Understanding some of the finer points about government background checks can make your job as an employer significantly less frustrating. There's a common misconception that all government agencies share records and have networked databases. The truth is that while some do, most operate with complete autonomy, which means they can't access other offices' or departments' files without a request of their own.

What does this mean for you, the requestor? Well, for one thing, it means that services advertising complete and exhaustive government background checks aren't being forthright about their products. There are no search engines that comb through databases at all municipal, state, and federal agencies, which means the information you need may be hiding. That doesn't mean, however, that it's not there.

Government Background Checks and County Courts

It's important for information-seekers to understand that not all county courts are the same. There are county civil courts as well as criminal courts, as there are civil and criminal charges and civil and criminal attorneys. The records you're after may be residing at a domestic or family court, especially if they're related to issues of abuse. Even the most powerful criminal court search services will fail to find such records.

County courts are also the site of most traffic violation records as well. If you run a bus, van, taxi, or limo service and are intent on performing government background checks, you may be dismayed to learn that a criminal search is unlikely to yield any usable information. You must instead order an MVR report that reveals motor vehicle infractions, the majority of which are not criminal offenses.