Background Check Prices

Compare the product before the price

Background-check prices are meaningful only when the scope and unit match. A fee may purchase one personal fingerprint history, one exact-name court search, or individual document pages. None of the official examples below is a complete employment-screening package or a guarantee that every record in every jurisdiction has been found. Prices were checked on October 2, 2026.

First obtain the recipient’s required product, jurisdiction, acceptable certification, and deadline. Then budget the search fee, fingerprint collection, additional names or jurisdictions, copies, mailing, and any provider service charge separately. Ask commercial vendors whether the quoted amount is per person or a recurring subscription and which add-ons are mandatory.

FBI personal history: $18 per person

An FBI Identity History Summary costs $18 per person when requested directly. Fingerprints are required; collection at a participating post office or through a technician can add charges. FBI-approved channelers set additional service fees. The FBI does not offer a paid faster-processing option, so an expensive intermediary quote should explain what extra service it supplies.

The direct FBI product is for reviewing, correcting, or updating your own history; employment and licensing checks follow their authorized state-agency process. A fee waiver requires a claim and proof of inability to pay, such as an affidavit of indigence. Each additional sealed mailed response requires another request and $18 payment. The FBI FAQ directs waiver questions to 304-625-5590 or [email protected] before submission.

The FBI currently lists online responses within 48 hours after participating-post-office electronic fingerprinting, about 10 days after receipt of a mailed fingerprint card for an online request, and up to 15 days for mail requests, plus postal delivery. Choose the submission method around the actual receipt of fingerprints, not merely the day you open an application.

Two state products with different coverage

New York’s Office of Court Administration charges $95 for CHRS, submitted through Direct Access online or by mailed application; its unit has no in-person service. The match is exact name plus date of birth. Its court-derived report covers reportable pending cases and convictions across New York’s 62 counties, with sealed-record, disposition, and historical town/village-data limits. It excludes federal cases and is not nationwide.

Tennessee’s public adult criminal-history service costs $29 for a Tennessee-only check on an individual. Fingerprints are not required for that product. Applications can be online or mailed, but results are electronic and require a valid email address. Tennessee separately advertises fingerprint products; their prices and eligibility cannot be substituted for the $29 public name-based service.

PACER charges for access, including some empty searches

Federal PACER access costs $0.10 per page, and the charge arises from viewing search results, reports, or documents, not from printing them. A no-match search can still cost $0.10. A single document and case-specific report generally caps at $3, but name-search results, non-case-specific reports, and federal hearing transcripts do not receive that cap.

If an account accrues $30 or less in a quarter, PACER waives that quarter’s fees. For a budget example, a five-page PDF costs $0.50 before any quarterly waiver; a 50-page ordinary document reaches the $3 cap. These are access calculations, not a clerk’s certified-copy quotation. Save purchased material and narrow docket date ranges to avoid unnecessary repeat retrievals.

Make the final quote auditable

Ask the seller to identify the databases and court jurisdictions, date coverage, turnaround start point, included identity checks, and what happens if a name produces no match. An exact-match New York request and a fingerprint-based FBI request answer different questions. Paying for both does not automatically repair missing data, nor establish that an employer may use the personal FBI product.

A usable quote separates the base fee from fingerprinting, certification, extra copies, delivery, and optional speed or monitoring services. Verify renewal and refund conditions before committing. Do not calculate a universal total by adding these examples: purchase the evidence required for the particular task and retain the agency or vendor receipt.

If the paid report is wrong

A higher price does not establish an accurate person match. Keep the report, identifiers submitted, source case references, and relevant court order. Use the issuing agency’s correction route for its record and the screening company’s dispute process for a commercial report. The FBI’s challenge process accepts supporting documentation; ordering a fresh paid search is not itself a correction request. The FBI does not charge a fee for a challenge.