There is no single best background check site, because “background check” covers three different jobs. If the result will decide whether someone gets a job, an apartment, a loan or an insurance policy, you need a screening company that follows the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), gets the person’s permission and sends the required notices. If you’re doing personal research — checking out a date, an online seller or an old friend — a people-search service is the right category. And if you want to see your own record, go to the agencies that keep it.
This guide matches each job to the kind of site that fits it, names well-known companies in each group without ranking them by price, and shows how to judge any site before you pay for it or act on what it says.
Which kind of background check do you need?
Start from the decision, not the website. The same name typed into two different sites can produce reports that look alike, but the law treats them very differently depending on what you do with the result.
| Your situation | Kind of service | Examples | Rules that apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiring, promoting or keeping an employee | Employment screening company (a consumer reporting agency) | Checkr, GoodHire, HireRight, Sterling (now part of First Advantage) | Written notice and permission first; notices before and after any adverse decision |
| Choosing a tenant | Tenant screening service (a consumer reporting agency) | TransUnion SmartMove and similar landlord services | A notice to the applicant if the report leads you to reject them, raise the rent or deposit, or require a co-signer |
| Lending, insurance or another FCRA-covered decision | A consumer reporting agency that serves that industry | The nationwide credit bureaus and the specialty companies on the CFPB’s list | A permissible purpose, plus notices and dispute rights for the person |
| Personal research: a date, a seller, a lost contact | People-search service (not a consumer reporting agency) | BeenVerified, TruthFinder, Recordwell and similar sites | Can’t be used for any of the decisions above; confirm identity before you act |
| Checking your own record | The agencies and companies that keep it | Your state’s criminal history repository, the FBI, screening companies’ files about you | You can see your own file and dispute errors |
Hiring, renting, lending or insuring: use an FCRA-compliant screening company
Screening companies are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA. That status comes with duties: they must follow reasonable procedures for accuracy, give people a copy of their own file and investigate disputes. It also puts duties on you as the person ordering the report.
For employment, the FTC and EEOC spell out the steps in Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know:
- Tell the applicant, in a stand-alone written notice, that you may use a background report for decisions about the job.
- Get the applicant’s written permission before the check runs.
- Before you act on anything in the report, send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.”
- After you decide, send an adverse action notice that names the company that sold the report and explains the person’s right to dispute it and to get a free copy within 60 days.
The same guidance tells employers to apply the same standards to everyone, regardless of race, national origin, color, sex, religion, disability, genetic information or age (40 or older). It is also published by the EEOC, which enforces the anti-discrimination side. For what a typical employment report contains, see what a background check shows.
Landlords have a parallel set of rules. The FTC’s guidance for landlords treats tenant background reports as consumer reports and requires a notice whenever a report leads you to reject an applicant, raise the rent or deposit, or ask for a co-signer.
How the well-known names describe themselves. Checkr describes written consent and the adverse action process as part of its employment screening. GoodHire, which calls itself a Checkr company, sells employment checks to businesses and says they are FCRA-compliant. HireRight presents itself as a global screening provider, and Sterling is now a First Advantage company.
For landlords, TransUnion SmartMove works differently from a people search: the landlord invites the applicant by email, and the applicant verifies their identity and authorizes the screening themselves.
Rather than picking by price, compare these companies on what your decision needs:
- the searches the job or rental actually requires, such as county criminal records, driving records or employment verification;
- how the applicant gives permission and gets a copy of the report;
- how disputes are handled and how you hear about them;
- whether the notices, and the state and local rules where you hire or rent, are built into the process.
Personal research: use a people-search service
People-search services organize records and open web information found under a name: places connected to it over time, matters filed publicly, business registrations, professional licenses and publicly visible profiles. They suit everyday questions, such as whether a date is who they say they are, whether an online seller is a real person, or where an old friend ended up.
See how that works for a dating safety check, for verifying an online seller or for finding a long-lost relative. Looking someone up for a personal reason is generally lawful; here is where the legal lines are.
These services are not consumer reporting agencies, and the major ones say so. TruthFinder states that it does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency, and BeenVerified says the same about itself under the FCRA. That is why their reports can’t be used for any decision in the section above.
The trade-off is precision. Reports are built around a name, and names are shared, so the most common error is a namesake’s record attached to the wrong person. Coverage also varies by county and year: a missing record isn’t proof that nothing exists, and the original record held by the court or agency settles anything important.
For a side-by-side of the two approaches, read people search vs. background check.
Where Recordwell fits. Recordwell is a people-search service, and a deliberately narrow one. You search by first and last name only; there is no phone, email, username or photo lookup.
It keeps people who share a name separate and treats a match as confirmed only when two independent details agree, such as an age range and a city. When the details don’t line up, the result stays unresolved instead of guessed. Checking yourself is free, and so is removing your information.
To compare people-search services with each other, see our people-search sites comparison. Whichever one you try, run through this list first:
- It states whether it is a consumer reporting agency and what you may not use it for.
- It tells you what it searches by — a name, a phone number, an email — and what it doesn’t do.
- It shows how it keeps people who share a name apart and what ties each record to the person.
- It says when part of a search came back empty or couldn’t be completed, instead of implying a clean result.
- Price, renewal and cancellation terms are visible before you enter a card.
- You can remove your own listing without paying and without giving a Social Security number.
- It doesn’t promise complete or error-free results.
Your own record: go to the agencies that keep it
No single website shows everything an employer or landlord might see, so a self-check works best in layers.
- Your state criminal history record. Most states let you request your own record from the state police or the state’s bureau of identification, often with fingerprints.
- Your FBI Identity History Summary. Often called a rap sheet, it lists arrests and related information from fingerprint submissions. Only you can request your own, and there is a fee; the FBI’s Identity History Summary page explains the online, mail and approved-channeler options.
- Screening companies’ files about you. Employment and tenant screening companies must give you your own file on request. The CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies by industry, including employment and tenant screening.
- Your credit reports. The FTC suggests checking them before a job search so you can dispute mistakes before an employer sees them; its page on employer background checks and your rights covers the rest.
- What a stranger sees. A people-search self-check shows the listing that appears next to your name. On Recordwell it’s free, and removing your information is free too.
Our self background check guide walks through each request in order.
What each kind of check can and cannot tell you
| Question | FCRA screening report | People-search report | Your own official record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the person have to agree? | Yes for employment: written permission comes first | No, which is why it can’t decide eligibility | You request it yourself; the FBI releases yours only to you |
| Can it decide a job, rental, loan or policy? | Yes, when the notice steps are followed | No | It is for your own review and corrections |
| How is the person identified? | Identifiers the applicant provides, such as a date of birth | A name plus whatever details line up; namesakes are the main risk | Fingerprints for FBI and many state checks |
| What if something is wrong? | Dispute it with the screening company, which must investigate | Ask for removal, and check the original record | Correct it with the agency or court that holds it |
| Does a blank result mean a clean record? | Only for the searches actually run | No; coverage varies and a gap proves nothing | It reflects what was reported to that agency |
How to test a background check site before you rely on it
The quickest way to judge a people-search site is to look up someone whose details you already know: yourself. Screening companies let you do something similar by requesting your own file.
- Run your own name, using a free self-check if the site offers one.
- Compare the addresses, age range and relatives with what you know to be true.
- Look for records that belong to someone else with your name, and notice whether the site labels them as possible matches or folds them into your profile.
- Read what it says it couldn’t check.
- Read the renewal and cancellation terms before paying for anything.
Worked example: two people named James Carter
Illustrative example: a search for James Carter in Georgia returns two people in Atlanta, one aged 30 to 35 with a relative named Denise, the other aged 55 to 60 with no relatives listed. A court matter filed under the name gives a birth year that fits only the older man, so a site that merges both into one profile attaches that matter to the wrong person. Treat a match as confirmed only when two independent details agree — here, the age range and the relative. Leave everything else unresolved.
For a fuller method, see how to confirm a record belongs to the right person.
Warning signs on any background check site
- It hints that its reports work for tenant or employee screening while its fine print says it isn’t a consumer reporting agency. The FTC has warned that a disclaimer alone doesn’t settle the question when a company has reason to believe its reports are used for screening: just saying you’re not a consumer reporting agency isn’t enough.
- It uses alarming teasers to hurry you toward checkout.
- It shows the renewal terms only after you pay.
- It makes removing your own listing harder than signing up.
- It claims complete coverage or perfect accuracy.
Questions people ask
Which background check site is best?
It depends on what the check is for. For hiring, renting, lending or insurance, use an FCRA-compliant screening company such as Checkr, GoodHire, HireRight, Sterling or TransUnion SmartMove, because those decisions require the person’s permission and specific notices. For personal research, use a people-search service, and for your own record, go to your state repository and the FBI.
Can I use a people-search site to screen a tenant or an employee?
No. People-search services, Recordwell included, are not consumer reporting agencies, so their reports can’t be used for employment, tenant screening, credit or insurance decisions. Use a screening company that gets the applicant’s permission and sends the required notices.
Is there a free background check?
Some parts are free. If an employer or landlord turned you down because of a report, you can get a free copy from the company that made it if you ask within 60 days of the decision, and checking your own name on Recordwell is free. State and FBI record requests usually carry a fee, and employer screening is a paid service.
How do I run a background check on myself?
Work in layers: request your state criminal history record and your FBI Identity History Summary, ask screening companies for the files they hold on you, check your credit reports, and run a free people-search self-check to see what a stranger finds under your name.
Does the person have to agree to a background check?
For employment screening, yes: the employer must give a written notice and get written permission first, and tenant screening services such as TransUnion SmartMove have the applicant authorize the screening. Personal research through a people-search service needs no permission, which is exactly why those results can’t be used for eligibility decisions — so keep that kind of search proportionate to a real need.
How far back does a background check go?
For screening reports, the FCRA generally bars reporting arrests, civil suits and most other negative items older than seven years, with an exception for some higher-paying jobs; criminal convictions have no federal time limit, though some states set their own. People-search reports have no fixed look-back, and what appears depends on what each county and agency has made available.
How accurate are background check sites?
None can promise a perfect result. Screening companies must follow reasonable procedures for accuracy and investigate disputes, while people-search results are leads: confirm any match with two independent details, and rely on the original record held by the court or agency for anything important.