Here are some frequently asked questions about obtaining information from public records. If you have any other questions, please feel free to or contact us 1-800-267-8456.

How can I start making requests and checking results on the Internet site?
What is your average turn around time in receiving criminal information?
I ordered the criminal search on Saturday, and have not yet received your report on Monday, why?
Why do you charge even if no record is found?
How do I decide whether to run a county or statewide criminal search?
Why should I search for County criminal records if I can search the State Criminal Records Repository?
The person I'm looking for is currently in jail. Will their record reflect that?
I'm looking for someone who committed a crime in one county but is serving time in another county. Where do I start looking?
I looked up someone who I know is in prison but was unable to obtain any information. Why?
I know someone who has been arrested in the past. Will this report show that?
I know someone who was convicted of spousal abuse less than seven years ago, but that didn't come up on your report.
Does the county court have jurisdiction over all cities within that county?
Why do you only search seven years back? How can I obtain information further back than that?
Can I receive my reports by e-mail?
Are your services completely confidential?
I'm not happy with my results, can I get a refund?
Will the persons I request background checks on know I requested the information?
Why the reports I received are different from sample reports.

90% of our county criminal record searches are returned to our clients within 2 business days. The remaining 10% can vary from 72 hours to several weeks depending on the states, jurisdiction searched and the records themselves.

Courts are closed on weekends, therefore your search is not processed until Monday. Please understand the turnaround time is only available on business days.

No record is also considered a finding of a person's record. About 70% of the persons we have searched have no record. As we need to access the database, we have to pay the cost of each search. Thank you for your understanding.

Both of these searches involve criminal records, but the source of information and the focus of each search is very different. While it is possible for both products to yield the same case information on a subject, your chances of finding information will be greater if you follow these simple guidelines:

If you know or think a subject was tried for a criminal offense in a particular county, choose county criminal search. This is where the actual records filed in that county are hand-checked by a qualified court records researcher.

If you know or think a subject was tried for a criminal offense in a particular state, but don't know the county, or if the subject has moved around a state several times, try a statewide criminal Search. This search has a much wider geographical focus.

Not all counties are required to report to the state, therefore statewide information may not be available in states such as AK, CA, DE, NV, NY, SD and WVJ.

In explanation, when a person is convicted, their trial goes through the county. This information can either be passed on to the state or left in the county. Therefore, if you know the county the individual is convicted, your chances of finding information is greater than doing a statewide search.

Unfortunately, the state repositories are databases of information which vary independently. Each repository relies upon the various agencies within the state to report information to the repository. It has been our experience that the information is less complete than the actual court records.

That depends. If the court proceedings are still in the process and the person has not posted bail, then that will not show up on their record. Once they are convicted their records will reflect this information.

You should search in the county where the crime was committed, NOT where they may be incarcerated.

Depending on the county, if a person was convicted outside of our seven year time frame, it is possible their offense may not come up in our report even though they are currently serving time.

Arrests themselves do not show up on our reports. We can only report criminal convictions. If someone was arrested and then released without being convicted, this information will not be reflected in our reports.

This may be because some crimes can fall into more than one court category. Where they fall, depends on the state or county where the offense took place. With a crime like spousal abuse, it may have been reported to the family courts instead of the criminal courts, and because family court records are not available to us, it would not show on our report. This does not downplay the nature of the offense. It just means the record is stored in a different place. Another example of this is if someone is convicted of a DUI. A DUI is sometimes reported in traffic court, which is also not accessible to us.

That depends. Only counties with large populations or major cities will put all courts on a "network" so the records can be accessed by one search through one court. In this case, the entire county reports from one court, (i.e., Cook County only has the Chicago circuit court), making it very likely that all criminal offenses in that county will be passed through that court.

We abide by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) limitations in the information that we report. According to the FCRA, all outsource criminal reporting agencies have a limit of seven years. If you would like to go further in your search, you would have to call the county courthouse in the county the crime was committed to learn of their procedures for obtaining older information.

We offer look up services to consumers and businesses. The company conducts searches based on data provided by you, then reports the results to you. We cannot guarantee the accuracy and/or extent of the results.

You pay for our search services, not the results. We will not grant a refund after a search has been conducted, except in the following instances ONLY:

• In the event you were charged more than once for a single order. All such claims require submission of valid proof of purchase reflecting the charges.
• In the event you did not receive your results
  
  

The actual reports you received vary from person to person.