No, a suffix is not required when requesting a background check report. As a matter of fact, some background check services will instruct you not to use a suffix when you conduct the search. Ideally, you would like to have as much information about the subject as possible. At the minimum, you will need to have the person’s first, middle and last name and the state where they live. If you have a residential address, date of birth and social security number that will make the search of public records for background verification of the person more thorough.

Your search parameters can cover county, state or nationwide records or a combination of the three categories. Usually the more records you search, the higher the cost. Typically, a search of county and state records will yield the best results. There is always a possibility that your search results will return the records of anyone with the same name as your background check subject. The results are usually grouped by jurisdiction. You will then need to determine what records are applicable to your person, especially if you are making some sort of decision based on the information.

If you are an employer, be aware that you may be required to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA. The FCRA are the laws that outline what information you can use and how you can use the data. If you use an outside company to obtain your background check report you are obligated to follow the FCRA. If you do the search yourself, or if the job pays $75,000 per year or more, the FCRA does not apply. There may also be state laws that you must follow, which may be more stringent than FCRA.