Michigan Background Check


Conduct a thorough criminal background check in Michigan by searching criminal history, Michigan court records, find current past addresses, check Michigan prison, jail inmate records, and Michigan department of corrections records. Also check Michigan professional licenses and other credentials.



Free Background Check in Michigan

Procedure to search criminal history records for employment/licensing when fingerprints are required by law:

The search is for arrests with conviction unless the governing statute requires arrests without conviction to be provided:

  • Obtain a Live Scan request form from your employer/licensing agency.
  • Complete the center section of the form.
  • Contact approved Live Scan vendor.
  • The Live Scan site will collect the State and FBI search fee.  Plus a fee for the service will be set by the Live Scan vendor.
  • Other Live Scan sites may be available through the sheriff or local police departments.
  • Turn around time is 7 business days or less.  Responses will be returned to the requestor identified by the agency ID number.
  • Employers needing an agency number can call the number below.

Procedure to search criminal history records, by name, without fingerprints:

The search by name is only for criminal convictions that may be on file.  Most employment checks are by name only, unless fingerprints are required for licensing or by state law.

  • Go to www.michigan.gov/ichat.  You will be required to register with an e-mail address as well as your name and address.  All fields marked with an asterisk(*) are mandatory.  You will need to create your own password; the password must be between 6 and 12 characters long, contain both letters and numbers, and it is case sensitive.
  • Once you have registered, click on "Search for Criminal History".  You will be asked how many searches you wish to perform.
  • You will then be prompted for credit card information.  The cost is $10.00 for each search, payable with a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card.
  • Once your credit card transaction has been approved, you will be sent to the search information page.  All fields marked with an asterisk(*) are mandatory; the search cannot run without name, race, date of birth, and gender.  You are also allowed up to three variations on a name.  Examples: Mary Jane Doe, Mary Jane Smith, Jane Doe, and Jane Smith can all be searched together.
  • Once you click on the submit button, the search should be completed in less than a minute.  You will still be on the search screen.  Scroll down and you will be given the option of doing more searches or viewing the responses.
  • When you view the response, click on the person's last name.  You will either be told that the person has no record or you will be shown the person's conviction record.



What Is an Michigan Background Check?

An Michigan Background Check offers a comprehensive search in public records for:

  • Vital records, like births, deaths, marriages, and divorces
  • Current contact information and previous addresses
  • Criminal records, convictions and prison records or sex offender registration
  • Civil court filings, like civil judgments
  • Tax liens and bankruptcies
  • Records of real estate ownership and registered assets
  • Professional and business licenses

Michigan background check is available through the state or through premium data aggregation services who conduct public record data searches and provide you with a report.. Each state, and sometimes each county, has different rules on how much information is available and who can access background check data. Therefore a background check may still not contain every record about a person, however in most cases it is very thorough. Most premium background check services use multiple databases of public records in order to provide you with their background reports.


Learn More About Background Checks