Individual Background Check Companies

Find the company that actually supplied the report

Start with why a background report matters to you: a job, rental application, insurance decision or personal file review. The company that holds the relevant file may differ from the people-search site at the top of a search result. Ask the organization that ordered the check for the screening company’s full name and report reference, or read the adverse-action notice. If several providers were used, request each relevant file.

The CFPB directory can be searched by company name and market category. It distinguishes employment, tenant, insurance and other specialty reporting from the three nationwide credit bureaus. The directory currently labels its information as current as of January 2025, says company self-descriptions were not independently verified, and is not exhaustive. Inclusion supplies a contact route; it is not a government ranking, quality endorsement or promise that the company holds a report about you.

Two concrete personal-file access routes

For Checkr, the CFPB lists the candidate report-information portal and telephone 844-824-3257. It says a free report is available on request if a client previously ordered one from Checkr. Many employment screeners have no file until an employer or other end user orders a report with authorization. Asking for an existing disclosure does not promise that the company will create a fresh nationwide check for you.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions offers its Consumer Disclosure Report online, by telephone at 866-897-8126, or using a printed request mailed to Consumer Center, P.O. Box 105108, Atlanta, GA 30348-5108. Its online process says that, after identity verification and processing, a letter arrives by U.S. mail explaining how to access the report online. Do not expect the online form to deliver an immediate PDF.

LexisNexis describes information such as real-estate transactions, liens, judgments, professional licenses and historical addresses. That disclosure is a view of its own file, not a substitute for every employer’s screening report or proof that every criminal case has been checked. Use these examples to identify a relevant self-access route, not to choose a “best” company without knowing the task.

Use your report-access rights before buying another report

If an employer uses a background reporting company, the FTC says the employer must obtain written permission. Before taking an adverse employment decision based on the report, it must provide the report and a summary of FCRA rights. After a denial, the notice identifies the screening company and explains your right to an additional free copy if you request it within sixty days of the employer’s decision.

A tenant-screening adverse-action notice should likewise identify the company used, including when approval comes with adverse conditions such as a larger deposit. Follow the named company’s consumer-access instructions and identity-verification process. Do not assume every company has identical free-report eligibility, a public name-search product or the same delivery time. The actual disclosure conditions are more useful than a generic price comparison for an unrelated subscription.

If you need to commission a new check

Write a short specification before comparing services: who the check concerns, its lawful purpose, the jurisdictions and dates needed, and whether the recipient requires a fingerprint-based or certified product. Ask whether the company sells that product to individuals and whether it is suitable for the intended decision. Consumer people-search access should not be assumed to authorize employment, housing or another regulated use.

Ask for the total price, any subscription renewal, source coverage, excluded record types, estimated completion, delivery format and dispute channel. Those terms vary by product; no single company price or turnaround is established by the CFPB list. Require underlying court identifiers and final dispositions for any criminal entries so you can check them. A cheap report with no source trail can be less useful than a specific official record.

Audit the contents, not just the name match

Compare the report’s identifying details with your own and flag another person’s case, duplicated entries, missing dispositions or an outdated court result. Obtain the actual judgment, dismissal or correction document from the issuing court when needed. Keep the original report, the date received, decision notice and supporting records together; this lets you identify what changed rather than arguing about an undated screenshot.

Send a documented dispute and check the corrected file

Identify each inaccurate or incomplete item to the reporting company and, where appropriate, the organization that furnished it. Explain the error and attach supporting copies through the company’s genuine dispute channel. A reasonable FCRA reinvestigation is generally due within thirty days after the dispute is received, with a possible extension of up to fifteen days if relevant additional information arrives during that period. The investigation is free.

Save the submission confirmation and written response. The FTC recommends reviewing the revised report to make sure the errors are gone and asking the screener to send the corrected report to the employer. Tell the decision-maker about the dispute promptly if an application is pending; a dispute does not itself guarantee that a job or apartment will be held for you. For a source-record error, pursue the court or agency correction as well as the reporting-company dispute.