Criminal background checks are usually simple: match the name and date of birth on a court index/docket search, and you (or an investigative firm) will have a high degree of confidence that you’ve found the records for the person you’re investigating.
Unfortunately, civil background checks aren’t so easy.
Many federal and state court dockets don’t include information that will definitively identify a specific person. For more common names, an investigator may have to sift through dozens, if not hundreds, of cases and do additional research to ensure the correct individual is being researched.
Here’s what that means to you, depending on the type of background check you need.
Employment-related, FCRA-regulated civil searches
Most employment background screening firms conduct an index search, which will not always confirm a person’s identity. Because the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires positively matching a record’s identifiers to the subject’s identity, information retrieved may be unusable—and, thus, not reportable to the client unless further work is performed.
To positively match a civil case with a specific individual, an investigator may have to obtain court records to match an identity. This additional digging typically takes more time and money. Sometimes the court records are archived or must be searched by the court clerk, putting the investigator at the mercy of the court and, in some cases, dramatically increasing time service.
Non-FCRA regulated civil searches
Since there are no reporting restrictions such as matching criteria, all results can be reported. However, false positives are possible, especially with more common names. Without further investigation, court activity may be reported as “Name Match Only,” and the client cannot be positive that the court information pertains to the person in question. With common names, that could mean a huge number of cases, practically rendering the report useless.
For accuracy, court records must be searched by hand, which raises the same issues as noted above.
Know what it means
If you are conducting civil searches or considering adding them to your background screening process, it’s important to understand how these checks are conducted and what information you may receive back. Integras Intelligence can guide you properly through the maze of civil background checks. Please contact us at 212.871.1274 to review available options and to select the solution that’s right for you.
