{"id":16,"date":"2025-07-20T05:31:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T05:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/?p=16"},"modified":"2025-07-20T05:48:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T05:48:46","slug":"how-expensive-is-a-criminal-background-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/?p=16","title":{"rendered":"How Expensive Is a Criminal Background Check?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With so many services for criminal background checks, figuring out how much one should cost can be tricky. But don&#8217;t worry, I&#8217;m here to simplify it for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are many reasons you may want to know someone\u2019s criminal history, whether professional or personal. Criminal background checks provide peace of mind, offer insight into a person&#8217;s history, and identify red flags.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Shutterstock_483484684-1691590317018.20230827140158.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Shutterstock_483484684-1691590317018.20230827140158.webp 750w, https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Shutterstock_483484684-1691590317018.20230827140158-300x206.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2021 survey found that 94% of US companies conduct background checks when hiring. But beyond that, there&#8217;s a growing demand for formal and informal checks. For example, a 2023 Thriving Center of Psychology survey found that 38% looked up their dates online, and 18% performed complete background checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what about the cost? Depending on the information you need, you can choose either a paid or free background check. Keep reading and learn more about different kinds of criminal background checks and their price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00bb Are you dating online? Here&#8217;s why you should run a background check on your latest match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Criminal Background Checks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fingerprint Background Checks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By submitting your fingerprints to the FBI, you can get an\u00a0Identity History Summary\u00a0for $18, revealing any previous arrests, charges, and case details. You usually can&#8217;t request this check for someone else without their permission.<strong>National Crime Information Center Search<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FBI is home to the\u00a0National Crime Information Center\u00a0(NCIC), which holds millions of arrest and conviction records. Only law enforcement can access the NCIC, though authorized entities like regulated industry employers can request a search.<strong>Employment Background Checks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employers typically run a\u00a0social security trace report\u00a0and manually search relevant court databases online. They can also request FBI records when authorized.<strong>Sex Offender Registry Checks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone can freely search federal, state, or local\u00a0sex offender databases\u00a0for individuals convicted of sex crimes. Employers and online daters often use this check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Criminal Background Checks Price Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">County-Level Criminal Background Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Online county court records: Free<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In-person courthouse visits: $0.10 to $0.50 per page<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some states: Up to $2 for the first page and $0.25 per subsequent page<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For informal checks, you can start with county-level searches. Online county court records are often easily accessible and free for name searches. You can visit a courthouse in places that don&#8217;t keep electronic records, where you&#8217;ll pay about 10 to 50 cents per page. Some states charge more upfront and a smaller fee per subsequent page, up to $2 for the first and around 25 cents for the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do county-level checks, you&#8217;ll have to determine the subject&#8217;s location history to find courts in the jurisdiction. If you can&#8217;t track them or the subject has lived in various places, I recommend a paid background check service like\u00a0BeenVerified\u00a0that allows you to search multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State-Level Criminal Background Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Government websites: $95 (varies per state)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Background check service: $29.16\/month<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Access to someone else&#8217;s criminal history summary from state agencies varies by location. For instance, the Department of Justice won&#8217;t provide certified copies for informal checks in California. California residents usually can\u2019t access court information online, so you&#8217;ll have to visit a courthouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In New York, anyone can request another person&#8217;s statewide criminal convictions summary, excluding sealed or expunged records. You can request this online from the\u00a0New York State Office of Court Administration\u00a0for $95.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To search state criminal records, contact the relevant agency and ask about the release policy, procedure, and cost. For challenging states or searches across multiple states, I would consider online services like\u00a0Check People, where pricing begins at $29.16 monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Federal-Level Criminal Background Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Informal federal checks: $0.10 per page<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Background check service: $35.12\/month<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The general public doesn&#8217;t typically have access to FBI databases. However, you can request your personal federal history, and so can authorized employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For informal federal checks, I would consider using the online service\u00a0PACER\u00a0(Public Access to Court Electronic Records). This service excludes local cases but does let you search federal ones by name at 10 cents per page. And if your searches don&#8217;t go over $30 in a given quarter, the fees will be waived. This is an excellent option for journalists like myself, but anyone can sign up for an account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With so many services for criminal background checks, figuring out how much one should cost can be tricky. But don&#8217;t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lookup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/21"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lookupdot.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}