What are the most common types of criminal background checks?

Answer

A criminal history check reveals detailed information regarding an individual’s county, state, and federal criminal history. Each record varies by the type of information it searches for and the results that are returned.

1) County background checks, or county criminal history search results, include information about criminal cases filed only in the county ordered.

2) State background checks, or statewide criminal history search results, include information as reported to a state by counties within the state. Results may include case number, offense type, date of offense, disposition date/specifics, and confirmation of the current disposition.

3) Federal background checks, or federal criminal history search results, include criminal court record information that can be accessed via one or more of the 94 U.S. Federal District courts across the United States.