Background checks can be super detailed about your life and history, or they can just scratch the surface. Background checks can be required for certain jobs especially teachers, coaches, anyone who works with children, financial jobs, security clearance, court proceedings, custody battles and more. So what can be included in a background check? More than you think!
What Can be Included in a Background Check?
When you give your permission for a background check, it’s important to ask what exactly will be investigated about you. Here are just some of the things that can be included in a background check:
- Criminal history – Any crimes you’ve ever been charged with, even if you were found not guilty.
- Sex offender status – Verification that you are not a sex offender.
- Driver’s license review – A review of your driving record and any violations on your driver’s license.
- Civil litigation history – Any civil litigation cases you’ve been involved in.
- Relatives and known associates – A review of your relatives and any known associates you spend time with.
- Credit history and bankruptcy filings – A review of your credit history and if you have ever filed bankruptcy and if the case(s) were discharged.
- Address history and property ownership history – A review of your previous addresses and any properties you have ever owned.
- Verification of resume information – Checking to verify everything on your resume is accurate.
- Marital records check – A review of your marital history and any prior marriages or divorces.
- Telephone number and email address history – A review of previous phone numbers and email addresses.
- Asset search – Researching and documenting any assets you own currently or have previously owned.
- Court judgements and tax liens search – Any financial judgements or tax liens against you or any property you own.
- Professional credentials, certifications and licenses review – Verification of any professional credentials, certifications or licenses you hold.
- News coverage search – A search to determine if you’ve ever been reported about or quoted in the news, and under what circumstances.
- Reputation search – A search to reveal any reviews you’ve left or received, message boards or blogs you’ve commented on and web communities you’ve participated in.
- Social media and online profile search – A review of your social media, online accounts, online profiles and the posts or comments you’ve made (this might be limited when it comes to hiring decisions depending on state laws).
- Deep web research – A search for any activity you’ve engaged in or information listed about you on the deep web.
Did you know a background check can include all of that? Not every background check will include all of these searches and reviews so it’s important to understand what is included in any background check you consent to. In some cases, you might not be able to control to whether a background check is run or what is included, for example, in court cases you typically cannot control what the courts look up about you. If you have questions about background checks and what can be included, we have answers!
