Fresno County Background Check

Background check refers to the process of finding out the history of the subject of the background check. There are many types and methods that one could use when trying to find out the history of the subject, but often, the one that is most common are criminal history background checks. When one considers the reasons behind why background checks have become common place, one could also see why Fresno County Background Check often relates only to criminal history background checks. There are some events in the history of a person that he does not want other people to know, yet often, these events are the ones that other people require to know, other people such as a prospective employer, or a neighbor.

Background checks are conducted using documents and records that are part of the public record. The three types of documents that are most often used in background checks are arrest records, court records and prison records, though by no means are background checks limited to only these three types of public records. Aside from being classified as public records, these documents are non-vital public records, meaning, they are easier to obtain than had they been vital public records as the stringent requirements required for vital records do not apply to non-vital public records.

When these records were first made, however, they are filed at different offices. Arrest records are the province of the sheriff office as the primary law enforcement agency in the county, court records are, of course, the responsibility of the superior courts, while prison records are the responsibility of the probation department of the county. The searcher may have to visit all of these departments in order to gain access to the original copies of these records and even then, the searcher would not actually be allowed to take the records out of the archives where these records are kept.

Fortunately, there is a central repository of public records, and this is the office of the recorder. The recorder has copies of all public records that are filed at the county, and the procedure to obtain records from this office is relatively simple, albeit quite tedious and would require the actual presence of the searcher at the office of the recorder. The procedure starts with the searcher asking for permission to view the archives. Given the public nature of the records located within the archives, permission is almost always given. Once permission has been given, the searcher is now free to look into the archives itself, though it is suggested that he request the assistance of a member of the staff. Once the record had been located, it would be copied upon request and upon payment of the required copying fee which is one dollar per regular sized page.

There are other offices that have custody of public records, and they all have their own procedure that one must follow before the searcher could access their archives, but if the searcher requires the records as soon as possible, the fastest and most efficient method of searching for records would be to use online databases. There are a number of online databases that are available for records searches and despite the fact that most of them provide the same information as the other government offices, most of them provide their services for free. Also, searches using this form are faster and more efficient. Finally, there are some websites that actually do the background checks themselves, though such request often cost upwards of hundreds of dollars.

To obtain copies helpful in criminal background check from the office of the recorder, the procedure is given below

• Visit the Office of the Recorder and ask for permission to view the archives.
• Once permission is given, search the archives for the records that you wish to obtain. You may also want to request for the assistance of a member of the staff.
• It may take some time to locate the records, but once they had been located, you may look at them and make notes, but note that you cannot take the record or actually write on it.
• You may, however, request that a copy of the same be made for you.
• The staff member on duty at the archives would be the one to process your request for a copy and would give you a blank record order form that you must fill up.
• Once the form has been filled up, submit the same to the staff member on duty who would then count the number of pages on the record so that he could determine your required fee.
• Once the required fee had been determined, you would be given a payment slip which you would take to the cashier where you would pay the fee. Note that at this juncture, you may also want to pay the certification fee as well.
• Once paid, return to the archives and present the receipt to the staff member on duty who would validate the same before giving you your copy of the record that you had asked to be copied.
• Have the records certified by the clerk. If you had not paid the certification fee yet, pay the same at the cashier.

Fresno County Criminal Records

The following links may be of assistance in case of further questions

• Fresno County
• Office of the Recorder
• Sheriff
• Probation
• District Attorney
• Public Defender
• Superior Court