Amy Lynn it will come back.
Q. - Why is there no phone number?
A. - If no phone number is returned in the report, then the individual either has no telephone number listed in our network of databases, they could be unpublished, or they may be using a cellular or prepaid phone that's not showing up in our databases.
Q. - The information reported in your reports is wrong. Can I update it?
A. - We obtain information from public records. If you believe that our report incorrectly states what the public records show, you can have us reinvestigate our report by contacting our dispute department at 866.265.6602, or by filling out our Consumer Request for Reinvestigation Form. If you believe that the public record is itself incorrect, you will need to contact the public agency that holds that record.
Q. - Who are your datasource providers?
A. - BackgroundChecks.com has one of the largest public records database in the U.S., our sources include hundreds of direct sources such as county courts, state Administration of Courts, state Department of Corrections and many more. We also utilize third party data providers which allows us access to billions of records thus improving the quality and volume of your results.
Q. - Why is my report showing addresses at which I never lived?
A. - Address history information is obtained from county tax assessors and contains details about the property. There may be addresses listed that do not belong to you or addresses that are not displayed in the results. Here are a few reasons why:
- If you shared a mailing address with another person who also has your last name, you might see properties that belong to that individual.
- There may be properties that you own or owned that are not displayed because they are listed under a different name or with a different mailing address.
- We may not have access to records for a particular county.
There are some instances where we may not have the home you purchased in your property records. Our property records are matched based on a name and exact match on the address including ZIP code. The information is retrieved from the county tax assessor’s office on an annual basis. It may be that we were unable to produce an exact match on the address supplied or we have not yet received the annual update to our information.
Q. - What is a UCC?
A. - The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) regulates secured transactions in which an individual or a business has secured the loan with some sort of collateral. UCC filings are derived from the applicable Secretary of State. The UCC filing records in your report match your last name and an address listed in your address history.
Q. - What do the dates mean next to my addresses reported?
A. - We collect address information from various public record sources and may vary in content based on the source. We provide current and historical addresses that have been associated with the subject of your search. Addresses may not display in date order and should be individually reviewed.
Q. - Why is my property appraised amount incorrect?
A. - Property information is obtained from the county tax assessor’s office. Each county reports on an annual basis. If you have specific questions about your property in the report, you may want to contact the county tax assessor for that property.
