Missed identifications, often called “false negatives,” occur when an applicant’s name check clears, but their fingerprint search shows they have an FBI criminal record.Inaccurate or wrong identifications, often called “false positives,” occur when an applicant’s name check turns up an FBI criminal record because there are multiple individuals with the same name, while their fingerprint search shows they do not.

There are generally two types of name check errors: Mistakes can also result from misspellings, clerical errors or intentionally inaccurate identification information provided by search subjects who wish to avoid discovery of prior criminal activities. Because it is rare for this information to be unique to a particular individual, name checks can produce inaccurate results, especially when there are names and other identifiers in the database that are similar or identical to the information being checked. A name check is based on an individual’s name and personal identifiers such as sex, race, date of birth, and Social Security number. In general, name checks are much less reliable than fingerprint searches. Are name checks as reliable as fingerprints in criminal history checks?

Conversely, name checks result in appreciable numbers of both false positives and false negatives. Modern automated fingerprint identification systems can produce identification error rates of less than one percent. Conversely, non-fingerprint background checks, or “name checks,” are not nearly as comprehensive and run the applicant's background against a limited number of predetermined commercially available records. Fingerprinting FAQs What is the difference between a fingerprint-based background check and a non-fingerprint background check?įingerprint-based background checks run fingerprint searches against both FBI and state criminal databases to create a complete criminal profile of the applicant.

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