Run a nanny background check before you hire
The person you invite into your home to be alone with your child is screened by no one but you. Search a name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass, confirm who they are, then keep watching once they start.
Nanny background check: the one hire nobody checks for you. Daycare workers and teachers are screened by law; the nanny you hire privately is not.
A nanny works unsupervised, in your home, with your child, often for years: the exact situation where a person's history matters most, and the one setting the law leaves entirely to you. A good interview and a couple of references tell you little; a registry and records search tells you whether the person you are about to trust has a history you would want to know first.
- Checks a name against all 58 US sex offender registries at once
- Surfaces county, state and federal criminal records in the same search
- Catches someone who moved states, where a local search would miss them
- Every match carries a photograph and a link to the official record
What a nanny background check should include. A name typed into a search engine is not a background check. This is what belongs in one.
Sex offender registries
Criminal records
Identity you can verify
How to run a nanny background check. Four steps, a few minutes, no investigator.
You need a name and a date of birth; one search covers all 58 US registries and criminal records at once.
Run a Background Check ›Get their full legal name and date of birth
A full legal name plus a date of birth is what lets a search tell your candidate from a stranger who happens to share the name. Ask for it as part of a normal reference-and-details conversation — a candidate with nothing to hide will give it.
Search registries and criminal records
Run the name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass. Someone who was registered or convicted in another state and moved still surfaces — the gap a single-state site or a quick web search leaves wide open.
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 before you draw any conclusion — a shared name is never proof by itself.
Keep watching once they start
The person in your home for months or years was only checked once. A person monitor re-checks the name for you and emails you if they are ever added to a registry — so awareness does not end on the day you hire.
Nanny 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 your candidate; everything weaker is a prompt to compare the photograph, never proof by itself. Want the full list of what a registry search can show? Search the registry.
Making a hiring decision? Use an FCRA workflow for the formal nanny background check.
Our search is for your family's safety and peace of mind. If you are using a result to decide whether to hire someone, the law asks for more: an FCRA background check from a screening company, with the nanny's written consent, a copy of the report for them, and a chance to correct anything wrong before you decide.
So run the Background Check to know who you are talking to, and if you hire formally, order the FCRA check too. 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 you let someone into your home | A formal decision to hire, through a screening company |
| Consent | Not required to search public registries | Written disclosure and authorization from the candidate |
| 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 you order from |
Nanny background check limits: what a search can — and can’t — tell you
A registry and records search is a strong, fast safeguard, but it is one tool, not a guarantee. It surfaces people who are registered or have a public record; it cannot flag someone who has never been caught or convicted.
Names repeat, so confirm the photograph and date of birth before you act. For a formal hiring decision, pair it with an FCRA background check from a screening company, references you actually call, and your own judgment meeting the person. Never use registry information to harass anyone; that is a crime in every US state.
How much does a nanny background check cost? $9.99 for a Background Check, paid once.
| What you do | Price |
|---|---|
| How many registered sex offenders live near your address | Free |
| A Background Check: the name plus where they live or work, across the registries and criminal records in those states, with a PDF | $9.99 · $19.99 for 3 |
| A formal FCRA report for a hiring decision | Set by the screening company |
No card to start. A Background Check is paid once; nothing renews.
Babysitter background check: the same search works for sitters, au pairs and caregivers.
Anyone who will be alone with your child or a parent gets the same check: a full name, a date of birth, and one search across 58 US registries and criminal records. Ask for the details up front, the way a daycare would.
Babysitter background check · Caregiver background check · Dating background check
Run a Background Check ›Nanny background check monitoring: a hire is a snapshot — the job lasts years. Check the name again when something changes, and watch the addresses your child's week runs through.
Background Check
The name plus where your nanny or sitter lives or works. Registry matches with photos, and criminal records in those states, in one check.
Run a Background Check ›Family Watch
Up to 3 addresses — home, school, grandparents. An email when a registrant moves in near your home and your child's routine.
Sex offenders near me ›Nanny background check questions
Do I really need to background check a nanny?
There is no federal law requiring it — daycares and schools are screened by law, but the person you hire privately to be alone with your child is not, so the check is yours to run. Given that a nanny works unsupervised in your home, most parents treat a sex offender and criminal-records search as a basic, non-negotiable step before hiring.
What should a nanny background check include?
At minimum, a search of all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records across county, state and federal sources, matched on full name and date of birth, with a photograph and official-record link to confirm identity. For a formal hiring decision, pair it with an FCRA background check run through a consumer reporting agency — screening companies can add our registry and criminal records through FCRA Partner Access.
What do I need to run the check?
A full legal name is enough to start; a date of birth (and city, if you have it) narrows the matches, which matters because names repeat. You get scored results with photographs and links to the official record so you can be sure it is the right person.
Can I keep an eye on things after I hire?
Yes — run a Background Check again whenever you want a fresh answer. It takes the name plus where the nanny lives or works and searches the sex offender registries and criminal records in those states, with photos and the official record, for $9.99 ($19.99 for 3). A one-time check goes stale over the months and years a nanny is in your home; checking again is how awareness keeps working.
Can I use this to decide whether to hire someone?
The personal search is for safety and awareness — its results are not a consumer report. Hiring a household employee can be an FCRA-covered decision, so for the formal decision use a consumer reporting agency with the notices and consent the law requires; screening companies can run our records through FCRA Partner Access. And never use registry information to harass anyone, which is a crime in every US state.
Nanny background check: know who’s caring for your child
A Background Check — the name plus where they live or work, across 58 registries and criminal records — is $9.99, paid once.