North Carolina Background Check


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



Free Background Check in North Carolina

The following are three ways that you can obtain a criminal record for an individual on a one-time basis:

Contact the Clerk of Superior Court's office for a single-county record check for yourself or others

If you would like a certified copy of your or another individual's criminal record, you may contact the Clerk of Superior Court's Office within the county for a search of records within that county only. You can fill out the form online, print it, and then mail it to the clerk's office; the fee is $25. To look up your record or a record of someone else's, public access terminals are available in the clerk's office to search and view criminal records without charge.

Contact the State Bureau of Investigation for non-certified statewide record checks for yourself

Obtain your own statewide criminal record from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), with submission of a fingerprint card and payment of a fee – see "Background Check on Yourself."



What Is an North Carolina Background Check?

An North Carolina 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

North Carolina 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