Federal Criminal Records

Why do this search?

Almost nobody checks federal arrest records and those who have federal criminal records know it. The problem is there is no connection whatsoever between criminal records maintained at the county level, where most arrests occur, or at the state level in states that collect and disseminate records reported from individual counties, and the federal record system.

Any arrests made by the FBI, (fraud, bank robbery, etc.) DEA, (drugs) IRS, (tax law violations) Secret Service, (counterfeiting) ATF, (weapons violations) U.S. Marshall’s Service, (fugitives) U.S. Customs, (smuggling) U.S. Postal Service, (mail fraud) or by any other federal agency will not be found in a search of county or statewide records.

The fact is, federal law enforcement agencies stay very busy making arrests by the thousands every year, yet almost nobody thinks to search the federal system, believing that a statewide arrest record check will tell them what they need to know. So, federal felons have an excellent chance of lying on the job application and still landing the job.

Includes information from federal districts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Input criteria is limited to name only. There is no provision for indexing by date of birth, or by social security number. For that reason, whenever possible, a full name, including middle name and other designation (Jr., Sr. II, III etc.) should be provided. Periods of time covered vary, depending upon when individual federal districts gained entry into the system. Five to seven year coverage can usually be expected.

Note: This service does not include actual file records but points to where records may be located. Also please be advised that dispositional information is not always available in sources we access but will be available at the appropriate courthouse or government repository.

Due to limitations imposed in Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act criminal information predating seven (7) years cannot be reported unless a conviction resulted.

Important: Most criminal record checks are performed by accessing computer databases. While databases offer the advantage of speed and low cost, they are by no means totally complete or accurate. Some state criminal repositories depend on city or county jurisdictions to report information. Nevertheless, there have been instances where records on file in local jurisdictions cannot be found when state records are checked because they were not reported upward from the local level to the state system.

In some cases states limit the information they provide. Some only offer information on pending (open) cases and some place limited time restrictions on the information they will disseminate. Some databases require that the input criteria (name, date of birth and social security number) exactly match the information on record. With some, if a middle initial or name suffix (Jr., Sr., II, etc.) is not provided the return will reflect a “no hit” even though a record exists because there was no exact match.

The fact is no database criminal or otherwise is 100% accurate or up to date. The best way to get the most current, complete and accurate information is to have someone do an in-person records search. It takes longer and it’s more costly, but it is hands down the best way to be sure you are getting the best results.

For more information on the use of arrest and conviction records see the EEOC policy guidance document. Click here to load the document