Background checks....Public Information?

[TxMsLady]

What is the name of your state? AR

I didn't know where to post this question, so hoping here is OK. I have heard that someones criminal records are public information. If this is true, how would I go about obtaining such information? I've seen companies online advertise to do background checks for a fee.....are these legitimate? And if only a few are, how would I be able to tell who is and who isn't? My husband and I have a rental property in TX and we've been told to do a criminal, as well as a credit background check on applicants. Thanks so much for any information and advice.

Depending on where you are located the Pulaski County Sheriff's department can run a background check for you for a nominal charge.

Otherwise you can go to the county courthouse and spend a few hours looking through the court records for the name(s) listed on the rental agreement to see if any legal action has been brought against the parties.

A credit check will have to be done through one of the three credit reporting agencies and that costs money, usually about 15 to 25 dollars.

[TxMsLady]

Pulaski County.....is that Texas are Arkansas?? I appreciate the response, but it would not be feasible to drive 5 hrs one way to do a background check at the courthouse for each person who may apply....we'd rather do this online if possible. So, again, would any of the agencies advertising to do background checks online be legitimate? Thank you.

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by TxMsLady
Pulaski County.....is that Texas are Arkansas?? I appreciate the response, but it would not be feasible to drive 5 hrs one way to do a background check at the courthouse for each person who may apply....we'd rather do this online if possible. So, again, would any of the agencies advertising to do background checks online be legitimate? Thank you.

**A: then contract with a company that provides this type of service to landlords and employers. And of course, do a background check on that company first before hiring them.

publicdata.com

[TxMsLady]

Thank you todd_linger for your very helpful website you provided. I think if some of the "regulars" who post so much on here would have completely read my post instead of being cutsie like they love to be, they would've understood, as you have, what my post was asking. I checked out publicdata.com and it is exactly what we are looking for. Have a great week!