State Repository Background Screening Check

The Department of Justice in each state collects records from each individual county within the state. There are 42 states, including Washington D.C. that allow private companies the ability to access background screening check state records and report them to their clients. The remaining 9 states are known as closed states. Most of the Closed States are located in the Western part of the country.

Although the background screening check accomplished at the state level provides greater coverage in the criminal history process, information reported to the state by county courthouses is often not all inclusive or incomplete making a state level background screening check considerably more risky than searching at the county level. Some states keep better records than other states however the farther you get from the origin of the record, the more incomplete the background screening check becomes.

USA-FACT recommends that state background screening check only be processed as a supplement to the more comprehensive county criminal search. Due to the incomplete nature of information kept at the state level, USA-FACT cannot be responsible for records that do not appear in the state database or for incomplete information contained in a state database.

Background Screening Check Fees and Availability: Fees Associated with Background Screening

Please be sure to check the State Availability List