by Tammy Clevenger

Created on: June 19, 2009   Last Updated: June 24, 2009

In this day and age, criminal background checks are necessary to ensure the integrity of an applicant, a mate or a business partner. Government workers at all levels must undergo background checks for employment. Many corporate employers require fairly extensive background checks prior to hiring a candidate. Detailed criminal records are available for these purposes. However, minimal criminal background information may be obtained free of charge.

Prior to performing a free criminal records search, the user must have at least a last name of the individual in question to perform the query. In addition, the first name and birth date (or estimate of age) should be available to rule out individuals with similar names.

Several sites offer Free Criminal Records searches, but many require that the user pay a fee to see the complete record on file. However, some sites offering free searches, may provide an abbreviated record containing useful information. For example, the abbreviated record may show the individual's name, birth date, place of residence, and that the individual has been arrested for a certain offense (i.e. drugs). Criminalsearches.com offers this type of display for records, using just the first and last name of the individual for the query.

Other sites that offer free criminal records searches include USSearch.com. To use USSearch.com, click on the Criminal Records tab and enter the information for the individual you are querying. Check the list of names provided in the query results for the individual's name. If the individual's name does not appear, there is no criminal or other type of record in the database for that person. Often, many similar records will display. This does not mean that the individual has a criminal record. Be certain to verify that the person in question is actually the individual for whom you are searching. Verify by checking address of residence, birth date, spelling of last name and middle name or initial. Note that USSearch.com provides only a list of names with the city and state of recorded residence. To see additional information, a purchase of $12.95 is required.

Peoplelookup.com also provides a free search for the initial query. To use the site, enter the first and last name of the individual, along with their last known city and state of residence. Peoplelookup.com will provide additional information for a fee, but the best part about this site is that the user may purchase just one record at a time for under $1.

Criminal record searches are here to stay. In the 21st century, knowing the background of those around us is a necessity. Free criminal record searches help to make the task a bit easier.

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