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How To Access Background Check
Find the company holding your background report, request the copy used for an employment or rental decision, and review it for errors.
Find the report that was actually used
Request the background report from the business that ordered it or the company named in its notice. The employment and rental routes below concern screening-company reports.
If you purchased the report yourself, use the original order confirmation to identify the seller and the account or support route for that purchase. If you need a government-issued check instead, identify the issuing agency and the specific application; a commercial screening notice is a different starting point.
After a rental denial or higher charge
CFPB explains that a landlord must identify the screening company when report information leads to a denied lease, higher security deposit or other fee. The notice should supply the company’s name, address and telephone number. You may ask the landlord for its copy, but you can request a free copy directly from the company within 60 days.
Save the notice and request date. If the landlord gives the notice orally, FTC guidance recommends asking whether it can provide a written copy for your records. Use the named company even if a different service offers an easier search.
Employment has a before-and-after distinction
| Stage | Report-access route |
|---|---|
| Before an unfavorable decision based on the screening report | FTC says the employer must provide the report and a Summary of Rights. |
| After a job or promotion is denied because of the report | The employer must identify the reporting company and explain the right to an additional free report requested within 60 days of the decision. |
These FTC instructions concern an employer using a background reporting company. Ask for the report associated with that screening event, including its date or reference number.
Keep the source of a disputed item
When requesting your file, ask which source supplied an entry you cannot recognize. CFPB’s file-disclosure explanation identifies originating sources and intermediary vendors as information that lets consumers trace errors. Preserve the report page, source name and case or account reference together.
- Check whether the names and available identifying details belong to you.
- For a court entry, check the court, case and recorded outcome, including a later dismissal or correction.
- Send a specific dispute to the reporting company with copies of supporting documents; retain your own copy.
- Tell the landlord about the dispute, and check the revised report if the company makes a correction.
If the required notice or copy is missing
Contact the identified reporting company and explain which report you are requesting and why. The FTC invites reports about employment checks obtained without permission, missing required notices and inaccurate background reports through ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Obtaining or correcting a report does not itself decide whether the employer or landlord will change its decision.
If you need your own FBI record, use the fingerprint route, not a people search
A government-issued criminal history is a different product from an employer or tenant screening report. The FBI Identity History Summary is available to the subject of the record and is based on fingerprints. The FBI currently lists an $18 processing fee and says it does not provide name checks for these requests. An electronic request can be paired with fingerprints submitted at a participating U.S. Post Office, or the completed fingerprint card can be mailed.
Why this changes the route
If you are trying to see what a private screening company reported, ask that company for the report. If you need your own FBI summary for review or a stated official purpose, use the FBI process. One does not substitute for the other.
Before you close the request, preserve what you may need to challenge
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Identify the product
Write down whether you need a private screening report, a state record, or your own FBI Identity History Summary.
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Keep the notice
For employment or housing adverse action, save the notice naming the reporting company and the date you received it.
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Request the exact report
Ask the named reporting company for the copy tied to the decision rather than buying an unrelated search.
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Check identity and disposition
Compare names, dates, case numbers, and outcomes; an arrest entry without a later disposition may not answer the real question.
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Dispute at the correct source
Send supporting documents to the reporting company, and contact the court or contributing agency when the underlying official record itself is wrong.
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