Global Watchlist Search

This article will help you:

• Understand what a Global Watchlist Search is and why it’s an important part of a background report
• Understand your candidate's experience

A Global Watchlist search identifies whether a candidate is listed on any domestic and/or international watchlists. This search includes several international, government and regulatory databases that identify individuals who are either prohibited from certain industries, such as healthcare and finance, or are on criminal lists.

Sources include:

• Office Of Inspector General
• European Union Consolidated List
• Drug Enforcement Agency Fugitives
• Government Sanction Databases
• US Terrorist List, and more

The Global Watchlist Search can identify known terrorists, money launderers, and drug traffickers from several federal databases which are not covered under Checkr’s State, Federal, and County Criminal Searches. Conversely, the State, Federal, and County Criminal searches rarely return results from the sources searched in the Global Watchlist search.

The frequency with which these federal databases are updated depends on how often each individual source updates their records. For example, a state healthcare sanctions database might update every 30 days, whereas an international criminal database might update every 6 months.

To run a Global Watchlist Search, the candidate’s name is sent to a vendor and checked against several databases. The name given either yields results (with the corresponding details of the sanction/record), or the screening clears if no results are returned.  

Candidate Experience

The Global Watchlist Search is included in Checkr’s basic report package, which includes SSN Trace, Sex Offender Search, Global Watchlist Search, and National Criminal Search. The Global Watchlist Search cannot be run as a standalone Screening.

Candidates will be asked to provide Personally Identifiable Information (PII), including their full name, date of birth, social security number, email address, and phone number.

They will then be presented and asked to acknowledge receipt of applicable forms and notifications, including Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and an Acknowledgment and Authorization for Background Check.

After the candidate consents, Checkr will initiate the Search.

If you've applied for a job and are looking for more information on your background check’s status or progress, please log into the Checkr Applicant Portal.