Are you thinking of hiring someone? Or are you looking for a tenant for your rental property, or trying to track down a long-lost family member or friend?

As long as you are in legitimate need of personal information about someone else, you may benefit from having a background people search performed. Before you start a process that may make you feel slightly uncomfortable, however, there may be a few questions you'd like clarified.

Who requests background people searches?

Employers, legal officials, government agencies, landlords, and even those hoping to find friends or family members will often have a background people search performed.

Employers and landlords, especially, by making sure they are not going to become involved with someone whose past history points to a poor employment or rental risk, can save themselves future legal headaches.

What will a background people search reveal?

That will depend on what you specifically ask the investigator to research, and how thoroughly the search is performed. You will have to pay more to get more.

Will a background people search uncover a person's criminal history?

The success of a background people search focusing on someone's criminal record will depend on the skills of the researcher. It is best, in the case of criminal searches, to hire a firm with a network of "court runners", who will make on-site visits to the various court houses where the individual might have criminal convictions on file.

County criminal records searches, depending on how much information you give the researcher, are most likely to give you accurate results. Because more than one individual can share the same name, you should, if possible, have a date of birth, or even better, a Social Security Number for the person you are checking.

What if I can't find a background people search service with court runners?

Just be aware that many online background search services limit themselves to searching lists of current prison populations. If the person you are checking was recently released from prison, you won't know.

And any juvenile criminal records a person has will not show up in a search.

What else can I find out through a background people search?

Background people searches can be done to find bankruptcies and to check a person's credit history. Bankruptcies are a matter of public record, but credit history screening can only be done by prospective employers or landlords, and the request for them must be accompanied by a signed release from the person being investigated.

You can also verify employment and education histories, but some educational institutions will not release transcripts.

Can I do a background check on a company?

Investigators who perform background people searches can also do company credit checks, revealing a company's credit limits, payment history, opened accounts, payment terms, liens, and bankruptcies.

Is a person's Social Security Number important for a background people search?

Having a Social Security Number enables to find any aliases associated with it. You will also be able to do a nationwide search for the addresses of all the names that have ever been connected to the Social Security Number.

Will having a person's E-mail address help with a background people search?

An E-mail address will help distinguish between two people with the same name, but won't find a person all by itself.

Finally, if you are still uncomfortable about asking for a background people search, just consider how much discomfort you may be sparing yourself in the future!