That Free Background Check
Costs Less Than You Expected

Is there really such a thing as a free background check? Yes there is! The real question though is "What does it include?" And a further question is "What's the cost for any additional information not included?"

Opportunities abound to check a person's background for free. Companies advertise their "Net Detective" services on television. There are many more nearly identical services that can be found quite easily online.

A typical investigative report can include a criminal background check, a credit report, driving records, medical records, drug test records, military records, past employers, education records, and so on.

Such information is highly personal and can be quite sensitive, often including the individual's social security number. Is this appropriate? Does a free background check allow whoever to access whatever about whomever?

Employers Do Them

A background check is particularly useful in the case of pending employment. Employers want it for all their potential new hires, employing an agency to do the check for a fee, rather than doing it themselves for free.

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners provides a list of all the registered professionals who are employed in this service from individual private investigators all the way up to companies that do nothing but background checks.

If the employer uses a service such as these, there is legislation in place that requires them to inform potential employees that they are conducting a check and obtain their permission to do so.

If they are not employing a third party, however, and are conducting the background check themselves, they're not required by law to get the consent of the potential employee. A bit scary, isn't it?

Also, if employment is refused based on the contents of the background check, the potential employer is not required to disclose this to the interviewee, and may instead provide another reason for declining employment.

Access Public Records

The use of free background checks is not limited to employers, however. In fact, anyone can request a free background check on anyone they like. The information obtained will only include things that are a matter of public record, and this will vary by state.

In most states, will the exception of California, criminal arrest records are a matter of public record, and can be accessed by anyone. In California, only employers in certain industries such as law enforcement, child care, or security guard companies may access such information.

In all states, criminal convictions are a matter of public record and can be used, as are any pending charges against the individual. Also a matter of public record are worker's compensation claims, and employers can legally use this information to determine if injuries might prevent the applicant from performing job duties.

Bankruptcies are also a matter of public record, although it is expressly illegal to refuse employment to a candidate because they have filed for bankruptcy. Bankruptcies legally cannot be reported after ten years, and any accounts in collections cannot be reported after seven years.

Any civil suits or matters of civil court may not be disclosed after seven years, and all other negative information with the exception of criminal convictions may not be included after seven years.

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