About this White Paper

What Employers Need to Know About "Instant Clears"

One of the interesting aspects of the background screening industry is that no matter how long you have been involved, new twists and turns pop up on a regular basis.

One of the new and innovative twists is one designed to more quickly deliver a criminal result when the search is clear – often referred to as an “instant clear.” The idea is great in theory: a screening firm searches a database, online court system, or another source of instant information, and if a name is absent, the employer should be able to conclude that there is no criminal record to find.

However, as the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details.” The potential problem with an “instant clear” is the quality of the underlying data. If the data being used is not complete, accurate and up to date, there is the possibility that employers could base critical decisions on inferior information.