Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View Records Sponsored partner optionWhat should you know about this search?
Direct answer
To get a criminal background check online, identify the required report before ordering. The FBI direct Identity History Summary is a fingerprint-based personal-review product with a published agency fee, while employment, licensing, adoption, or state-specific checks may require a different authorized process.
“Online” describes the submission channel, not the legal purpose of the check
The FBI allows an individual to begin an Identity History Summary request electronically, but the request still depends on fingerprints. The agency does not turn that process into a public name search simply because the form starts online. That distinction helps prevent a common mistake: ordering a personal-review product when an employer, licensing body, or other authority actually requires a different state or federally authorized channel.
The FBI explicitly notes that a direct Identity History Summary obtained for personal review is not the ordinary process for every U.S. employment, licensing, or adoption purpose. FTC guidance adds a separate layer when an employer obtains a report from a background reporting company. Before ordering anything, identify who is asking for the check and what form of report that organization accepts.
How the direct FBI self-review path works
1
Start the requestUse the FBI Identity History Summary process and provide the identifying information requested for your own record review.2
Submit fingerprintsComplete the fingerprint step through an accepted method; the FBI does not substitute a simple name check for this request.3
Pay the FBI request feeThe FBI lists a fee for the direct Identity History Summary request; separate fingerprinting or channeler costs can be additional.4
Read the result in scopeTreat the returned summary as the FBI personal-review product it is, then use the required state or authorized process if another organization requests a different background check.Choose the online path by who needs the result
| Need | Likely route | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Review your own FBI history | Direct FBI Identity History Summary request | Fingerprint-based personal review, not a public name search |
| Employment screening through a reporting company | Employer and consumer-reporting-company workflow | FCRA disclosure, permission, and adverse-action procedures can apply |
| Licensing or adoption requirement | The requesting agency or authorized state/federal channel | The direct personal-review summary may not satisfy the required process |
| Check one local criminal case | The court or repository that owns that case record | A broad background product can be unnecessary when the specific source is known |
Avoid three request-path mistakes
Wrong product
Do not order a self-review merely because the requester said “background check”
Ask for the accepted agency, fingerprint, certification, or channel requirements first.
Wrong identity assumption
Do not expect the FBI direct request to work as a name-only web lookup
Fingerprint submission is part of how the Identity History Summary is tied to the requester.
Wrong fee assumption
Do not treat the FBI request fee as the total cost of every route
Fingerprint collection, postal services, approved channelers, or a separate state process can have their own charges.