RecordsLookupVG Search Records
Sponsored Options

Records Search Options

Top Choice

Instant Checkmate

4.9 / 5.0

Criminal-record and social-profile search option.

View Records

TruthFinder

4.8 / 5.0

Police, court, and bankruptcy-related record search option.

View Records

Intelius

4.7 / 5.0

People search with reverse-phone, address, and contact lookup tools.

View Records

Identify whose result you received

A criminal background result may be a screening-company report, a state repository response, an FBI Identity History Summary or a court search. First note the issuer, report date, person searched, jurisdictions and ordered product. A report assembled from several sources should still let you trace a disputed entry to the court or repository that supplied it.

For example, an FBI personal Identity History Summary draws on fingerprint submissions and may show an arrest disposition only when it was reported. The FBI says this personal-review product is for reviewing or correcting your own history, not an employment or licensing substitute. Use the hiring or licensing agency’s instructions when that is the actual purpose.

Separate processing status from a completed report

If you are still waiting, use the provider’s original confirmation, order reference and secure status route. Ask whether the search is pending, complete, awaiting fingerprints or missing information, and which component is delayed. There is no single turnaround for every background-check product. A status label such as complete describes the transaction; it does not by itself say that the result is clear.

Do not order an unrelated second search merely because the first has not arrived. For an FBI request, the published timing depends on electronic versus mailed fingerprints, and mail delivery is additional. For an employer’s screening report, ask the screening company about fulfillment and the employer about its decision timetable. Save the returned report version, not just a portal status screenshot.

Check identity and each reported event

Compare names and available identifiers, addresses, court names and case or docket numbers. Look for another person’s record, duplicated charges, incomplete outcomes and records that may have been sealed or expunged. A similar name is a reason to investigate, not enough to assign someone else’s criminal history to you. Avoid emailing unnecessary sensitive identifiers when a secure dispute channel is available.

Read the charge and disposition separately. Pending means the displayed record has not established a final result; a dismissal or acquittal must not be retold as a conviction. If the report omits the outcome, obtain the relevant court order and compare its case number and counts with the report. A single arrest can produce several counts with different results.

Understand what a no-record response can prove

A no-hit applies to the product, identifiers, coverage and date of that particular search. It is not a promise that every court, state, alias or recent event was checked. With an FBI response, the meaningful limit is the information on file from contributing agencies; with a local court search, it is that court’s accessible records.

Ask the report provider to explain ambiguous codes and missing jurisdictions. Keep the complete response with its scope statement. If the receiving organization asks for a certified disposition, request the actual order from the court that decided the case rather than submitting a database result as if it were a certified judicial document.

Recognize the employment notice sequence

For an employer’s consumer report, federal guidance requires a standalone disclosure and written permission before the company obtains the report. Before adverse action based on it, the employer must give you the report and a summary of Fair Credit Reporting Act rights. Use that opportunity to flag a specific factual error promptly. State and local rules can add protections.

After an adverse decision, the notice must identify the reporting company and explain that it did not make the employment decision. You may dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with that company and request another free report within 60 days. Ask the employer about its decision separately; the reporting company can investigate its data, not explain the employer’s judgment.

Submit a documented, specific dispute

Identify the report number and each disputed item, explain what is wrong, and provide copies of supporting court or repository records. Keep originals, a copy of your submission and proof of delivery. CFPB guidance says the background screener generally has 30 days to investigate, with an extra 15 days in some circumstances, then five business days to notify you of the result.

If the underlying court record is wrong, its correction process is separate from the screening-company dispute. Follow through on both when necessary. Once revised, read the new report yourself and ask that it reach the employer. A statement that an error was fixed is less useful than checking the actual corrected entry and any duplicated version.

Escalate without losing the paper trail

Keep the original report, notice, dispute, supporting order and investigation response together. The CFPB’s current complaint screen says to dispute with the consumer reporting agency first and wait until that dispute is no longer pending or more than 45 days have elapsed. The FTC also accepts reports of missing employment notices, unauthorized checks and reporting errors.

Whether an accurate record may lawfully be considered depends on the purpose and applicable law. Do not assume that every record disappears after seven years or that an arrest automatically disqualifies someone. If the decision has serious consequences, obtain advice specific to the jurisdiction and job, housing or licensing process involved.

Related Record Guides

Sources

Sources and record services