best background check

Best Georgia Background Check

Discover how to obtain the most complete civil and criminal records in Georgia and even on the national level.

The state of Georgia offers an official criminal records search option for individuals and employers. This method has both pluses and shortcomings.

You may also obtain complete criminal and civil records for Georgia using the correct online background check service.

We will outline both methods 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 Georgia background check records available.

Overview:

Georgia's Crime Information Center (GCIC) has the dubious honor of being one of the nation's busiest fingerprint processors. That can indicate not only a high crime rate, but also a lot of activity around criminal history records searches.

Georgia happens to find itself with a crime rate higher than the national average, which means that you are probably wanting to add to that background check activity. I will discuss what the state of Georgia provides, and then discuss another option and the benefits it presents when it comes to background searches.

Georgia's criminal history database is maintained by the GCIC, established in 1973 to be the primary provider of criminal justice information services in the state. It was the first state criminal records repository to have an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

This system also updates or creates records as part of the identification process, and accepts electronic submissions, so it is always current. GCIC also runs the Georgia Sexually Violent Offender Registry and makes it available through a free search online.

Georgia makes criminal history information available several different ways and in varying degrees of completeness depending on the purpose of the request. The most comprehensive, fingerprint based search is performed through Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS).

This service is only available for official use or businesses doing employee background checks. Information provided using this type of search, or if an individual requests their own record:

• Arrest information
• Dispositions on arrests
• Incarceration records

 

Employer Access:

Businesses wishing to do criminal history searches must obtain a unique agency number assigned by GCIC. To start a search, employees must be fingerprinted at one of the fixed GAPS sites around the state with the business as the “agency” requesting the search.

By registering with the GAPS website, businesses can obtain background check information online within 24-48 hours. In cases where it is authorized, this includes FBI searches.

 

Individual Access:

To obtain your own criminal background check through a name based search, visit the local police department or sheriff's office. Fees for a search should be $20 or less, according to Georgia statutes.

If you need a fingerprint based search for a employment or license, it is run through GAPS but you must first be registered by an agency before going to one of the sites for fingerprinting. If you need a fingerprint based background check for another purpose, such as travel, an application must be mailed to GCIC with a full set of fingerprints along with return postage and a fee of $20.75. Processing will require 10-14 business days.

A background check on someone else is possible through the Georgia felon search website. As the name implies, this search is limited to felony convictions. Each name search will cost $15. Searches for a name will return five possible matches from which you select your subject.

The accuracy of this type of search is dependent on the accuracy of your information on the subject. The results are returned instantly. One thing you should be aware of is that if information obtained in this way is used in an adverse employment decision, you must inform the individual in question of all information pertinent to the decision. This includes telling them that the search was performed and the specific contents of the record. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor offense.

 

Points of Consideration:

A Georgia background check on an individual other than yourself includes only felony convictions, and no lesser charges. Additionally, it does not include information from outside the state, information that recent media reports indicate is very important. Another method to obtain the information you need is available that will expand the possibilities, which is to conduct an instant online Georgia background check.

Start here for Georgia's state website if you are an employer and would like to apply for online access to criminal records search.

Start here for Georgia's state website if you would like to obtain individual criminal records reports.

Start here for the Georgia's free sex offender search website.

 

Using an Online Georgia Background Check for Complete Records:

An online background check provides the option to expand your query to an advanced national search. Even if your interest in background searches is for yourself, for instance if you are recovering from identity theft, a national search will indicate where your name appears around the country.

An advanced online Georgia background check with national search will include all the publicly available information on any individual both specific to Georgia and nationwide so that you do not miss any warning signs:

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

The information returned from Georgia is detailed and will provide insight into the subject's past. For the most current and detailed criminal history information, a second step is required that easily allows access to that information.

After obtaining an address history for the subject, simply conduct an online courthouse records search for the counties where the subject has lived.

County searches are quick but not instant and typically require a few days to complete.

A Georgia 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 Georgia 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 (Georgia criminal records are not included in an instant online criminal records 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 (Georgia criminal records are not included in an instant online criminal records search.)
3. $59.95 $44.95 – On-premise county courthouse search. Required for most up to date criminal records in Georgia as criminal records are up to 2007 in an online criminal records search.
4. $99.95 $74.95 - Expert assisted national background check. Same as advanced background check, but also includes a national criminal records search with 43 states. This is really an expert report – the type an expert would run for full coverage.
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.