Background Investigations:
Frequently Asked Questions


Following are frequently asked questions about background investigations, including authorization and notification procedures, legal issues, and other related topics.

»What information is required to run a background check?
»What is the turnaround time on the different searches?
»What is the difference between county, state, and federal court searches?
»How do I contact the three major credit bureaus?
»How do I interpret my Dun & Bradstreet business credit report?

Q. What information is required to run a background check?
A. Credit reports, Social Security number searches, and public record searches (criminal court records, civil court records, etc.) can be initiated with the subject’s full name, Social Security number, date of birth, and residence address. Date of birth is key for public records searches; it is the most common identifier on court record indexes, while Social Security numbers appear on less than five percent of these records. If a background check contains other components, such as educational history, employment history, motor vehicle records, etc., more information pertaining to these specific areas, such as names of schools attended, names of companies of employment, and driver’s license number, respectively, will be required.

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Q. What is the turnaround time on the different searches?
A. Some information, such as credit data and Social Security data, can be accessed instantly with an immediate turnaround time.  Other searches, such as criminal records, typically take between 24-48 hours depending on the jurisdiction.  Employment and education verifications, as well as professional and personal reference checks, can usually be completed in 24 to 72 hours, but this can vary depending on the responsiveness of private employers, schools, and references.

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Q. What is the difference between county, state, and federal court searches?
A. The difference between these types of searches centers on 1) the location of the records and 2) the information the records contain. County court searches retrieve county court case records; cases handled in county court concern matters of state law. State record searches involve retrieving court case records from every county court through a state repository, such as the state police or other agency, or through a state court system. Statewide searches may cover more geographic area in one search, but final deposition information may not always be available for each record found, and the search may take longer than a search of an individual county’s court records. Federal court searches involve retrieving federal court case records from United States district courts; cases handled in federal court concern matters of United States law.  Felony and misdemeanor charges can be filed at county or federal courts.

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Q. How do I contact the three major credit bureaus?
A. Following are names, addresses, phone numbers, and Web site addresses for the three major credit bureaus:

Trans Union
Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-888-4213
www.transunion.com

Equifax
Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
701 Experian Parkway P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

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Q. How do I interpret my Dun & Bradstreet business credit report?
A. Your Dun & Bradstreet business credit report contains expanded financial information, including:

Credit Score Class—The Credit Score Class rates the firm from 1-5 according to where its Commercial Credit Score and Credit Score Percentile fall within designated ranges.

Credit Score Percentile—This percentile shows where the firm’s Commercial Credit Score falls in comparison to all of the other businesses in Dun & Bradstreet’s database using a scale of 1-100.

Commercial Credit Score—The US Commercial Credit Score, which ranges from 101-670, predicts the likelihood of a firm paying in a delinquent manner (90 + days past terms) during the next 12 months.

  • A Commercial Credit Score of 536-670 places the corporation in the 91-100% Credit Score Percentile and Credit Score Class 1. These firms have a 2.5% incidence of delinquency.
  • A Commercial Credit Score of 493-535 places the corporation in the 71-90% Credit Score Percentile and Credit Score Class 2. These firms have a 4.8% incidence of delinquency.
  • A Commercial Credit Score of 423-492 places the corporation in the 31-70% Credit Score Percentile and Credit Score Class 3. These firms have a 12.9% incidence of delinquency.
  • A Commercial Credit Score of 376-422 places the corporation in the 11-30% Credit Score Percentile and Credit Score Class 4. These firms have a 24.2% incidence of delinquency.
  • A Commercial Credit Score of 101-375 places the corporation in the 1-10% Credit Score Percentile and Credit Score Class 5. These firms have a 58.8% incidence of delinquency.

Incidence of Delinquent Payment —The Incidence of Delinquent Payment shows the percentage of firms in a given Credit Score Percentile range that paid in a delinquent manner (90 + days past terms) over the past year.

  • In the 96-100% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 2.1%.

  • In the 91-95% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 2.9%.

  • In the 86-90% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 3.6%.

  • In the 81-85% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 4.4%.

  • In the 76-80% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 5.2%.

  • In the 71-75% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 6.1%.

  • In the 66-70% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 7.3%.

  • In the 61-65% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 8.7%.

  • In the 56-60% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 10.5%.

  • In the 51-55% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 12.2%.

  • In the 46-50% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 13.9%.

  • In the 41-45% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 15.5%.

  • In the 36-40% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 17.2%.

  • In the 31-35% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 18.4%.

  • In the 26-30% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 20.2%.

  • In the 21-25% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 22.5%.

  • In the 16-20% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 24.6%.

  • In the 11-15% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 29.6%.

  • In the 6-10% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 44.9%.

  • In the 1-5% Credit Score Percentile, Incidence of Delinquent Payment is 72.7%.

PAYDEX Score—The Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX is a unique, dollar-weighted indicator of a business's payment performance based on the total number of payment experiences in Dun & Bradstreet's file.

  • A score of 80 – 100 indicates a LOW risk of late payment
    (The company’s payment history averages prompt to 30 days within terms.)
  • A score of 50 – 79 indicates a MEDIUM risk of late payment.
    (The company’s payment history averages 30 days or less beyond terms.)
  • A score of 0 – 49 indicates a HIGH risk of late payment.
    (The company’s payment history averages 30 days to 120 days beyond terms.)

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