Criminal background check API for staffing & recruiting
Two paths on one account. The registry and criminal data call, at $0.15, answers safety checks: who is on a client site, which long assignment needs a second look. When a hire or placement is decided, the check runs as an FCRA order with consent, disclosure, dispute and adverse-action steps. Standard results are never the reason an applicant is turned away.
25 free searches, no card. $0.15 a call, no platform fee, no seats, no minimum. No integration yet? The same search runs from the dashboard.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/criminal/search \ -H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": {"firstName": "Daniel", "lastName": "Okafor", "dob": "1979-11-23"}}' // response { "status": "complete", "counts": { "records": 0, "sourcesIncomplete": 0 }, "records": [] } // a record carries its type and status { "recordType": "criminal_record", "currentStatus": "released", "matchState": "dob_match", "matchConfidence": 0.96, "matchBasis": "lastName:exact firstName:exact dob:match" }
Staffing criminal background check workflow. A data call for safety checks, an FCRA order when a hire is decided.
Tag the purpose on every call. A site-safety check goes to the data call; a hire or placement decision goes to an FCRA order. Your ATS sets the path, not the recruiter’s memory.
Send name and date of birth. One POST across 1,164 live jurisdictions, or a batch, billed per row.
Branch on record type and status. recordType, currentStatus, matchConfidence and matchBasis on every record.
For hires, use an FCRA order. Disclosure and consent, the check, the report to the recruiter, and the adverse-action steps if needed.
Monitor long assignments. A $3 a month criminal monitor flags a new booking, warrant or case; any action on the worker runs through an order.
Staffing criminal background check API: request and response. One POST per person, or the same search from the dashboard with no code.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/criminal/search \ -H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"query": {"firstName": "Daniel", "lastName": "Okafor", "dob": "1979-11-23"}}' // response { "status": "complete", "counts": { "records": 0, "sourcesIncomplete": 0 }, "records": [] } // a record carries its type and status { "recordType": "criminal_record", "currentStatus": "released", "matchState": "dob_match", "matchConfidence": 0.96, "matchBasis": "lastName:exact firstName:exact dob:match" }
| Person | Checked for | Result | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Okafor | site-safety check | No record | 1,164 |
| Jordan Sample | site-safety check | Court case · year_match | 1,164 |
| J. Sample | site-safety check | Warrant · dob_match | 1,164 |
Criminal API docs › · Search from the dashboard › · Bulk criminal record search ›
When staffing and recruiting teams run a criminal background check. Each moment on its path: the data call or the FCRA order.
When a candidate is being hired
The hiring check runs through the order, with the report to the recruiter and adverse-action steps if needed.
When a worker moves to a stricter site
A placement at a school or care site is a new decision, screened to that site’s rule.
When a client asks who is on site
A site-safety roster sent as one batch, billed per row.
Across long assignments
A new booking, warrant or case arrives by signed alert. Any action on the worker runs through an order.
What a staffing criminal background check covers. Five record layers, scored on date of birth and cited to the jurisdiction on every record.
| Record type | What the recruiter learns | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Jail bookings | A recent arrest and booking: charges, booking date, in custody or released. A booking is not a conviction. | 1,408 county rosters · 1027 live |
| State corrections | State custody, parole or release, with the facility and release date. | 53 systems |
| Court cases | Filed charges and how they ended: dismissed, convicted, disposed. | 36 court sources |
| Warrants | An open warrant, the issuing jurisdiction and its status today. | 34 warrant sources |
| Federal custody | Federal custody, or release from it. | searched live |
Criminal screening challenges for staffing and recruiting teams
- Criminal records live in thousands of county jails, courts and warrant systems, not one list.
- Volume onboarding needs an answer inside the ATS step, not days later.
- A safety lookup and a hiring check carry different legal duties and get mixed up in practice.
- Fair-chance laws in many states and cities govern when and how criminal history may be used.
What criminal background checks give staffing and recruiting teams
Both paths on one account. The data call and FCRA orders share one schema and one record of what ran.
Jail, corrections, courts, warrants and federal custody in one call. No per-county vendors.
Batch billed per row. A site roster costs the same per person as one lookup.
An audit trail that shows the purpose. Every check stored with its path and its answer.
Staffing criminal background checks for hires run as FCRA orders.
When a result will help decide whether to hire or engage a candidate, or to place or keep a worker on an assignment, the check is a consumer report. It runs as an FCRA order through FCRA Partner Access, placed by a background screening company or screening platform under a written FCRA agreement: disclosure and consent, the check, a copy of the report and a summary of rights before any adverse action, and a dispute path for the person.
The $0.15 criminal search is for safety checks. It is not a consumer report, and standard results are never the reason an applicant is turned away.
The screening company attests the applicant’s disclosure and authorization on the order.
Exact date of birth only; the seven-year rule and state limits applied before anything is furnished.
Records with verification time; withheld items as counts by reason.
The applicant sees the report in the consumer portal and can dispute any item.
Pre-adverse notice with the report, a waiting period, then a final notice, by the employer.
Criminal background check practices for staffing and recruiting teams. Record what you checked, not just what you found.
| Jail | County rosters · answered | 0 |
| DOC | State corrections · answered | 0 |
| Court | Court sources · answered | 0 |
| Warrant | Warrant sources · answered | 0 |
| Federal | Federal custody · answered | 0 |
Route by purpose, in code. The endpoint is chosen by what the check is for. A hire or placement never reads a data-call result.
Match on date of birth. Name-only criminal matching is the pattern regulators have penalized vendors for. dob_match and year_match are labelled apart.
Weigh type, status and age of the record. A booking is an arrest, not a conviction; a disposed case may be a dismissal.
Keep a person making the call. The recruiter decides inside the order, with the report, the match basis and the applicant’s chance to respond.
Staffing criminal screening: what the law requires and what it doesn’t
The FCRA governs any check used to decide a hire or placement. Fair-chance laws in many states and cities add timing rules and an individualized review. The duty to screen criminal history at all usually comes from the placement: child care, healthcare and education roles carry their own state rules.
| Jurisdiction | Citation | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Federal | 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2) | Before a consumer report is obtained for employment purposes: a clear written disclosure in a stand-alone document and the applicant’s written authorization. |
| Federal | 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3) | Before adverse action based on the report: a copy of the report and a summary of the applicant’s rights. |
| Federal | EEOC guidance, 2012 | An arrest alone is not proof of conduct; weigh the nature of the offense, the time elapsed and the nature of the job. |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 435.04 | Level 2 screening for covered placements is a fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check, run through the state. |
| States and cities | Fair-chance laws | Limit when criminal history may be asked about in hiring, and often require an individualized review. |
And what it doesn’t
No law turns a site-safety lookup into a hiring tool. Keep the two apart in your ATS and the audit trail shows it.
Background, not legal advice. Your counsel is the right reader of your own facts.
Criminal and sex offender records for staffing & recruiting, on one key. Plus monitoring between checks and an FCRA order path for the people you hire.
Sex offender screening
58 US registries, 1.5M records, continuously updated, with the registry photo where one is published.
Sex offender screening for staffing & recruiting ›Criminal and registry monitoring
People watched between checks. A new booking, warrant or case arrives by signed webhook or email; any employment action that follows runs through an FCRA order.
Monitoring API ›FCRA background check API
When a hire is being decided, the check runs as an FCRA order with consent, disclosure, dispute and adverse-action steps. Pricing is quoted per partner.
Background check API ›Criminal: 1,545 jurisdictions catalogued, 1,164 live, 51 states + DC + federal. Registry: 58 US registries, 1.5M records, continuously updated. See what each state publishes or the live list at /v1/criminal/sources.
What a staffing criminal background check costs. $0.15 a call, $0.11 past 2,000 a month; FCRA orders quoted per partner.
| Line | How it is counted | Units | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site-safety data calls | registry and criminal, sync and batch, per row | 6,000 | $0.15 → $0.11 | $740.00 |
| Criminal person monitors | workers on assignments over 30 days | 500 | $3 / mo | $1,500.00 |
| FCRA orders for hiring decisions | quoted per partner | as used | contact | — |
| Month | no platform fee, no seats, no minimum | 6,000 calls | $2,240.00 |
| Checks / month | Cost | Per check |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $75.00 | $0.1500 |
| 5,000 | $630.00 | $0.1260 |
| 50,000 | $5,580.00 | $0.1116 |
Criminal and registry calls count toward the same tier. A batch is billed per row, so a roster re-screen costs the same per person as a single lookup. Enterprise plans add custom volume rates and net terms. A fraction of what legacy screening platforms charge.
Staffing criminal background check FAQ
More in the criminal API docs and the FCRA orders docs.
Can a recruiter turn a candidate away because of a $0.15 data-call result?
No. The data call is for safety checks. When a hire is decided, the check runs as an FCRA order with disclosure, consent, the report, a dispute path and adverse-action steps. Standard results are never the reason an applicant is turned away.
What if a monitor flags a worker mid-assignment?
Treat it as a reason to look, not a decision. Any action on the worker’s assignment runs through an FCRA order, with an individualized review where fair-chance laws require one.
Can we run both paths from one integration?
Yes, once FCRA Partner Access is enabled under a written agreement. The data call and the FCRA order use the same record schema; your ATS picks the endpoint by purpose.
Related
Run criminal background checks for staffing & recruiting with one API
The $0.15 data call for safety checks, an FCRA order when a hire is decided. 25 free searches, no card.