Background Checks

If you are performing a background check as a landlord or employer, you can’t use just any service. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have to use a Consumer Reporting Agency.1 The Act also requires employers to provide a disclosure and obtain a signed authorization form prior to conducting a background check. The authorization form must be separate from the application.2

Most Consumer Reporting Agencies require you to pay either a monthly or per use fee. If you would like a low cost basic convictions search, use the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations. Since this is a search of open records, it is not subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you are looking to general background checks for free, this How To from Digital Trends has many good suggestions.

1 https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2013/04/19/online-background-check/2084917/

2 Fedorka, S. (2018). Using Criminal Histories and Background Checks in Employment. Business Journal (Central New York), 32(31), 9. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b9h&AN=131587635&site=ehost-live