Criminal background checks, as an API call
One call with a name and identifiers; one decision-ready answer across county, state and federal criminal records. In development now — the beta list decides what ships first.
Not callable yet. Registry screening is live today — the sex offender registry check, 100% US coverage, continuously updated.
The flows this is being built for
Hiring
A candidate accepts an offer and your ATS needs an answer inside its own flow — not a login to a third-party portal and a PDF three days later. The beta is being built to sit behind exactly that call.
Tenancy
An application arrives with a name, a date of birth and yesterday as the deadline. A check belongs in the same screen the application is already on, with a result you can keep on file.
Marketplaces & platforms
Drivers, sitters, contractors, sellers: platform trust teams screen at signup and re-screen on a schedule. That is an API-shaped problem, and batch-shaped at renewal time.
Why a check needs all three layers
A background check that reads one layer is a check with a hole in it. Most criminal cases are county matters; a state repository may lag or omit them; a federal case — fraud, interstate offenses — appears in neither. The beta is being designed so one call reads across all three and tells you, per record, exactly which court it came from.
- One person in, one consistent, cited answer out
- County, state and federal layers in a single call
- Batch screening for re-checks and renewals
- A dashboard for the teams who never want to write code
Screening today? The registry check is live, and the API reference shows the shape the criminal beta will follow.
Background check API FAQ
Is the criminal background check API available today?
No. It is in active development and not callable yet — this page collects the teams who need it so the beta is built against real screening flows. Live today: the sex offender registry check, 100% US coverage, continuously updated, callable from the API or run without code from the dashboard.
How will a check differ from a records search?
A records search answers "what exists about this name". A check is that answer shaped for a decision: one person, their identifiers, the matching records across county, state and federal layers, each one cited to where it came from — in a schema your system can act on.
Will it be FCRA-compliant out of the box?
No API is, by itself. Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and results are not a consumer report; FCRA-covered decisions need appropriate process on your side regardless of the data vendor. The beta list is where to tell us what your compliance flow requires.
Can I screen against the sex offender registry today?
Yes — that product is live: every US registry behind one search, with photographs, aliases and the official record citation. Start with the registry check now and add criminal layers when the beta opens.
What does joining the beta commit me to?
Nothing. It is a list, not a contract: you will see the beta before the public does, and pricing before you are asked to commit to anything.
More of the criminal beta
Criminal Records API
The hub: county, state and federal criminal records behind one search — the way the offender registry works today.
County Criminal Records
The courthouse layer — where most criminal cases actually live, spread across thousands of county courts.
Federal Criminal Records
The federal district courts: fraud, interstate and other federal offenses that never appear in a county search.
Statewide Criminal Search
One search per state instead of a patchwork of portals — and every state at once when the beta opens.