Pre-employment background checks are a necessary fact of life for businesses today. No background check on new hires - or ineffective background checks that are not conducted by a qualified company - can cost your business its profitability down the road in theft and fraud losses, workplace violence problems or harassment suits. Knowledge and prevention are clearly the best hiring practices.

Although most employers now understand the value of pre-employment background checks, not everyone understands that there is an enormous difference in the quality of background checks. There is a reason why quick-fix internet background screeners only charge $19.95-$39.95 - you don't get verified, accurate information and the background checks are not conducted or overseen by licensed investigators who know what they are doing. Using inexpensive background checks that may be incomplete or inaccurate can be as dangerous as not doing background checks at all. For a longer discussion of the problems with incomplete or inaccurate background checks, please see "Not All Background Checks are Equal."

At Parrent Smith Investigations, all of our Pre-Employment Background Reports are guaranteed for completeness and accuracy and are conducted or checked by licensed investigators. When you use our service, you will know whether or not the applicant you want to hire has lied on his or her application. You will be certain that he or she will not have a criminal record that we haven't discovered.

There are many legal constraints, both state and federal, on how background investigations relating to employment are performed. Those laws apply to prospective employers using their human resources departments to perform the work, as well as to investigative agencies. Parrent Smith Investigations and Research keeps abreast of all the constantly changing legal requirements and works in a manner that never places our clients at risk. You can rest assured that we are compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and also that we carry professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance.

Finally, we promise that all of your questions will be answered by a real person in the U.S, not an anonymous email from overseas.

Types of Reports:

We can work with you to customize reports that fit the needs of your company or you can choose one of the packages that we offer. All of our reports also include discrepancy alerts. When you provide us your potential employee's application by fax or email, we will cross-check their application with our report and alert you to any discrepancies. That is a service that no online pre-employment screening company can offer. Yet, it is an essential part of a pre-employment check - verifying whether or not the applicant has lied on the application.

Click on the reports on the side for a complete discussion of each type of report or call or email one of our offices to discuss your company's needs.

Bronze Essential Background Check

This report is recommended for all employees who are not key employees and those who do not handle money or financial records.

Silver Essential Background Check (with verifications)

This report includes all of the checks included in the Bronze Essential Background Check, plus verification of employment, education and references. This check is recommended when your company does not have the qualified staff time necessary to do thorough verification calls.

Gold Essential Background Check (with verifications and additional searches)

This report is recommended for the hiring of key employees. It covers all of the above essential checks and verifications included in the Silver Essential Background Check, plus 9 additional searches, including a media search, officer/director records and civil litigation searches.

Custom Reports and Special Reports for Particular Employees

Call or email us to discuss custom reports. The following reports are recommended additions for particular types of employees

• License or Certification Verification
• Credit Report History
• Motor Vehicle Report (MVR)
• Sex Offender Registry Search