Would you like to conduct a public criminal search but you aren’t sure how? There are a lot of different ways to conduct such a search and if this is your first time doing such a thing you may not know where to start! You aren’t alone, as background checks are becoming more common more people want to do them, but there are just so many options that they don’t know where they should go.

First and foremost, you can start at your local courthouse. If you want to do a public criminal search of someone who lives in your local area you may just be able to go down to the court house and give them the name, date of birth, and perhaps the social security number of the person that you want to search. For a small fee, you may be able to get copies of all of the records that are associated with that person. Many counties will even allow you to call them and give them this information and they will mail or fax you the records.

If you don’t want to have to mess around with talking to anyone about what you need, many counties now have a website that will allow you to access and request all of the same information through an online catalog. The only problem with this is that many counties run a few weeks behind on all of their records, so if there are recent records you may not be able to access them. This is worth looking into, though, because it is much more convenient.

Another option is to use one of the many background search resources on the internet today. There are many of them, but you want to choose one that has up to date and accurate records. The fees for these services vary depending on how extensive a search you want and how soon you need the records. Definitely take your time choosing the background search resource, as there are a lot of them, and they are not all created equal. You will generally pay more for these services than you will if you go through your county court house, but it is much more convenient and to some people the convenience is worth the extra fees.