FBI Criminal Background Check

Let's first understand what is an FBI criminal background check? The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) supervises and maintains the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) which is like a secret program of criminal justice information. This database contains the list of felons, wanted fugitives and lists of missing persons. In special instances a criminal background check is requested from the FBI.

A normal criminal background check involves searching the program to determine if a person has a previous criminal record. The NCIC contains the list of crimes throughout United States, hence a criminal background check is a detailed one. The FBI performs a criminal check in case of job opportunities in various schools and in the government.

Need for Criminal Background Check
An FBI background check normally shows data of every citizen who has a criminal record. Citations and fines may or may not be reported in this complete background check. In most instances criminal check is conducted for a job purpose. Almost all employers ask job applicants about their criminal records. They can use a criminal background check for reviewing purposes. Fingerprints are one of the most important aspects of an FBI criminal check. Whenever an arrest is made their fingerprints are taken, which makes it easy to reveal all the history of the concerned individual. The FBI provides this service in all the fifty states of the union. All the criminal checks are performed by FBI agents. Employers and other recruiting parties can gain information about the concerned individual from any state. However, sensitive information about that person is never revealed.

If you are a legal US citizen, you can file a request under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to find information about the concerned individual from the FBI database file. Most of these requests have been filed by government agencies who hire a new senator or a new member in the bar association.

In some instances, US citizens are asked to present a certificate of clean or lack of a criminal record. These background checks for criminal records are done for a variety of reasons which include adoption, employment in private and government sectors. Have a look at a variety of options which are available to US citizens which help them to get a proof of a clean record. All the following checks are governed by the FBI directly or indirectly.

Local Police Check
Go to your local police department of the area where you live or you last resided. Ask the police to conduct a criminal records search and provide you with a certificate that says 'no criminal record'. In some instances your police department will require your appearance in a court in order to give you that certificate.

FBI Checks
The Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) of the FBI keeps the check on criminal activities and provides accurate information and services to local, state, federal and in some cases also the international intelligence agencies. For a criminal background check a written request is sent to the CJIS. This written application must be accompanied by satisfactory proof of identity, address, date of birth and place and set of fingerprints; don't forget to send a check of $18 as a processing fee. The processing time is normally 3 to 7 days and a detailed information is send by the FBI in some time. An FBI agent job description also includes preparing arrest records and making sure that they are only provided to the concerned individual and no one else. If there is no criminal record to be found, a detailed report covering all these facts is provided.

I hope now you understand what the FBI criminal background check means. Make sure you always maintain a clean record and stay out of trouble if you want to have a good and successful career.