Criminal Search

A criminal search or background check does not contain all of your personal information. As a U.S. citizen you do have certain rights to privacy that even your employer can't overcome. The paragraphs below outline a few of these items.

Education Records Are Not Included in a Criminal Search

Education records including transcripts, recommendations, discipline actions and any financial information in regard to your education is considered private and therefore protected from public access. Unless the educational institution has your consent, they can not distribute these materials to requesters. What can the school disclose about you? Address, dates of attendance, earned degrees and collegiate activities are considered public property and can be distributed.

If you have served any time in the armed forces, those records will never be revealed to any employer, landlord or person doing a criminal search on you. These records are covered under the federal Privacy Act. The Freedom of Information Act does allow the military to release such details as name, rank, duty status and awards.

Medical Records are Private Documents

Finally, your medical records are protected by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. This law states that no medical record information can be distributed without the patient's consent except for in the case of law enforcement. An example of this would be if a suspected criminal checked into a hospital with injuries related to the criminal act. During an investigation law enforcement officials have the right to access that information in order to include or exclude the suspect from the investigation.