Criminal Records Search
County court, statewide and federal USDC criminal records — plus sex offender registry, government watchlist and exclusion screening. Every search is delivered under an FCRA-compliant process by US-based analysts, so results stand up when you have to defend a hiring or tenancy decision.
Is there one criminal records search that covers all criminal cases?
No. Criminal records are held at four different jurisdictional levels, and no single source reaches all of them.
A nationwide or multi-state criminal database is a locator, not a complete record set — it will not cover every single county in the USA. Building a defensible criminal search means combining the levels that match where your applicant has lived, worked and travelled.
Where criminal records actually live
USA criminal records sit in four different jurisdictional levels, each held by a different custodian. No single search searches all four — And a nationwide database is a locator, not a complete record set.
| National Criminal Database Coverage – Non-FCRA Record Locator | Jurisdictional Level – Where the record is held | Status | Typical Turnaround |
| Partial Coverage: Not every County reports, and hits may not be up-to-date or missing disposition | County criminal courts The court of record. Direct courthouse research, one county at a time confirms current disposition as of today | FCRA | 1-3 Business days Per County. Same day for some counties with online portals |
| Partial Coverage: Varies by State, many statewide repositories are not included | Statewide repositories Office of the Courts, State Police, DPS. Not all States make them available | FCRA | Same day in most cases. Some States that initially find hit(s) may take 1-5 business days for their own staff to review before release |
| No Coverage: Federal records don’t appear in a multi-state database or County records | All 94 USDC Districts White collar, fraud and interstate offenses that county courts don’t show | FCRA | Same-day. Initial hit(s) may take 1-2 business days for team members to review as most USDC records contain no personal identifiers |
| Partial Coverage: Registries, exclusion lists may appear without personal identifiers | OIG, LEIE, SAM, OFAC/SDN, USDA, NSOPW Sex Offender registries may or may not appear in an updated fashion at nationwide database. Supplemental, not a substitute for court records. | SUPP | Same day |
No single search covers all four levels. Treat a nationwide database search as a record locator. Verify it at the county court level before you make any final decision.