BBB Background Check Services

Find the exact business behind the service

Use BBB to investigate the background-check business’s marketplace conduct. Search for its legal or trading name and location, then compare the website, branch and contact details with the company selling the report. A similarly named business or a different branch can have a different complaint history. This guide does not rank providers or endorse a particular service.

BBB is a private business-rating and accreditation organization, not the court or criminal-record repository behind the report. A profile helps you assess how a seller deals with customers. It does not establish that a report covers the jurisdictions you need, identifies the correct person or may legally be used for your proposed decision. Those questions require the provider’s product terms and the applicable screening rules.

Read the letter grade, NR and reviews separately

BBB grades run from A+ to F and express its assessment of likely customer interactions. Its methodology considers complaint handling, transparency and other business information. Look at the reasons shown on the profile, the age of complaints and whether there is a recurring unresolved issue. A single complaint is an allegation to read in context, not proof that every report sold by the business is wrong.

Customer reviews are not included in the letter-grade calculation. Review stars and the letter grade therefore should not be treated as interchangeable scores. “NR” means No Rating, which can reflect insufficient information or an ongoing review or update; it is not automatically a negative grade. BBB says a rating is not a guarantee of reliability or performance. Save the profile date because its information can change.

Understand what accreditation promises

A BBB-accredited business agrees to meet continuing standards covering honest advertising, transparent terms, complaint responsiveness and privacy. BBB charges accreditation fees, with amounts affected by factors such as business size. Accreditation is a commitment to those business standards; it does not certify the completeness or accuracy of an individual criminal-history report.

Use the standards as practical questions for the seller. Can it clearly explain the total price, refund policy, any recurring subscription and automatic renewal? Is there a direct support channel? Does its privacy policy explain collection, sharing, correction and security of personal information? Before purchase, retain the package description and cancellation terms. A BBB logo should not replace reading what the specific transaction actually includes.

Check coverage and intended use outside BBB

• Ask which court, repository and other record sources the exact package covers, including jurisdictions, date ranges, exclusions and update dates.
• Ask how the provider distinguishes people with similar names, verifies a final disposition and corrects a false match or outdated result.
• Confirm whether the package is intended for personal research, employment or tenant screening, and what authorization or permitted-purpose process applies.
• Find out how the subject obtains the report, identifies its source records and submits a dispute. Compare the all-in price and delivery commitment for the same scope across any services you consider.

The CFPB’s company list can help identify reporting businesses and their consumer-access channels. It is not an approval list or a complete market census. The page reviewed says its list is current as of January 2025 and includes company self-descriptions not independently verified by the Bureau. Confirm the current company identity and contact route directly rather than treating inclusion as a certification.

Know the screening protections relevant to the task

For employment reports obtained from a background reporting company, the FTC says an employer must give a standalone written disclosure and get written permission. Before an adverse decision based on the report, the employer must provide a copy and a summary of rights. After a rejection based on it, the notice must identify the reporting company and explain dispute rights and the right to an additional free report requested within 60 days.

Those employment procedures should not be casually substituted for tenant-screening rules. If a housing report has an error, contact the tenant-screening company using its dispute instructions, retain the result, and provide or request delivery of a corrected report to the landlord. A purchase or a BBB complaint does not itself complete the consumer-report dispute process.

Separate a billing complaint from a report dispute

For a report error, write to the reporting company promptly, identify each disputed item and provide copies of supporting documents such as the court’s dismissal or corrected judgment. Keep the report, dispute and delivery record. CFPB guidance says the company generally has 30 days to investigate, with 15 additional days in some circumstances, and five business days after completing its investigation to notify you. Review any revised report instead of assuming every error was removed.

A BBB complaint may help address the seller’s response, billing or cancellation conduct, but it does not decide the underlying court record. Ask the court or agency to correct an originating-record error as well. If the reporting company does not resolve inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information, use the CFPB or FTC complaint route described in their guidance. Avoid posting full reports, birth dates or other private identifiers in a public review.