What Does an FBI Background Check Show?
FBI Background Checks
When one of my friends learned I was writing this blog, the first question she asked was, “What Does an FBI Background Check Show?” That was a bit of a stumper at the time, so I thought to myself, “An FBI post would be a great idea.” With that in mind, the following information goes out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and our friend, Kathi.
When the FBI does a background check, the records collected are from the state and local law enforcement authorities. FBI archives are therefore going to be the sum total of all the state background checks and local background checks that can be performed, including fingerprint records and arrest records. Fines and citations may or may not appear on such a file.
When Is an FBI Background Check Done?
FBI background checks are usually performed in one of four different situations, but are usually executed with some form of employment or privilege. Some applications will ask about your criminal record. When you answer about your criminal history, an FBI background check might be consulted to verify whether you are telling the truth. Here are the three instances.
- Employment which asks about your arrest record
- Holders of Elected Office
- Member of the State Bar (Lawyer)
- Special Privilege (Diplomat, Travel Visa, etc)
Assessing Concurrent Charges – Fingerprints
Fingerprints are great for assessing concurrent charges in different jurisdictions, since fingerprint files are not likely to lie. Two people with the same name might be confused if there are convictions in two entirely different jurisdictions, but those two peoples’ fingerprinting information will clear up any confusion, since their fingerprints will be wildly different.
How Do I Learn What my FBI Files Say?
You can gain access to your FBI background history through application of the Freedom of Information Act. As a U.S. citizen, you have the right to learn what information the Federal Bureau of Investigation is keeping on you in their files. So an FOIA requests gives you access to their archive information on you.
Also, if you can display that you have a verifiable interest in another person’s FBI background files, you can gain FOIA access to those files, too. So with the Freedom of Information Act, you’ll be able to see the FBI background record trends. In fact, that’s how we (“the People”) know so much about what an FBI background search does show.
What Do I Do If an Employer Does an FBI Background Check?
If you suspect a potential employer is going to perform a background check on you, you’ll have to remember that they are seeing the files on a whole lot of imperfect people in the world out there.
Employers don’t expect people to live perfect lives, though a national records search that shows too much bad conduct will hurt your chances. Remember that many employers don’t use an FBI background search, but prefer to handle state and local arrest records, instead.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 10:43 pm and is filed under Background Checks, Criminal Records, Private Investigation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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