The Best Background Check Companies of 2021

There isn't typically much room for negotiation on the cost of running a background check, but there may be wiggle room in other areas. To get the best deal possible from a full-service firm, here are five areas where you might save some money:

• Setup fees: Ask if you can have the setup fee waived. Some firms will in order to land your business.
• Bulk discounts: If you conduct several background checks each year, see if the provider will give you a per-screening discount.
• Commitment discounts: Ask the provider if they can lower the price of individual checks if you commit to a certain number of screenings each year. 
• A la carte pricing: If the company only offers set packages that include screenings you don't need, see if you can get a la carte pricing on the services you do need.
• Price matching: See if the service is willing to match a competitor's lower price. 

Ask the provider if you need to sign a contract. If so, review it in detail. Make sure it includes all the fees you agreed to and no additional charges. Also check it for any special clauses pertaining to cancellation of the service. Are you committing to a certain number of checks? What happens if you don't conduct them all? Can you walk away at any time? These are all questions you want answered before you hire an employee background check service.

Employee background checks have become a common part of the hiring process. If your business has never used a background check site to verify an applicant's history, here are some compelling reasons why you might want to use one.

1. Improve company safety and security.

A recent study by background check company HireRight revealed that 84% of organizations conduct criminal background checks, with 73% using background screening to verify past employment and/or conduct reference checks.

Research shows that employers have good reason to screen potential hires. The HireRight study reported that 84% of employers discovered a misrepresentation on a resume or job application, with 23% of employers stating that their background report screenings uncovered misrepresentations of a candidate's educational credentials.

2. Hire better-quality candidates.

Most employers believe implementing some type of background investigation in their hiring process ultimately paid dividends. More than 50% of the businesses surveyed by HireRight said it led to better-quality hires.

3. Enhance your company's reputation and compliance.

Checking a candidate's background entails more than just calling their references. Employers today have several options as to what they can screen job candidates for. Your industry and business will determine how comprehensive your pre-employment screening needs to be to maintain compliance. For example, a company in the medical field will need to conduct different screenings from a company in the trucking industry.

These are common pre-employment screening and services that background check companies offer:

• Social Security number trace
• Address history check
• Criminal history check
• Civil records check
• Sex offender registry search
• Domestic watchlist search
• Global watchlist search
• Employment verification
• Education verification
• Professional license verification
• Military employment verification
• Professional reference check
• Social media search
• Motor vehicle reports
• Credit report check
• Workers' compensation history search
• Healthcare sanction check
• Drug testing   
• Identity check
• International check
• Ongoing monitoring and alerts

The best background check firms offer a comprehensive array of screening options and add-on reporting to fit your needs. When conducting screenings, many firms go beyond an online database search. For example, when conducting criminal background checks, they might follow up with county courthouses to inspect onsite records. These comprehensive screening options can help you find and hire the best employees, maintain legal compliance, and enhance your company's reputation.

What is a professional background check?

A professional background check is a type of screening that employers conduct on potential employees to verify their history and credentials. A pre-employment background check can include any number of screenings, depending on what information the employer wants to know. For example, an employer can use a background check to verify a candidate's identity, whether the candidate has a criminal record, their employment and education history, any active professional licenses or certifications, and their driving record. During a professional background check, an employer may require the candidate to undergo additional screening, such as a drug test.

How long does an employment background check take?

The turnaround time depends on the information you are verifying and how comprehensive you want the results to be. The best background check companies can provide accurate, thorough results within one to five days of your request. Many companies also offer instant background check screening, but these results are pulled from a database that may not be accurate or comprehensive.

Is there a free background check service?

Technically, yes, but it may not serve your needs. Since many court records are available to the public, it is possible to obtain background information on someone for free. However, you get what you pay for; free background reports may be inaccurate. Further, employers are legally bound to follow certain practices, and using a free background check services could open your company up to liability. If you are looking for a service to run pre-employment background checks on potential employees, it is best to use a reputable company that complies with the Fair Credit and Reporting Act (FCRA) and other current laws and regulations.

What types of businesses benefit most from using a background check company?

Businesses in every industry can benefit from partnering with a background check company, but some find it more necessary than others. For example, businesses in highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance are very likely to screen potential employees. Additionally, anyone in industries like transportation, technology, construction, manufacturing, government, and education will likely need to pre-screen employees to maintain safety and compliance. Industries that have high employee turnover, like retail and food service, are less likely to run employee background checks.

What are the benefits of using a background check company versus doing background checks yourself? Accredited background check agencies must follow several employment laws, so partnering with one can help ensure that you make hiring decisions based on accurate background check results and maintain security and compliance. Some small business owners may want to save money by performing their own background checks, but this isn't always safe – or legal. Conducting a background check by yourself by looking at social media accounts or pulling basic (and sometimes inaccurate) information from free public databases can open your business up to a litany of legal problems.

Should you hire a private investigator for a background check? Most small businesses benefit from running background checks on job applicants before making hiring decisions. Although you can hire a private investigator to run a background check on a potential new hire for you, many small businesses are better off using an online background check service instead. These services often have easy-to-use online portals so you can order as many or as few background checks on your own as you need. The affordability and convenience of these services are beneficial for many small businesses. Although some reports take days to receive, many offer near-instant results.

What is included in a background check report? Background check reports can include a variety of screenings and verifications, depending on your package. Most background reports screen for standard information like a Social Security number trace, address history, criminal and civil records, sex offender registries, and domestic and global watchlists.

Many background check reports give you the option to add on supplemental verifications to screen for things like previous employment, education, professional licenses or military employment records. You can check professional references, social media sites, motor vehicle records, credit reports and workers' compensation history. Businesses in certain industries may need additional screenings like healthcare sanctions, drug testing or ongoing monitoring.

Can you charge an employee for a background check? In short – yes, depending on your state. There are currently no federal laws that prohibit employers from passing on background check charges to job applicants; however, some states restrict it, such as California, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington, D.C. You should double-check the laws in your state before asking job applicants to foot the bill.

WHAT CANNOT BE INCLUDED IN A BACKGROUND CHECK REPORT?

The FCRA has set national standards for what consumer reporting agencies can and cannot report on a background check.

For example, they can't report civil suits, civil judgments, arrest records (after seven years), paid tax liens (after seven years), accounts placed for collection (after seven years), or bankruptcies (after 10 years).

These restrictions don't apply to employer background checks conducted in house or background checks for jobs with an annual salary of over $75,000 per year. Some states may have additional laws regarding protected records like arrest information, criminal history, workers' compensation and bankruptcies. Employers must receive the potential employee's permission before obtaining education records, military service records or medical records.

CAN EMPLOYEES RUN THEIR OWN BACKGROUND CHECK?

Yes, but it may be incongruent with the results of an employer-run background check. Many personal background check companies are not considered consumer reporting agencies, which means they may not follow FCRA guidelines. Personal background checks may contain inaccurate or outdated information. It is always a good idea for job seekers to run a background check on themselves, but one should understand that the report may not be completely accurate.

How Does Social Media Monitoring Work in Background Checks?

Since so much of people's lives is posted online, many employers find it beneficial to run a social media background check on their future employees. The statements and images that someone posts online can be indicative of a candidate's character. Checking a candidate's social media accounts as part of a background check poses potential issues for employers.

To avoid viewing information that may lead to unintentional bias, employers can hire professional background screeners to scan a candidate's social media accounts. To conduct a social media background check, a pre-employment screening agency scours the internet to locate the candidate's online profiles. They scan each profile for red flags like hate speech, obscene language, bullying and harassment, threats of violence, drug-related images, and other explicit behavior or images. They compile and relay their findings to the employer.

Checking a candidate's social media accounts poses a host of issues for employers. If you conduct a social media background check of a candidate on your own (not using a background check service), you must be extremely wary of unintentionally accessing protected information; otherwise, you could face serious legal repercussions.

When you're considering a background check company, first identify the type of data you need to gather on potential employees ‒ that factor alone affects the price and narrows down the agencies that can help you. For example, not all of the services we evaluated handle drug screenings. If this is a screening you need, several services will automatically be eliminated from your list. 

Accreditation and Compliance

Verify that the pre-employment screening company and its searches comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA outlines how employee background checks must be conducted – for instance, you must obtain the job candidate's consent to be screened and give them an opportunity to review and rebut what was discovered. Some agencies do not adhere to FCRA laws, and businesses that use these services are opening themselves up to a potential lawsuit.

You also want to verify that the background check company you're considering is an accredited member of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). This accreditation is given to many of the top consumer reporting agencies that abide by strict professional standards. 

Turnaround Time

How soon you need the results of your screenings should be another factor in which agency you choose. Some sites allow you to search and view results instantly, while others may take up to five days to give you the results. If you can wait a few days before making a hiring decision, you may receive more comprehensive and accurate screening results.

Customization

It is important that you get the exact reports you need from a background check service. As you evaluate agencies, you'll notice that some only offer preset packages; other services offer specific packages but allow you to customize the plan for the screenings you need.

If you know which screenings and tests you want, ask the agency you're considering if it will be flexible with its pricing and accommodate your request. One last consideration is that while some services offer a variety of screening types – such as drug tests – their results may take longer.