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- Q: What information do I need to run a background check on someone?
A: At a minimum: correct first name, last name, and date of birth. In most cases, the middle name will also be required
in order to correctly discern that the criminal records found concerning "John Q. Public 03-24-1972" do (or do not)
belong to your "John Quincy Public 03-24-1972."
We request that you provide a social security number if you have it, but name and date of birth are critical.
Because of identity theft concerns, most courts do not use social security numbers to track criminal records,
do not record social security numbers with criminal records, do not search for records using the social security number,
and will not release social security numbers if they have them. But there are occasions when our professional retrievers
can have a court clerk verify that the social security number of your "John Q. Public" does (or does not) match the
social security number of the person convicted of "felony larceny."
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- Q: Do I need a release form to do a background check? Do you have one we can use?
A: If you intend to use a criminal background check for employment purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act
requires you to inform the applicant in a clear and conspicuous manner and obtain written authorization from the applicant.
If you do not have a form already available, click here for our release forms.
You may edit the forms as needed.
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- Q: What legal requirements do I need to be aware of?
A: Employment screening is covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and applicable state laws.
Key requirements of the FCRA include:
- Prior to performing a background check for employment purposes you must inform the applicant in writing,
in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that a background check will be conducted, and obtain
written authorization from the applicant (this means have the applicant sign a release form) (FCRA 604.b.2.A)
- If you intend to take "adverse action" against someone as a result of performing a background check,
including but not limited to termination or failure to hire (promote, transfer, etc.), prior to taking the
action you must do the following:
- Provide a copy of the report to your subject (the candidate), along with our contact information.
- Provide the subject of the report a written summary of their rights under the FCRA.
Regarding the rules for adverse action, it is important to realize that the rules are designed to protect
the subject of the report in case there are errors in their record. Proper notification allows them a chance
to dispute the results with the appropriate agency. Therefore it is very important that these steps be done
prior to taking the adverse action. Your "John Quincy Public" may not be the "John Q. Public" that has the criminal record.
Additional regulations may apply. We do not provide legal advice and will not be liable for any actions taken or
not taken as a result of the statements here.
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- Q: What kind of information can ValiMate.com provide?
A: ValiMate.com can provide the business decision information that you need, including Background Checks/Screening,
Previous-employment Verifications, Education Verifications, Employment Eligibility Verification, and more
(click here for a list/description of the most commonly used searches/verifications).
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- Q: Where does ValiMate.com obtain the information?
A: ValiMate.com is online with the Social Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.
We supply, on an as needed basis, a professional search service that conducts searches of current records
maintained by states, counties, the federal government, other government and private sources, and we
retain field agents that can visit any courthouse in the United States to search through or verify records.
Each search or verification report is prepared by a skilled search professional at the time it is requested,
so the information provided is always the most up-to-date that is available.
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- Q: How is ValiMate.com's National Criminal search better than the competition's?
A: ValiMate.com filters through the millions and millions of records available and returns the records that apply
to your "John Q. Public." We don't charge you $19.95 that other companies charge
and provide you with pages of useless names that are similar to your subject,
but have nothing to do with what you need (see "What information do I need…" above). If the "other" background search
company does not ask for the subject's middle name, then how do they search for the correct "John Quincy Public?"
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- Q: Can I get a National Sex Offender search?
A: ValiMate.com has the best Sex Offender search available anywhere. Our National Sex Offender search checks
the Sex Offender Registry of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Indian Country - for a
very low price.
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- Q: Is your website secure?
A: Yes. Our website is protected by SSL encryption and other methods. All web communications,
including credit card numbers, are secure and encrypted.
If you need to e-mail us for any reason, please be aware that e-mail is not secure.
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- Q: Will the person I am doing the search on know that I have checked their background?
A: Criminal records and some other information is open public info, so the person will not necessarily know. Please comply with all applicable laws,
and have them sign a release form when required. Otherwise, all searches performed by ValiMate.com are anonymous to the extent permitted by law.
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- Q: We have a business and would prefer to be invoiced monthly, can you help us?
A: Of course we can. Click here to go to our semi-monthly invoice site for businesses...
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- Q: I have a very large number of background checks that need to be done. Do I need to enter them
one by one on your web site?
A: No, we have other options for you -- you can submit names to us via Excel spreadsheet or other formats.
A small charge may apply. Please contact us for more information.
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- Q: I'm not part of a business. Can I still get a background check?
A: Of course you can. You can check the backgrounds of your friends, neighbors, boss, clergy - just about anyone!
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- Q: What are "added fees"/where do the "added fees" come from?
A: Many of the agencies that we contact to obtain the information that you need
(County Courts, State Gov's, Colleges/schools, previous employers, etc.) charge a fee for access to their records or
there is a fee to perform the search. We list in advance those services that incur added charges for
access/retrieval fees and only add the fee that is required for the specific service. Too many of our competitors
charge a single large price so that they make a very large profit on the majority of the services
where the access/retrieval fee is low or moderate (most common), and they make a smaller profit
for those few places that have a high access/retrieval fee (less common). We feel it better
serves you to charge a low base price, and pass the access/retrieval fees directly through with no price markup.
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- Q: You provided my employer with a copy of my criminal record, but there is an error in it.
Can this be fixed?
A: Yes. ValiMate.com is committed to providing accurate information. Please contact
Customer Service and
we will help you with the necessary steps to get the record corrected.
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Note: the above references to a fictional "John Q. Public 03-24-1972" are entirely made up and are NOT related to any real person. It is a fictional name being used as an example.
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