Run a caregiver background check before they start
You are about to give someone daily, unsupervised access to a parent, a child or your home. Before they start, search a name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass, confirm who they really are, then keep an alert running.
Caregiver background check: the risk is the person you trust most. In-home care is intimate and unsupervised, and harm to older adults comes far more often from a trusted caregiver than from a stranger.
About one in ten older adults experiences abuse in a given year (NCEA), and elder financial exploitation, much of it by a caregiver, relative or friend, is reported in only about one case in 44. Research finds elder-abuse victims are markedly more likely to be hospitalized and to die.
Many of the people at highest risk, someone with dementia or someone who cannot easily report harm, depend entirely on the caregiver you choose. A five-minute check before they start is the cheapest safeguard you will ever buy.
- Confirms a name against all 58 US sex offender registries in one search
- Surfaces county, state and federal criminal records in the same pass
- Catches a caregiver who moved states, where a single-state site would miss them
- Every match carries a photograph and a link to the official record to verify
What a caregiver background check should include. The same three things a care agency checks, in one search you can run yourself.
Sex offender registries
Criminal records
Identity you can verify
How to run a caregiver background check. Four steps, five minutes, no investigator.
Whether you hire through an agency, an app or word of mouth, you need a full name and a date of birth.
Run a Background Check ›Get the caregiver’s full name and date of birth
Whether you found them through an agency, an app or a referral, ask for a full legal name and date of birth up front — a professional expects it. That pairing is what separates a real match from a stranger who happens to share a name.
Search registries and records in one pass
Run the name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records at once. Someone who was registered in another state and moved still surfaces — the gap a single-state site leaves open, on a person who will be alone with a vulnerable adult.
Read the record, not just the name
Each result is scored and carries a photograph, offense detail and a link to the official record. Confirm the photo and date of birth match the person in front of you before you conclude anything.
Keep watching once they start
A caregiver relationship lasts months or years, not one visit. A person monitor re-checks the name for you and emails you if anything changes — so a single search does not become a one-time assumption.
Caregiver background check results: a clear answer, not a wall of data. Scored matches with a photograph, date of birth, offense and the official record.
Other people with the same name
| Record | What matched | Registry | Read as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan A. Sample | Name + date of birth | NJ | Match |
| Jordan Sample | Name + birth year | MA | Check photo |
| Jordan L. Sample | Name + age | PA | Check photo |
| J. Sample | Name only | TX | Name only |
| Jordan Sampel | Birth year, different spelling | OH | Different person |
Names repeat. Only a full date-of-birth match points at the person you mean; everything weaker is a prompt to compare the photograph, never proof by itself.
Caregiver warning signs worth acting on. A check confirms history; these are the day-to-day signals that tell you to look closer, before hiring and after.
Reluctance to be screened
Isolating your parent
Money that doesn’t add up
Unexplained physical or mood changes
Making a hiring decision? Use an FCRA workflow for a formal caregiver background check.
Searching a caregiver's name for your family's safety is something you can do yourself, today. If the result is part of a formal hiring decision, including hiring through an agency, the law asks for an FCRA background check from a screening company: written consent, a copy of the report for the caregiver, and a chance to correct anything wrong.
Home-care agencies and screening companies can include our registry and criminal records through FCRA Partner Access.
| Personal registry and records search | FCRA background check | |
|---|---|---|
| Use it for | Safety and awareness before someone starts caring for a parent | A formal decision to hire, through a screening company or agency |
| Consent | Not required to search public registries | Written disclosure and authorization from the caregiver |
| If it finds something | Confirm photo and date of birth at the official record | A notice before you decide, a copy of the report, time to dispute |
| Price | $9.99 a check, paid once | Set by the screening company or agency |
Caregiver monitoring: care lasts months — a search is one moment. Check the name again when something changes, and watch the address where care happens.
Background Check
The name plus where the caregiver lives or works. Registry matches with photos, and criminal records in those states, in one check.
Run a Background Check ›Family Watch
Worried about the neighborhood a parent lives in? Add their address to Family Watch — up to 3 — and get an email when a registrant moves in nearby.
Sex offenders near me ›Caregiver background check questions
Can I run a background check on a caregiver I’m hiring privately?
Yes. Sex offender registries and many criminal records are public, so a family can search a prospective in-home aide, companion or home health worker by name — and date of birth if you have it — before they start. It is a personal-safety check, not a consumer report, so it is not a substitute for an FCRA background check if you hire through an agency — screening companies can add our records to theirs through FCRA Partner Access — and it must never be used to harass anyone.
What do I need to check a caregiver?
A full name is enough to start; add a date of birth to narrow the matches, because names repeat. You get scored results with photographs and a link to the official record, so you can confirm you are looking at the right person and not a namesake.
What does the search cover?
One search covers all 58 US sex offender registries — every state, DC and the territories — plus criminal records across county, state and federal sources. A caregiver who moved states still surfaces, and each match is cited to the official record so you can verify it yourself.
Who abuses older adults — isn’t it usually strangers?
The opposite. Elder abuse and financial exploitation are most often committed by someone the older adult trusts — a caregiver, family member or friend. Roughly one in ten older adults experiences abuse in a given year, and reporting rates are very low, so the person with daily access is exactly the person worth checking.
Can I keep watching after the caregiver starts?
Yes — run a Background Check again whenever you want a fresh answer. It takes the name plus where the caregiver lives or works and searches the registries and criminal records in those states, with photos and the official record, for $9.99 ($19.99 for 3). Over a months- or years-long care relationship, checking again is how awareness keeps working.
Caregiver background check: know who you’re trusting
A Background Check — the name plus where they live or work, across 58 registries and criminal records — is $9.99, paid once.