# Background Check Questions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 26, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834 "2024-07-26T23:16:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834/1 "2024-07-26T23:16:48Z")

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Where do employers go to get background check on employees and/or future employees?

Do individuals have access to these companies and if so what do they charge.

Thx

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**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834/2 "2024-07-27T00:58:44Z")

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This is the company we use:

> **[Employment Background Checks and Screening - Sterling Backcheck](https://www.sterlingbackcheck.ca/)**
>
> Sterling Backcheck, with over 40 years’ experience for both English & French, offers criminal record checks, individual checks, employment verifications, identity verifications, and more.

You need to have an authorization from the person you are getting information on. A basic verification is cheap - $150 or so - but it gets more expensive if you want a deeper check or police records.

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**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834/3 "2024-07-27T01:53:20Z")

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Here in the Mid West, you can go to the local Sheriff or Police dept to get a background check on yourself. We require prospective member of our gun club to do so.

I’m pretty sure you can’t get one on someone else that easily.

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**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834/4 "2024-07-27T03:56:52Z")

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> [@19USMC69](#):
>
> Do individuals have access to these companies and if so what do they charge.

Depends on exactly what you are looking for . If you are looking strictly for public information - addresses, phone numbers , arrests, court cases ( criminal and civil) , licenses and so on, there are companies that will give an individual that sort of information. If you are looking for non-public information such as credit reports, that might require consent and those are done by different companies, which may not deal with individuals.

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**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-check-questions/1004834/5 "2024-07-27T22:58:43Z")

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Thanks for the replies.