The United States (US) federal courts have jurisdiction over the US government, the Constitution, and federal laws. Federal courts try crimes under federal criminal law.
Federal criminal records
Accessing federal criminal records requires a federal criminal record search. Federal criminal information is online, so in-court research is usually unnecessary. Most federal records redact all or most personally identifiable information (PII).
Examples of federal offenses
- Bank robberies
- Child pornography (possession, production, trafficking)
- Crimes against federal employees
- Crimes committed on federal land
- Crimes that cross state lines
- Drug cases involving large distribution networks
- Other crimes outside state jurisdictions
Note: County and state criminal searches don’t return federal records.
Federal criminal searches
Checkr first searches the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) database, the central repository for publicly accessible federal cases. PACER allows name-based searches but doesn’t allow searches using other identifiers, such as Social Security number or birth date. Checkr limits PACER searches to the states relevant to your candidate’s address history.
To ensure a comprehensive range of returned records, Checkr doesn't require a candidate’s exact name for the initial PACER search. What happens next depends on what PACER finds:
- At least one potential match: Checkr researchers complete the search by accessing the record at the federal courthouse.
- No match: Checkr does a complete federal criminal search, with no additional searches.
Information retrieved by federal criminal searches
Federal criminal searches can find the information below if publicly available:
- Case number
- Charge
- Charge type (such as felony or misdemeanor)
- Court jurisdiction
- Defendant’s name
- Disposition (such as guilty or dismissed)
- Disposition date
- Sentencing information
How to order a federal criminal search
To order a federal criminal search, follow the standard ordering process. Be sure to select the standalone search or package that includes a federal criminal search.
Additionally, you can add a federal criminal search to a background check search package from the Checkr Dashboard during the ordering process.
Turnaround time for federal criminal searches
The time it takes for federal criminal searches to complete depends on whether or not records were found.
- No records found: Federal criminal searches that find no records finish almost immediately.
- Records found: Federal criminal searches that find a record can take two to three business days to complete.
Video overview
Play the Checkr Academy video below to learn the advantages and limitations of a federal criminal search.