Many employers believe that running FBI background checks is the way to go because it will allow them to get the best information about an individual and what they have been up to up until now. FBI background checks can give you a great glimpse of who a person is and what their criminal past, if there is one, may entail. The great thing is that running FBI background checks is not any more or less expensive than the state background checks that you can run, what you need to know is that the FBI does not keep a file on every United States citizen.

Many people think that the FBI has a file or a rap sheet for every citizen but this is just not true. Generally the only people who have a file with the FBI are those that have been involved in counter terrorism, foreign counter intelligence, organized crime or drugs, violent crime, white collar crime, or issues with civil rights. Those that have an FBI file are people who have been arrested or detained, fingerprinted, or put through the trial process of the United States. What this means is that not everyone is going to have a file or a rap sheet with the FBI, so you may be better served in some situations where you want to look for driving records and a credit report, to use another service other than FBI background checks.

This is not to say that FBI background checks are not useful. They are very useful and usually some of the most accurate that you can find. The FBI background checks usually cost less than $20. If you want to do a background check on someone from a long time ago you will find that there are very few files that exist before the 1920’s as the FBI was not established until 1908 and it took some time for them to create their system.

When you run FBI background checks they’ll contain information that is contained on fingerprint cards associated with:

• Arrests
• Federal Employment
• Naturalization
• Military Service

FBI background checks can be a great tool. You can see where a person has been and if they have been law abiding citizens. You can also verify employment and military service. Using FBI background checks is an affordable way to feel more comfortable with an applicant for a job or a tenant application because it gives you a black and white view of who someone is.