Visitor management background check API: criminal background checks for visitor management systems
One API call per check-in. Scan the ID, send the name and date of birth, and get a scored answer across jail bookings, warrants, court cases, state corrections and federal custody before the badge prints, from your kiosk, tablet or front-desk app. Resell it on your own pricing.
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" }
Visitor management criminal background check workflow. A data call for safety checks, an FCRA order when a hire is decided.
Parse name and date of birth from the ID. Driver’s license barcodes carry both. Date of birth drives the match, so one Daniel Okafor at the door is not every booking under that name.
Call the criminal search API at check-in. One POST across 1,164 live jurisdictions: county jails, state corrections, courts, warrants and federal custody.
Show a review prompt, not a verdict. Records go to a staff member with the record type, jurisdiction and status. Branch on recordType, currentStatus, matchConfidence and matchBasis.
Apply the site’s policy and log it. An active warrant and a booking from 2009 are different facts. Escort, deny or admit by the written rule, recorded against the stored search.
Bill per search. No floor; resell to your customers on your own pricing. Criminal and registry calls share one tier.
Visitor management 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 | check-in | No record | 1,164 |
| Jordan Sample | check-in | Court case · year_match | 1,164 |
| J. Sample | check-in | Warrant · dob_match | 1,164 |
Criminal API docs › · Search from the dashboard › · Bulk criminal record search ›
When visitor management and school check-in platforms run a criminal background check. Each moment on its path: the data call or the FCRA order.
The ID is scanned and the criminal search runs before a badge prints.
Sync endpoint, answered from the continuously updated dataset.
Vendors and scheduled trades screened before they arrive.
A batch of the week’s expected contractors, billed per row.
A new booking flagged between visits.
A $3 a month criminal person monitor sends a signed alert on a new booking, warrant or case.
Who was screened, when, against which record types.
Every search stored with its per-source outcome and exportable as a verification report.
What a visitor management criminal background check covers. Five record layers, scored on date of birth and cited to the jurisdiction on every record.
| Record type | What the front desk 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 visitor management and school check-in platforms
- Criminal records live in thousands of county jails, courts and warrant systems, not one list.
- The check still has to finish while the visitor is standing at the desk.
- A booking, a dismissed case and an active warrant mean very different things to a front office.
- Districts ask whether the visitor check is an employment background check. It is not, and the product has to keep the two apart.
What criminal background checks give visitor management and school check-in platforms
A criminal answer before the badge prints, with every response timed.
Jail, corrections, courts, warrants and federal custody in one call. No per-county integrations to build or maintain.
Record type and status on every hit, so staff see "active warrant" or "released 2014", not a wall of names.
A logged, source-referenced result for every visit, clear or not, with the jurisdiction cited on each record.
Visitor criminal checks are not hiring checks: hiring runs as an FCRA order.
When a result will help decide whether to hire or engage a contractor, staff member or volunteer in a role that works like a job, 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 visitor management and school check-in platforms. 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 |
Match on date of birth, not name alone. An ID scan gives you both. Name-only criminal matching is the pattern regulators have penalized screening vendors for.
Weigh the record type and the status. A booking is an arrest, not a conviction; a disposed case may be a dismissal. Write which ones trigger an escort before the first one appears.
Route alerts to a person, discreetly. A quiet alert to designated staff. A record is never announced at the counter.
Log every check, clear or not. A timestamped record of each screen, with every jurisdiction that answered, is what a district shows an auditor.
Send hiring decisions to the FCRA order. The visitor check decides who is escorted today, never who gets hired.
Visitor management criminal screening: what the law requires and what it doesn’t
No federal statute requires a school, hospital or office to run a criminal check on every visitor. Visitor screening is site policy: a district, a campus or a property owner deciding who walks past the front desk unescorted. Build the feature around your customer’s written policy, not a mandate.
Hiring is different. When the same person is being considered for a job, a paid engagement or a volunteer role that works as one, the check is an employment decision and runs as an FCRA order.
| 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. |
| 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
Claims that federal law requires visitor criminal screening are not accurate. The duties in this table attach to hiring, not to a visit.
Background, not legal advice. Your counsel is the right reader of your own facts.
Criminal and sex offender records for visitor management systems, 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 visitor management systems ›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 visitor management 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor and vendor check-ins | 120 schools × ~8 a day × 20 days | 19,200 | $0.15 → $0.11 | $2,192.00 |
| Volunteer checks at sign-up | 120 schools × ~10 new volunteers | 1,200 | $0.11 | $132.00 |
| Criminal person monitors | weekly volunteers, instead of a re-search per visit | 600 | $3 / mo | $1,800.00 |
| FCRA orders for hiring decisions | quoted per partner | as used | contact | — |
| Month | no platform fee, no seats, no minimum | 20,400 calls | $4,124.00 |
| 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.
Visitor management criminal background check FAQ
More in the criminal API docs and the FCRA orders docs.
Is a visitor criminal screening the same as an employment background check?
No. The standard criminal search answers a site-safety question at the front desk and is not a consumer report. If a result will help decide whether to hire or engage someone, it runs as an FCRA order through FCRA Partner Access. Standard results are never the reason an applicant is turned away.
What does one criminal check at check-in cover?
County jail bookings, state corrections, court cases, warrants and federal custody across 1,164 live jurisdictions, in one call. counts.sourcesIncomplete tells you whether every jurisdiction answered, so a partial answer is never shown as a clear one.
What should the kiosk do when a criminal record comes back?
Alert designated staff quietly, never a red screen at the counter. Show the record type, the status and the match basis. The site’s written policy decides which records mean an escort.
Related
Run criminal background checks inside your visitor management system
Scan the ID, send the name and date of birth, get jail bookings, warrants, court cases and federal custody back before the badge prints. 25 free searches, no card.