Executive Credit Management, Inc.
Your Applicant Screening and Debt Collection partners for over 20 years
Should you get a NJ Background Check for New Jersey residents? How about PA Background Checks for Pennsylvania Residents or NY Background Checks for Residents of New York?
Sometimes local information is complete and relatively reliable, but people tend to move around. You could check every State the Applicant has ever lived in along with nearby states. That will cover most activities, but won’t cover a trip across country or a summer living with a relative. If you want the best coverage you should consider going National.
Crime is usually a local activity but people who commit crimes have no problem crossing State lines. Your NJ Resident may show up clean on a NJ Background Check because the Applicant was arrested after crossing the Delaware River. The same Applicant would show up clean in Pennsylvania if the Applicant was arrested while visiting California. Only a CA Background Check would find the crime if you used State searches.
The solution is to start with National Background Checks. Criminal Background Checks cover almost the entire United States, about 96% of all precincts. Credit Bureau Checks also are National and all three major Bureaus carry roughly identical information.
Allow me to provide a word of caution about any Criminal Background Report. Most of these reports are filed by name and, possibly, date of birth. You should compare the results of the Criminal Background Check with the address information from the Credit Check.
If the crime is important and you need more information, get a Hands On Criminal Report. Rather than simply accessing a Criminal data base, the hands on criminal check has a person contacting Jurisdictions to supply you with precise details of the crime. It generally costs less than a hundred dollars but can make all the difference in your decision making ability.
Except for the Hands On check, there is no price advantage to going local. It makes perfect sense to check as much as you can, especially when it doesn’t cost any more. The difference with a National Background Check could save you a gigantic problem from accepting an applicant who does not meet your requirements.
So, if you are thinking of a NJ Background Check or a PA Background Check or even a NY Background Check think again. National Background Checks offer no more expense and much more coverage. It is an easy choice.
