Difference Between Country-Level, State-Level, and Federal-Level Criminal History Check

Background checks on potential employees are beneficial to businesses in many ways. They can help identify organizational risks and confirm an applicant's educational and employment history.

By lowering risk and guaranteeing that you hire employees with verified employment histories and educational credentials, background screening can assist your organization in growing in a favorable way.

There are many options for background screening. It can be difficult to collect candidate information yourself, and you may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The results of criminal searches can also vary depending on the records you search and whether they are local, state, federal, or national.

Understanding the differences between criminal records searches and background checks can help you develop a compliant, aggressive, and comprehensive screening procedure.

This blog will explain the four types of criminal records searches that background screening agencies conduct for pre-employment background checks and background screenings and the important distinctions between them.

What Exactly is a National Criminal Background Check?

First, it is important to note that this type of search should not be confused with a search through the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) which is administered by the US Department of Justice. That system is for law enforcement purposes only, except for a few rare and specific uses outside of law enforcement. NCIC is well known, thanks to television and movies - but access to it is highly regulated and employers and their background screening companies rarely have legal access to it.

A National Criminal Database is an aggregated database that is fed by participating state and local criminal justice organizations that (typically) make their files available to the general public and are considered “open source”.

A national criminal background check requires scanning millions of digital records across the United States in hundreds of jurisdictions. The lists contain terrorists and sexual criminals. A list of convictions for misdemeanors, felonies, and other offenses is part of the national screening.

The searches will show if the applicant has a criminal record history in most parts of the country. This report will include the date, type of crime, and the verdict. It will also list the database that the record was found in. When screening job candidates for the hiring process, a national background check should be the first step.

You will almost certainly hire people who have moved around a lot. In their lives, the average person moves 11 times. Local searches are not usually sufficient. National searches will identify and indicate potential problems in every state and country.

Even though national criminal background checks cover a lot, they're not perfect. The national criminal file excludes non-digital records and federal-level criminal convictions. And not all jurisdictions report to that database. Colorado, for example, does not report to the National Database. Therefore, you cannot expect Colorado criminal court records to appear in this search.

What Exactly is a Federal Criminal Background Check?

The federal criminal background screening searches 94 databases of the United States federal, district, and appellate courts. These databases are distinct from the ones used for national background checks.

The federal background check will show any convictions that were prosecuted on the federal level. The crimes that can be revealed by a federal background investigation are extremely serious. These crimes could include gun possession and drug distribution. They may also include kidnappings, tax evasion, embezzlement of funds, counterfeiting or bank robbery.

Businesses in the financial industry, executives, and CPAs commonly use a federal criminal background search to detect fraud, drug testing, identity theft, or embezzlement. While federal and national background checks may sound the same, they're not the same.

A national-level background search includes databases from across the country, while a federal background check specifically searches criminal records within federal jurisdictions.

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What Exactly is a State Criminal Background Check?

State criminal background checks are similar to national criminal background checks but are conducted at the state level. Like national screenings, they provide an overview, but can be incomplete. State-level checks may not include all county records.

State crimes, such as robbery, murder, arson, and theft, may be comparable to federal crimes in terms of severity. However, state crimes tend to carry less severe penalties.

You should request comprehensive background checks at the county level for job applicants if you want to get the most current employee information.

What Exactly is a County Criminal Background Check?

A county criminal record check checks only a specific county court’s records. In states that have a central repository for court records, it is inferior to a state search. However, in states that do not have a central repository for court records (there are only a handful), it may be all you have available.

This type of screening focuses on criminal background checks in a county that will not typically return non-criminal records, minor offenses, infractions (by state statute) dismissed, and any expunged records, erased records. Reporting restrictions vary between federal and state levels.

In conclusion

Background checks conducted by the county, state, federal, and national governments differ in important ways. They all have a similar goal: to make sure that any applicant hired by a company does not hold convictions which could disqualify them from the job positions.

When conducting a pre-employment screening program on potential hires, employers must adhere to all state and federal laws that govern background checks.

Employers need to be aware that criminal background checks are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (for credit checks), which prohibits employment discrimination. Employers need to be aware of the responsibilities they have under the pre-employment criminal background check laws.

You must comply with the FCRA regulations if you reject an applicant because of their criminal background check. Employers must also comply with numerous federal and state laws.

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Consult With a Background Screening Professional Company

It is essential to work with background-checking companies if you want to conduct employment identity verification efficiently and successfully. We are a background screening company in Colorado that can assist you in determining which background check components are most appropriate for your situation to avoid bad hires.

You run the risk of getting incomplete information or creating legal risks if you conduct a background search on your own. The best way to receive accurate background check reports and avoid compliance risks and adverse hiring decisions is by employing a professional background screening services provider who has extensive experience in providing background checks.

If you are a business based in Colorado and your Google search queries are filled with background screening near me, contact EBS-Colorado today to streamline the background screening process for your business. We also provide bulk background checks for multiple applicants and generate comprehensive reports of each candidate. Our turnaround time for submitting the report is around 1 working day on average.