Conduct a Florida Background Check

The Freedom of Information Act in the United States requires every state to make available to the public all criminal records, court case records, and all information related to a background check that is not deemed to be private or have been declared sealed or confidential by the court. This is a public safety measure and the guidelines of the Act pertain to arrest records, inmate information, sex offender information, driver's license information, and court case records. You would need to look through this type of information to conduct a Florida background check.

Reasons for a Florida Background Check

Florida background checks are necessary to determine the authenticity of an individual’s credentials. A Florida background check can be carried out to confirm the criminal history of a person. This step is absolutely necessary to safeguard yourself and your family when you are letting an unknown or little-known person gain access to your premises or to your belongings, for example a new tenant or newly hired nanny. Most companies also conduct background checks on employees before they hire them.

Florida background checks may be carried out by both the common man and a law enforcement officer on any person that they find suspicious. Florida background check records have thus been made easy to access and view.

Accessing the Florida Background Check Information

The Internet is teeming with many commercial websites that house Florida background check records. Some are free while some require that you register for a certain subscription amount to view and obtain copies of the records. However, it is always a good idea to search for Florida background check information amongst government-held records or obtain them from government agencies. These sources of background information are far more reliable.

The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department maintains the driving records of individuals in the state and regularly posts and updates them on their official website, http://www.flhsmv.gov/. You may also conduct a search to determine the status of a driver’s license by entering the license number on this site. This is often done by employers before allowing a driver to drive a company vehicle or any other employee before letting him/her drive for business purposes.

You may also look up the status of a person’s driver’s license at the National Driver Register office, which houses information about all drivers whose licenses have been revoked or suspended. Get in touch with the officials with your search request at 1-888-851-0436 or visit their office at USDOT/NHTSA West Building, NVS-422 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590.

You will need to fill out the Current or Prospective Employee Form and submit it to the local motor vehicle agency to request an NDR file check on a prospective or present employee, provided s/he is licensed in Florida. This form can be filled out by either the employer or the prospective or present employee. The driver has to authorize the request by signing on the form or by marking it as witnessed. Send a proof of the driver’s identity with the form and notarize the record request if you are mailing the form.

The Florida Department of Corrections houses extensive information on the offenders housed in the various correctional facilities in the state. You may search for an inmate at http://www.dc.state.fl.us/AppCommon/ using various parameters like the name, his/her physical traits, and other identifiers like the Social Security Number or passport number.

The adoption of Megan’s Law makes it mandatory for sexual offenders in all U.S. states to register with the local law enforcement authority and for the latter to post this information in a public domain. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement houses sexual offender information on their official website and you may carry out a Florida background check on an individual at http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/homepage.do.