best background check

Best California Background Check

Obtaining complete California records, criminal and civil, can be a challenge even for those experienced in the methods and procedures.

The state offers a criminal records search for individuals and employers, and even that has restrictions on how it can be used.

Many online background check services claim to have complete California records, but truth be told, the state doesn't offer access to a central repository.

You can acquire comprehensive California records using methods we outline below. We will outline both options below and it will become very clear which is right for you in a few minutes.

Follow these guidelines and you will have access to the most complete California background check records available.

Overview:

Getting a California background check that will yield useful results can be a challenge even for someone experienced in doing background searches. If you have been trying to figure out how to go about it and have come up empty handed, let me assure you it is not a shortcoming on your part.

Rather, it is because the system in place is designed for employment background checks, and is really not accessible for other types of background searches. However, all is not lost...I will show you how you can do a California criminal background check that will yield useful results.

 Records from the state criminal records search include:

• Arrests resulting in convictions, as well as those pending a disposition, for previous 7 years
• Criminal Convictions for previous 7 years

If you need a background check on yourself for employment purposes, or when it is required for certain volunteer work, the California criminal records system is well established, even if not entirely straightforward.

 

Employer and Individual Access:

You will need to go to a "Live Scan" site to have your fingerprints and application for background search electronically submitted to the California Department of Justice (DOJ). The live scan site is considered by the DOJ to be the “applicant” for the purposes of conducting your background check.

A live scan site is simply any location in CA that has the approval and certification to take finger-prints. These can be schools, universities, police stations, etc. The applicant will get the results back, usually after about three days, at which point you have to retrieve the background check. Information that the results include:

Although the fee schedule varies by location, you can typically count on a "rolling fee" along with the application fee for the background check. Sometimes the application fee can be paid directly to the applicant agency along with your rolling fee, and sometimes they will want you to send payment separately with your application. On average, the total price tag will be around $70.

 

Points of Consideration:

It is fairly obvious that this system is not always suitable if you need to do a background check for reasons other than employment. For example, it is unlikely that someone you consider suspicious will volunteer to clear his name by going with you to a Live Scan site and paying $70 for a background check.

 Another consideration is that few people tend to stay in one place their entire lives and a national search is a very good idea. A possible solution would be to hire a private investigator, but the cost would be astronomical. There is a more convenient option...

 

Using an Online California Background Check for Complete Records:

A comprehensive solution is to conduct an online California background check. However, you should proceed with caution. Any lower rung online service will run into exactly the same problems you are facing.

California does not have a central repository for all counties criminal records that is accessible to data-mining companies. This means services have to go directly to most county courthouses to obtain criminal records and many do not have the resources to offer this option.

This means if you run a criminal records search with an inferior online service, they will find no criminal records on your subject, which is quite literal. Unfortunately it does not rule out the possibility that your subject has a past.

To get the most complete information, you will most likely need to use a two step approach. First, you will need to obtain an address history by using a background check. This will also return civil court matter, phone numbers, tax liens, etc.

The second step is to conduct a "county" background search for those counties where your subject has lived. This is really the only method you have of obtaining complete criminal records on an individual in California, unless of course you have their cooperation.

 A caution once again...The records are available, but due to the nature of California's records system it takes a little extra effort to obtain them. When you use the best online service, your efforts will pay off because the two step approach outlined above will yield the following information:

• Felony and Misdemeanor Records
• Civil Judgments
• Bankruptcies, Lawsuits and Tax Liens
• Associates, Aliases and Relatives
• Address History, Phone Numbers, Properties, and more

A California background check together with a national background search from a top-tier online provider will include the information you need to know. Below are the products needed for complete California and/or national records using USSearch.

1. $19.95 $14.95 – Basic Background Check: National records search and includes criminal records for the state of choice.
• Full Name, Age
• Phone Numbers, Current Address, Address History
• Bankruptcies, Civil Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax Liens
• Plus State Criminal Search California includes a hodgepodge of records and will not return complete records using an online criminal state search.)
2. $49.95 $39.95 – Advanced background check. National search and includes criminal records for the state of choice.
• Full Name, Age, Aliases
• Phone Numbers, Current Address, Address History
• Relatives, Neighbors, Associates
• Marriage & Divorce, Death Record
• Properties, Bankruptcies
• Civil Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax Liens
• Plus State Criminal Search (California includes a hodgepodge of records and will not return complete records using an online criminal state search.)
3. $59.95 $44.95 – On-premise county courthouse search. Necessary for complete criminal records in California as instant online criminal records search isn't available in most of California.
4. $99.95 $74.95 - Expert assisted national background check. Same as advanced background check, plus a search expert assists you. It also includes a national criminal records search that includes 43 states.
5. $59.95 $44.95 - Instant nationwide criminal search. Running only a criminal records search isn't recommended as the expert assisted background check delivers a far more complete picture and also gives you a national criminal records search. A national criminal search includes criminal records from 43 states.