A County Criminal Records Search reports felony, misdemeanor, and pending charges in specific counties. The standard background check scope is 7 years due to FCRA regulations; however, convictions older than seven years provided by the county will be indicated on the background screening report.
A Statewide Criminal Records Search includes information from all of the counties within a particular state. Investigating criminal records outside the county of residence is very important as these records may go undetected when a Statewide Criminal Records search is omitted.
A Nationwide Database Search scans a collection of criminal records purchased from courts, corrections departments, and state agencies. This search is essential supplemental searches as it captures criminal records for applicants in states or counties in which they may have never lived, but have criminal records.
The Nationwide Criminal Database Search is comprised of more than 150 million records, including 43 state databases and the District of Columbia. Each state provides information from at least one of the following: county courts, state corrections, or the state sexual offender list. The database also includes a Foreign Nationals search, providing information on individuals and entities that have been sanctioned by the U.S. Government.
The Nationwide Criminal Database Search also includes the Nationwide Sexual Offender Index Search from all 50 states. Federal charges typically encompass severe crimes such as drug violations, the illegal sale of firearms, embezzlement, pornographic exploitation of children, and crimes that take place on federal property. Federal crimes do not appear in statewide or county criminal searches but are available nationally or by state and include pending cases as well as convictions.
Candidate information is submitted to the FDLE, which shall perform a criminal history record check of its records and request that the Federal Bureau of Investigation perform a national criminal history record check of its records.