Criminal background checks take step back in North Carolina

Thanks to a change instituted by the Administrative Office of the Courts, those who want to see state criminal records on prospective tenants will have to pore through old files in a much slower computer database system than what was previously being used.

According to the AOC, the change was necessary to protect the secrecy of criminal records that have been expunged. Through the previous protocol, the most cost effective way to search for criminal records was for private vendors to buy access to the state’s database. In some cases that information was outdated, meaning convictions or charges that had been expunged were still showing up on people’s records.

Criminal records in North Carolina are public. But the electronic system that keeps them is difficult to manage and nearly impossible for the average person to search records across the state. People can visit local courthouses and search criminal records, but they can see results only for that particular county, not the whole state.

It’s hard to say what this means for tenant screening services, but costs could rise as vendors are forced to pay more to get the information they need for their clients.

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