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Looking for information on how to do a background check in Florida? You're in luck today because you've just discovered the internet's most complete reference on Florida background checks.
We will not only show you the steps necessary to do a background check in Florida, but we will also recommend the best services available. Know that accessing public records in Florida is not as easy as it may first seem.
While they are open to the public, looking through a mountain of data and records to discover specific information may be a daunting task. Our recommendation of background check Florida can help you find the truth fast and easily.
7 Best Background Check Florida Services
- BeenVerified – Best Overall for Background Check Florida
- PeopleLooker – Best for Fast & Accurate Results
- TruthFinder – Best for Value
- Intelius – Best for Accuracy
- Instant Checkmate – Best for Speed
- Spokeo – Best for FA Reverse Email Lookup
- US Search – Best for API Integration
What is a Background Check Florida?
A background check is a thorough evaluation of all data pertaining to a person in all federal and state public records. To find out more about a person, you may look them up in public records using any ID information, including name, phone number, and email.
A background check of Florida through public records in the state of Florida might bring up a range of information, including but not limited to personal details, work and educational information, criminal and judicial records, details on sex offenders, social profiles, prospective relatives and acquaintances, location history, and real estate.
Even so, manually probing public records to find all of this information is a long shot. The likelihood that you'll discover trustworthy information about someone's past increases when you use Florida background check services.
With the help of your personal information, background check businesses in Florida can access a database that houses billions of records from local, state, as well as federal government organizations. After that, an exhaustive background check report is created from the information, and it’s formatted in a way that makes it simple for other people to understand and distribute.
An average background check Florida report could contain
- Data from civil courts
- Aliases
- Weapon permits
- Arrest and criminal histories
- Birthdate and age
- Working history
- Fiscal resources
- Whole names
- Permits for professionals
- Profiles on social media
- Liens
- Educational history
- Bankruptcies
- Photographs
How to Run a Florida Background Check?
Both difficult and easy methods exist for conducting a free background check in Florida in the Sunshine State of Florida. One difficult choice of conducting a free background check in Florida is to seek out the appropriate government authorities, submit a request for public records, and then proceed to review the requested papers one at a time.
The quickest and most convenient method of doing a background check in Florida is to use an online service like BeenVerified, PeopleLooker, or TruthFinder. Inputting a person's city, name, and phone number is now all that's required to get up their criminal record in Florida.
These days via a free background check in Florida, you may use reverse email search services to track down a person only by knowing their address.
If you want to utilize a Florida background check, all you need to do is provide it the very minimum of information it needs to do a search. The process could just take a few moments, but if it does, that just means you're obtaining more accurate results.
How Can I Access Public Records in Florida?
The Freedom of Information Act, enacted in the 1960s, has made it easier for anybody to get a free background check in Florida, albeit it’s still not straightforward.
Some government employees take longer to respond to background check data requests because some organizations only store paper records while others keep data online.
The state of Florida, like many others, has a variety of institutions that preserve different kinds of public documents. With Florida's public records, you may be able to find what you're searching for via the free background check.
The following types of public records are kept on file by Florida departments
- Data on inmates
- Court records
- Criminal records
- Vital Statistics
To get a background check in Florida, a public records request needs to be submitted. You may get in touch with the Florida public records coordinator via phone, email, mail, fax, or any other method.
A request for access to public documents must include a number of specific items
- The title of the file
- Name
- Details relating to the document
- Delivery methods: email or mail
- A deadline by which you'd want the contents
- Contact information
Florida Background Check Laws
Florida law, in contrast to the laws of a number of other states, does not forbid conducting background checks for the purposes of employment. Although there’s no statewide ban-the-box or fair-hiring law in Florida, there are local ordinances in place.
In Florida, employers who conduct a free background check on potential workers are shielded from liability for any claims of negligent hiring or retention.
In Florida, employers are generally expected not to have been neglectful in the hiring process if they conduct background checks that include a review of criminal records. After thoroughly investigating the applicant and finding nothing to disqualify them, they offer them the job or raise them in rank.
FL Criminal Record Restrictions
The use of arrest and conviction records in the employment process is limited by a number of Florida state and municipal regulations. Here, we detail numerous crucial restrictions and how they impact Florida's commercial establishments.
FL Arrest Records
In Florida, employers have the right to ask about and consider applicants' criminal histories. For this reason, arrest information is often not included in state or federal background check reports, including those conducted by background checks.
FL Sealed or Expunged Records
If a candidate has had their criminal record erased or sealed, they still have a responsibility to protect the privacy of their past. There are no such incidents in Florida's history, and you won't find any evidence of them there.
FL Criminal Records
In Florida, it’s acceptable for both governmental and commercial entities to do background checks using free background check services (among other methods).
Only those with first-degree felonies or misdemeanor convictions and those whose crimes are directly related to the position being sought after may be excluded from consideration by public employers.
Private employers may consider criminal convictions, even for lesser offenses when making hiring decisions. When considering an applicant for a position, employers should constantly evaluate their criminal record.
Under Section VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a corporation that publicly announces it would not hire someone with a criminal record might be sued for discrimination. A severe accusation like that might have far-reaching repercussions.
Ban the Box – Background Check Florida
As of right now, there is no "ban the box" law in effect in the state of Florida. In certain parts of the state, it’s against the law for potential employers to inquire about an applicant's criminal record.
Employers are not allowed to perform background checks on candidates prior to making conditional employment offers in the six primary jurisdictions of Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, and Miami-Dade. But, as of yet, no county has declared it unlawful for businesses to use the box.
How Far Back Does a Background Check Go in Florida?
In Florida, there’s no time limit on how far back an assessment may go. Background checks are often unrestricted, just like most others.
Background check companies in Florida ought to be aware that state ban-the-box laws may limit the circumstances in which criminal histories may be taken into account during the hiring process. Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) in Florida are prohibited by the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) from revealing the following details about a person during a background check:
- If the bad news is more than seven years old as of the report's date, it's probably safe to ignore it (except for criminal convictions)
- Do not include matters that were handled in court or arrests that occurred more than seven years ago
- On the date of the report, all tax liens were paid in full that were older than seven years
- Section 11 bankruptcies that are older than ten years as of the time of the report
- Resources from the past that are older than seven years and not included in the report
Background check statutes of limitations differ by state and territory, something that Florida businesses doing worldwide checks should keep in mind. Although in some nations criminal records may be made public permanently, in others they can only be made public for a certain period of time (such as seven years).
What Can You Find With a Background Check Florida?
A person might learn a surprising lot about themselves through Florida background checks. Background check reports from reputable people search sites like BeenVerified, PeopleLooker, TruthFinder or Intelius will include the following information.
Personal Information
Each background check report begins with personal information that makes it possible for you to decide if you have the right applicant. This might include information about them such as their name, age, birthday, past aliases, and photos.
Jobs and Education
You may learn about a person's educational background, previous employment history, and the college and high school campuses they attended. Note that unless your background check service conforms with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are unable to utilize this information to vet potential employees or tenants.
Possible Relatives and Associates
In this area, you may find names and contact information for people who could be related to the topic of your query. Even your individual background check record may be found if you're hunting for a relative.
FL Contact Information
The background check Florida report could also provide you with contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses if you're looking for leads. This article can be invaluable if your company does Florida background checks.
FL Criminal Records
All background investigations should take into account criminal and arrest records from Florida's law enforcement and courts. Information on the nature of the crime, the date of the crime, the location of the trial, and the name of the court in which the case was heard may be obtained if the individual was brought before the law.
FL Property Information
This section is a treasure mine of data if you're trying to determine the person's financial situation. Places of employment, tax IDs, phone numbers, email addresses, names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates, mortgage amounts, VINs, and selling prices of currently owned properties may be among the data provided.
Related Links
This section includes all websites that could lead to the person you're searching for. You might look for individual media such as websites, blogs, news stories, and social media profiles.
How Long Does a Background Check Take In Florida?
The accuracy of your Florida criminal record search may also depend on how you do the search. Background checks utilizing trustworthy people-searching services like BeenVerified, PeopleLooker, or TruthFinder may be completed in a matter of minutes.
So, it’s simple to run several tests and get comprehensive results. If you want to do a background check the old-fashioned way in Florida, you need at least one and up to three business days for the procedure to be completed. In particular, when it comes to checking out potential tenants and employees.
7 Best Services for Background Check Florida
Knowing how simple it is to do a background check in Florida utilizing a background check service, let's examine the top five services in more detail. We'll quickly evaluate the unique qualities of these goods and services.
Throughout the course of your Florida background check, you'll pick up some useful tips on how to choose the right people-searching website for your needs.
BeenVerified– Best Overall for Background Check Florida
BeenVerified is a frontrunner in the background check industry, doing a wide range of searches including access to Florida's public records, criminal records, and court records. It could give us a more thorough picture of their background.
The company uses reliable data sources and has access to billions of public records in Florida to ensure the accuracy of its background check Florida findings.
In addition to its many other benefits, BeenVerified stands out because of the ease with which users may conduct searches. The site's straightforward layout and simple search features make it accessible and simple to navigate.
The company offers a number of pricing options, from monthly memberships to pay-per-search models, which may be appealing to individuals and businesses with limited budgets.
Background check questions and issues may be addressed with the aid of BeenVerified's customer support team. The company offers a team of specialists that can provide guidance on making the most of the system and making sense of the reports' contents.
PeopleLooker – Best Background Check Florida for Fast & Accurate Results
PeopleLooker is a public records search engine that users may use to seek facts on individuals, such as their criminal history, addresses, and phone numbers. PeopleLooker may be useful for Florida background checks, according to some users.
According to PeopleLooker, it’s possible to view a wide range of public information in Florida, such as court and arrest records. As a result, they could do background checks that are more in-depth than those of rival firms.
Its user-friendly website may be used with ease even by those who are not acquainted with background checks. If someone or a company has to do background checks but lacks the necessary skills, this might be helpful.
The amount of checks you need to run affects how much it will cost you to use PeopleLooker’s background check service. They provide affordable prices for people and businesses with restricted budgets.
TruthFinder – Best Florida Background Check Service for Value
TruthFinder is the absolute leader in background checks. You may quickly and simply do different searches by inputting phone numbers, names, or email addresses thanks to its user-friendly layout.
It can give a considerable amount of credible data about a person of interest since it has accessibility to one of Florida's most extensive databases of public records.
You can get information that isn't accessible online by using TruthFinder's background check services as well as the dark web monitoring tool. TruthFinder is available for a monthly fee of $28.05 or a two-month membership fee of $46.
Intelius– Best Florida Background Check Service for Accuracy
Background checks performed by Intelius in Florida are as accurate as those performed by TruthFinder. One of the best features of this nationwide database is the high degree of accuracy of the search results.
It's extremely similar to TruthFinder in terms of functionality, and its database of close to 20 billion public records means you can access a plethora of data about any individual in Florida.
Intelius is cheaper than TruthFinder by $5.12 each month, or $24.86 total. The price of the two-month plan is $42.25 if you decide to sign up for it. In general, the service is equivalent to TruthFinder, without the latter's dark web monitoring feature, and comes at a somewhat lower price.
Instant Checkmate – Best Background FL Check Service for Speed
If you need Florida background check results immediately, Instant Checkmate can be the best option. If you value convenience above all else, our background check service is your best option thanks to its fast results and handy mobile app. When comparing Florida background check services, you won't find this option anywhere else.
This service uses a massive database of publicly available papers to provide accurate context. This service is more costly than average with a monthly plan cost of $34.78. It offers a three-month package for $83.47 in place of the two-month plan. Instant Checkmate values its users' privacy just as much as its speed.
Spokeo – Best Florida Background Check Service for Reverse Email Lookup
You can check someone's history using only their email address and reverse email lookup. It turns out that Spokeo is a terrific option for you if you want to do business research and generate leads in Florida since it has the best email lookup as well as background check features.
One of the most effective methods to do a background check in Florida is Spokeo, which allows you to search by phone number, name, email, or physical location in addition to other criteria. Several people find it to be quite tempting since it provides one of the lowest monthly membership rates ($19.99).
It is one of the least expensive Florida background check services, with a three-month package costing only $44.85.
US Search– Best Florida Background Check Service for API Integration
Doing background checks is made easy by US Search. One of the few firms out there gives a money-back guarantee if the final output falls short of your expectations.
They could be enough if you just require some basic background check Florida, despite the fact that their online interface is fairly simplistic compared to other providers.
US Search charges $3 for one background check in Florida. The monthly plan is a fantastic choice if you need a plan for a lengthy period of time or need to make several searches since it is fairly priced at $19.86.
What Does the Florida Public Records Law Say?
The Florida Constitution has a large number of provisions protecting citizens' right to see public records. Documents generated or received by a government agency in the course of doing its official business must be made available for public view, with certain exceptions established by the Florida Legislature.
The Sunshine Law is covered in detail in Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes. Electronic reproductions of books, cassettes, photos, paper documents, maps, motion pictures, records, and sound recordings are also protected under Florida law.
Florida Criminal Records – Background Check FL
A criminal records database in Florida may include information about a person's prior offenses. The files include details on any arrests, accusations, and convictions for crimes of whatever severity.
What’s on a Florida Criminal Record?
The criminal history of a person, also known as their Florida criminal record, offers a thorough picture of their dealings with law enforcement.
An individual's criminal history, also known as their criminal record, offers a thorough picture of their dealings with law enforcement
- Trial periods
- When an arrest occurred
- Charges
- History of sexual offenses
- News about arrests
- Verdicts
- Pseudonyms
- Accusation of any kind of wrongdoing, including felonies
- A confession
Where Can I Find Florida Criminal Records?
The Department of Law Enforcement of Florida is responsible for keeping all criminal records. This will take you to Florida's official background check website. You'll need to fork out $25 one time to make advantage of the criminal background check.
Florida Inmate Records – Background Check Florida
Public prisoner records contain not just the specifics of an offender's imprisonment but also additional information that would be gleaned through a standard background check, such as the offender's criminal history.
What’s on a Florida Inmate Record?
Although there’s a wide range of information that might be included in a prisoner's file, in Florida, the following are often included
- Personal information includes things like a person's date of birth, name, and gender
- Identification number for inmates
- A mugshot of the person under suspicion
- Custody situation
- The specifics of a prisoner's transfer
- The whereabouts of the inmates
Where Can I Find Free Background Check Florida?
The Florida Corrections Department compiles and maintains these incarceration statistics. The Prison Offender Network website is a good place to start looking.
All types of criminal justice records are available to the public in Florida. The state has a prisoner registry and a list of prisons and jails. In certain areas, people are able to check their arrest records.
Florida Court Records – Background Check Florida
In Florida, citizens have access to both court proceedings and case records. All Florida courts, including state, federal, and the state's highest one, the Florida Supreme Court, have jurisdiction over their usage in both civil and criminal matters.
Notwithstanding the Transparency Act's mandate that all court papers be made available to the public, some may remain unavailable owing to being sealed or expunged. This is typical practice when the material in question poses a threat to minors or crime victims.
There isn't a single court or central archive where you can find all of these documents. Or, any interested party may get the files by contacting the presiding judge.
What’s on a GA Court Record?
Florida court records typically contain the following information, however, exceptions do exist
- Case transcripts
- Case files
- Dockets
- Evidence gathered by the jury
- Papers signed by eyewitnesses
- Judgment mandates
- Legal proof of a verdict
Where to Find Florida Court Records
A request for access to court documents in Florida must be made in person at the courthouse where the matter was heard, either to the court clerk, county clerk, or clerk of court.
The internet allows access to certain county records. It's possible that certain county records might be made available digitally. Example: the Miami-Dade County Comptroller's website has a searchable database where public documents may be retrieved. Finding a comparable place in the designated county is a brilliant strategy.
Florida Vital Records – Background Check Florida
Accurate and current vital records must be kept across the state by the Florida Department of Health. Documents found in Florida's public vital records entail
- Death certificates
- Marriage certifications
- Birth certificates
- Divorce decrees
Background Check Florida - Frequently Asked Questions
Some inquiries and responses relating to background checks in Florida. This ought to address any remaining queries you may have.
Can I Get a Free Background Check in Florida?
It takes a lot of research to do a free background check Florida, and it may be difficult to discover service providers that provide top-notch background check reports without charging a fee. While selecting a free background check, we would highly encourage you to proceed with additional care.
The fact is that Florida criminal records checks are not worth it. Finding the information you get from expensive background check companies like BeenVerified, PeopleLooker, or TruthFinder for free is really challenging.
How Much Is a Background Check in Florida?
In Florida, background checks with companies like BeenVerified, PeopleLooker, TruthFinder and Intelius cost between $24 and $28 per month. You may conduct background checks on individuals as often as you'd like with this monthly subscription. US Search costs $3 each report to do a background investigation in Florida.
What Background Check Service Is Best for Florida?
BeenVerified is the top Florida background screening service because of its extensive phone and email search options, its database of public records, and its ability to monitor dark web activity. Due to its superior UI and much reduced price, PeopleLooker has risen to become Florida's second-best background check service.
Can a Background Check Florida Request Be Submitted by Non-residents in Florida?
Each person who is a citizen of the United States or a resident of any state has the right to see any public document that’s kept by the state, as stated in Florida's Public Records Act. Everyone who wants public documents in the United States will get them.
Is There a Records Custodian in Florida?
In Florida, anybody in possession of a public record must make it available to the public. Even if the word "records steward" is not used, access must still be granted.
What Exemptions Exist for Background Check Florida?
The Florida Constitution presumes that all information is available to the public and provides no exclusions.
How Long Does the State Have to Respond to a Florida background check Request?
There may be a time limit on when a state must respond to a public records request in certain jurisdictions. But Florida isn't one of those places.
All questions must be addressed "promptly," as required by the Florida Constitution. If a document is requested and determined to be accessible, it should be submitted to the requesting party as soon as practicable.
What Kind of Enforcement Is in Place for Background Check Florida Requests?
Florida's statutes that reject appeals and withhold information are poorly enforced. You are out of luck, for instance, if you are refused access to documents that should be open to the public.
Unlike Florida, some other states have appeals processes in place. The Florida office of the Attorney General is available to arbitrate any conflicts.
What Fees Are Associated With Requesting Background Check Florida?
Florida's copying fees are as follows: $0.15 per page for single-sided copies, $0.20 per page for double-sided copies, and $1 each certified copy. It’s also permissible under Florida law to charge more for a particularly resource-intensive request.
Bottom Line on Background Check Florida
The services that we have described above may make it straightforward for you to obtain trustworthy information, whether you are doing a background investigation in Florida for the sake of conducting business, seeking to identify a long-lost family or friend, or discovering the truth about a potential spouse.
It's not easy to do a background check in Florida since you'll have to visit several agencies and submit public records search requests to each one. Unless you pay the appropriate fee for each request, we cannot do the work on your behalf. To find precise information in the documents you get, scanning is still necessary.
The best Florida background check services streamline the process. You may easily get a complete FL background check report by doing a search using the name, contact details, email address, or physical location of your target.
DISCLAIMER: You may not use the non-FCRA approved services mentioned in this article or the information they provide to decide about consumer credit, employment, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. These services don’t provide consumer reports and are not consumer reporting agencies. (These terms have special meanings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq., ("FCRA"), which are incorporated herein by reference.)
The information available on our website may not be 100% accurate, complete, or up to date, so do not use it as a substitute for your own due diligence, especially if you have concerns about a person’s criminal history. The services we mention do not make any representation or warranty about the accuracy of the information available through our website or about the character or integrity of the person about whom you inquire. For more information, please review each service’s Terms of Use.
