Conduct a Free Texas Background Check

The information on open records and the non expunged criminal records in the state of Texas are usually available to the public for the purpose of viewing or obtaining details contained in an individual’s criminal history records for free. But individuals need to register themselves at the website run by the Department of Public Safety in Texas and pay an administrative fee to obtain the records.  The details of the individual’s criminal activities and records of criminal history are collected and reported by the various criminal justice agencies and law enforcement agencies operating throughout the state of Texas. These reports are then stored in the central repository of the state that is maintained and updated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The information available in the state criminal history database is available to the various prosecuting agencies, law enforcement agencies, and other criminal justice agencies for the purpose of criminal justice. In certain cases, information from the criminal history reords is made available to individuals or other private agencies that request for Texas background checks. However this access is limited to non- criminal justice purposes only.

In accordance to Chapter 60 of the Texas ‘Code of Criminal Procedure’, the Texas Criminal Justice information System has two vital components. These are the computerized records of individual criminal history and the ‘Corrections Tracking System’. The Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the criminal history records and the system of correction tracking is managed and updated by the Department of Criminal Justice in the State of Texas.

Information Contained in the Texas Background Check Reports

As per the provision of the ‘Texas Code of Criminal Procedure’, Chapter 60, the information included in a Texas background check report contains information such as  details of the arrests, name of the arresting agency, details of the prosecutions, the sentencing court, the court of origin, parole details, details of convictions, nature of the crimes committed, information about  parole revocations (if any), and  also contain details of disposition for a Class B Misdemeanor charge or a more severe violation of the criminal laws of the state.  In addition it may also include a partial supervision data which the Texas Department of Criminal Justice reports to the Department of the Public Safety in Texas.

The Chapter 60 of the ‘Texas Code of Criminal Procedure’ has a unique feature that involves the creation of a system that makes use of the ‘Tracking Number Suffix’ and the’ Incident Tracking Number’. This system provides an essential key that helps to connect the arrest charges from the various adjudications.  This system is unique and very helpful to the various law enforcement as well as the criminal justice agencies, as it can help to make sure that each arrest charge can be easily located through the database. This in turn makes the process of conducting a Texas background check, not only convenient but also accurate. However for this system to work efficiently, it is important that the various statewide reporting agencies, carefully report and pass on the details of the ‘Tracking Number Suffix’ and the’ Incident Tracking Number’. Apart from the system of tracking , Chapter 60 of the ‘Texas Code of Criminal procedure’ also lays down the process for the movement of the information that is  collected  and reported by the various local criminal justice agencies as well as the local law enforcement agencies   operating at the county levels in the state of Texas. This process makes sure that the information included in the Texas background checks are reported and complied accurately. According to this provision the agencies responsible in the flow of information include the various court clerks, arresting agencies as well as the prosecuting agencies in Texas State.

Uses of the Texas Background Check

‘Chapter 411, Subchapter F, of the Texas Government Code’ lays down the guidelines and conditions for the use of the Texas background check report. According to this code, a Texas background check is required for licensing purposes, employment purpose, for acquiring certain permits, for tenancy and verifying the credit score of an individual. The Texas background check is also used for some specific non – criminal purposes such as:

•    For issuing administrative licenses involving- education, law, and medical purposes
•    For  the purpose of employments that involve working with the vulnerable population such as  children, disabled persons and the elderly population
•    For the application of volunteers at  the day care facilities, for hospital employees, individuals working at nursing homes, and for mental health workers
•    For application to jobs in financial institutions, nuclear power plants.
•    For application to certain sensitive jobs that involve national security and for applying for a firearms permit through the ‘Brady firearm sales’. Law.

Conducting a Texas Background Search

Texas state laws, allow individuals to access the contents of their own background report or their criminal history records for the purpose of viewing, making corrections, reviewing or challenging the information included in the individual background check report, by providing a set of their fingerprint identification cards. The access to the background check report of other individuals is restricted to certain private entities, criminal justice agencies and government entities that are legislatively authorized. Individuals can call at: 512-424-2474 or visit at: (secure.txdps.state.tx.us) to find out if they are eligible under these categories or not.

To conduct a background search of another individual in Texas, the requesting individual or the agency has to first inform the individual about the reason behind such a search and receive the consent of the concerned individual who is the subject of such a request and then send the request to the Department of State Police or the Department of the Public Safety in Texas to process the request. The department only reveals if the individual has any criminal charges against him or her. If the concerned individual has no criminal convictions registered against him/her, then the department does not reveal any additional information about the individual.

To send a request for conducting a background check individuals need to pay a nominal fee along with including details such as the name of the individual or the agency that is requesting for the background check, the name, date of birth and the known address of the individual who is the subject of the particular background check.

For any queries about the Texas background check, individuals can get in touch at the following address:

Texas Department of Public Safety, Crime Records Service, CJIS Field Representatives, P.O. Box 4143, Austin, Texas 78765, Phone: (512) 424 2478, Email: afis_cjis@txdps.state.tx.us, Website: https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/Cch/index.aspx

In addition to this, an individual can also opt for free Texas background check by making use of the commercial websites but there is no assurance that the information available on these websites is authentic.