The Best Background Check Companies of 2019

To help you find the right background check service, we researched and analyzed dozens of options. Here is a roundup of the background check services we think are best and an explanation of how we chose them.

To determine the best background check services in 2019, we spent dozens of hours researching the top companies. Here is an explanation of our selection process.

Locating the Best Services

To determine the best background check services for small businesses, very small businesses and medical practices, we started by listing more than 80 vendors that conduct employee background checks. These included a combination of vendors we found via online searches and those we discovered through interviews with small business owners.

Choosing the Best Services

We narrowed down our list by eliminating vendors that don't specialize in employee background checks or don't work with small organizations. We ultimately settled on 19 services to consider as best picks: AccurateNow, Accurate Background, Checkr, Corra, Crimcheck, easyBackgrounds, EBI, Employment Screening Resources, Employment Screening Services, EmployeeScreenIQ, GoodHire, HireRight, InfoMart, Justifacts, PreCheck, Pre-employ, Private Eyes, SterlingBackcheck and Verified Credentials. (See the full list of background check services and their websites below.)

Researching Each Service

Next, we researched each provider by investigating its services, reviewing sample background check reports, reading user comments and interviewing more business owners. We also considered the pricing when available. After narrowing the list down to 17, we contacted each company's customer service department and posed as would-be business or medical practice owners.

Analyzing Each Service

Our process involves putting ourselves in the mindset of a small business or medical practice owner and gathering the data that would be readily available to such an individual. We perform all of our research by visiting company websites, making calls to customer service representatives and interviewing real users. In all, we analyzed each service based on factors such as cost, types of criminal searches conducted, ease of use, how easy the reports are to access and understand, how long searches take, Better Business Bureau complains and, finally, accreditation with the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.

For this category, we used a methodology similar to the one detailed above. However, we only considered websites that abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and are legally allowed to conduct background checks for pre-employment purposes. We ultimately settled on four websites to examine further: Backgroundchecks.com, FindOutTheTruth.com, BackgroundReport.com and BackgroundSearcher.com.

For this category, we used a methodology similar to the one detailed above. However, we only considered companies that offer specific options for household employees. The companies we examined were Background Checks for Nannies, Childcare Background Search, GoNannies, GTM, HireSafe, eNannySource, ESR Screened Caregiver, NannyVerify and Safelutions. (See the full list of background check services specializing in household employees, and their websites, below.)