Lawyers and clients use the
phrase, background check, as a catchall for many types of
investigative research involving people or companies. To some, it
encompasses a criminal background check. To others, it means
finding general information about a business' products and services,
reputation, legal status and competitors. For this reason, it helps
to understand the context of the request or the specific problem
that needs to be solved. More importantly, if the research involves
a person, there are legal and ethical reasons for knowing why
someone wants a background check.
Several federal laws govern access to public records and personal
information. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) regulates the
disclosure of personal information in records maintained by
financial institutions. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs
access to consumer reports. The Drivers
Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) regulates access to personal
information in driving records. Additional federal laws contain
privacy provisions that restrict access to public school and medical
records, as well as other records
maintained by government agencies.
also regulate access to government records and personal information.
Consequently, records that are public in one state might be
restricted in another. Voter registration records are public in
Maine, for example, but it would violate Pennsylvania law to use
state voter registration information for
non-political purposes, such as
locating a missing heir.
Even when government records are generally
available to the public, there might be restrictions on how you use
the information. Some states, for example, do not allow employers to
consider arrests unless the arrest resulted in a conviction. In
fact, if a client wants background research on a current or
prospective employee, the privacy provisions of the FCRA kick in,
requiring consent and disclosure.
who investigate people, therefore, should be familiar with these
various laws and their exceptions or permissible uses. Permissible
uses differ under each law, but many allow
access for litigation-related purposes.
establishing the perimeters of the research and identifying
permissible uses, you should obtain personally identifying
name, date of birth and Social Security number. Even if the client
provides this information, you should
verify it. Moreover, some types of investigative research, including
criminal background checks and asset searches, require knowing where
an individual has lived or done business. The process of obtaining
or verifying personally identifying information,
therefore, might also include finding an
Of the major research
systems selling access to public records
-- Accurint generally provides the
most complete information about address histories.
But AutoTrackXP usually offers the most current information.
Next, you should assess what information you are likely to find
online and what will require manual research. If time is of the
essence, you should do first whatever it takes --
hire a document retrieval service, make phone calls or send a
check with a written request --
to launch the research that has to be conducted at a
courthouse or government agency.
available at BRB Publications'
Record Sources Web site will help you locate document retrievers
(Public Record Retriever Network) or identify government agencies by
the type of information you require (Public Record Research System
Web). Additionally, the
especially The Sourcebook to Public Record Information (6th
edition) and Public Records Online (5th edition), are handy
According to BRB Publications'
current statistics, only 35 percent of
public records are available online. Perhaps more importantly, most
free government Web sites providing access to public records offer
no personal information other than a name. Confirming the relevance
of a record, then, often means going directly to the source
Thousands of government and commercial online sources of public
information exist. Depending on what information you need, you might
benefit from using a smaller research system such as
Information Services, a regional service,
or a database such as
GovernmentRecords.com (9 May 2008:
Aristole discontinued GovernmentRecords.com,
replacing it with Global-Locate. We have not
evaluated the new service.), which specializes in certain kinds of
information. Public Records Online (5th edition), as well as
the resources available at Public Record
Sources, will help you locate these online vendors.
But paying a commercial vendor for public records access doesn't
mean what you find will contain sufficient details for
identification. A search of civil litigation for Joe Green will
generate a lot of irrelevant hits. Narrowing the query to include a
middle initial might help retrieve more precise results, but will
miss records where the middle initial wasn't recorded. In short,
research that involves people with common names is as much a problem
today as ever.
Finally, after accomplishing
the preliminaries --
defining the scope of the research, identifying permissible
uses, obtaining personally identifying information and determining
what can be done online --
you are ready to begin the research. While there is no ideal
starting point, the information you have, or the information you
seek, can point you in the right direction.
If you want to make sure a businessman is legitimate, for example,
and you have his curriculum vitae, you could begin by
confirming his education, employment and other claims. If you want
to know about problems with a manufacturing company, start by
searching for state and federal environmental actions or OSHA
violations. If a person or company plans to finance a deal, begin by
checking for public disciplinary information at the SEC and relevant
state securities agencies. If a client passes along a rumor about
shady dealings involving a businessman, start with a criminal
background check in the jurisdictions where the person lives or has
"It's not clear why the guy left his last
company. Rumor is he left without notice amid questions about
accounting irregularities," the young associate relates.
"I'm waiting for someone at the company to return my call.
Meanwhile, I'm curious about other online sources besides the major
ones you mentioned. It might not be relevant for what I'm doing now,
but I think background checking could become an important part of
the work I do. What other databases should I know about?"
Lawyer X exhales noisily, but can't resist an opportunity to show
off his knowledge. "There are thousands of specialty, regional and
government databases that might be relevant in investigative
research. Why don't we set aside some time next week and I'll give
you an overview?"
To be continued ...
Part two of this article
in now available.)