National Crime Search

What National Crime Search does

National Crime Search (NCS) is a US-based background screening firm founded in 2003 and headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The company provides pay-per-search employment, tenant, volunteer, and healthcare background checks, drug screening, motor vehicle reports, education and employment verifications, social media searches, and I-9/E-Verify management. Its customer base skews heavily toward small and mid-sized businesses across industries such as roofing, aviation, pharmacy, and manufacturing, alongside landlords, non-profit volunteer programs (under the SafeChoice brand), and healthcare organizations requiring license and exclusion screening. NCS holds PBSA accreditation, BSCC accreditation dating to 2016, and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, positioning compliance with FCRA requirements as a core market message.

The underlying platform combines a multi-state criminal database searching over 20 billion records via an SSN/Address Locator, electronic FCRA-compliant consent collection, automated adverse action letter generation, MFA-secured account access, and a national court research network. Distribution is multi-channel: a self-serve online portal where accounts can be created in under 5 minutes, the Hirelink Chrome browser extension that embeds ordering inside customer ATS workflows, and a partner/reseller program that delivers co-branded screening services through payroll, accounting, insurance, banking, and staffing firms. Product adjacencies include NCS BOI Filing (annual subscription for FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information compliance), NCS PAY (payment processing), and CoverEase (business insurance and employee benefits).

NCS operates as a privately held LLC with no disclosed institutional funding, founder-led under President Travis Fink and supported by a CRO hire in February 2024 and a CIO handling privacy and data protection. Revenue is generated transactionally with no monthly minimums or setup fees, supplemented by partner referral economics and the BOI subscription. The company serves more than 20,000 customers nationwide and in 2025 introduced Hailey, an AI assistant for HR screening inquiries, signaling incremental product surface expansion from a bootstrapped, small-headcount operating base.

Name

National Crime Search

Legal name

National Crime Search, LLC

Website

https://nationalcrimesearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Crime Search provides pay-per-search background screening, drug testing, and E-Verify services for US small and mid-sized employers, landlords, volunteer organizations, and healthcare providers. Founded in 2003, the firm serves 20,000+ customers via self-serve platform, ATS integration, and partner resellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Background Screening Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Investigation and Security Services (5616)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Background Checks (National/State/County) (BPACALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pre-Employment Background Checks & Screening (BPAKAEAA), Investigations & Background Screening Services (IMAIAEAK), Global / International Background Screening (BPACALAI)

Keywords

• Background screening services
• Criminal background checks
• Employment verification
• Tenant screening
• Drug screening services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fayetteville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Per-Search Background Screening: Customers pay for individual background checks and screening services on a transaction basis. There are no monthly fees, account setup fees, or minimum requirements. Pricing varies by service type (criminal searches, drug screening, MVRs, verifications, etc.).
2. Partner/Reseller Program: Partners receive co-branded services and custom packages, generating revenue through resale or referral of screening services to their own clients.
3. BOI Filing Service: Annual subscription service for FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information filing, with pre-populated information for refiling needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

National Crime Search is a background screening company providing FCRA-compliant criminal background checks, employment and education verifications, drug screening, MVRs, tenant screening, volunteer screening, healthcare credentialing, and I-9/E-Verify services to over 20,000 customers nationwide. The company operates a self-serve platform with no monthly minimums and offers integrations through its Hirelink Chrome extension.

Product overview

National Crime Search (NCS) offers a unified background screening platform providing employment, tenant, volunteer, and healthcare screening services. The core offerings include multi-state and county criminal searches, drug screening, E-Verify/I-9 management, and motor vehicle reports. Supplementary products include Hirelink (a Chrome-based ATS integration), NCS PAY (payment processing), CoverEase (insurance), and BOI Filing (FinCEN compliance). An AI feature called Hailey assists HR teams with background screening queries. Services operate on a pay-per-search model without monthly fees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hirelink: A free background check integration solution that allows users to start background checks and check statuses without leaving their current ATS or hiring system. Offered as a Chrome browser extension.
• Hailey
• SafeChoice
• CoverEase

Products and services

• Employment Background Checks FCRA-compliant criminal background checks, employment verifications, education verifications, and reference checks designed for employers making hiring decisions. Available in tiered packages (Essential, Enhanced, Expanded).
• Drug Screening Services Drug and substance screening services available to employers as part of the background screening package, supporting workplace hiring compliance.
• Tenant Background Checks Background screening service designed for landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants, including criminal history, eviction records, and credit data.
• SafeChoice Volunteer Background Checks Affordable background screening solution for volunteer organizations, churches, and non-profits to screen volunteers working with vulnerable populations.
• Healthcare Background Checks Healthcare-specific credentialing and background screening including license verification, OIG/SAM exclusion checks, and primary source verification for healthcare employers.
• I-9 Management and E-Verify Electronic I-9 form management with E-Verify integration for employment eligibility verification and compliance.
• Hirelink Chrome Extension Chrome extension that integrates National Crime Search screening capabilities directly into existing ATS systems, enabling in-platform background check ordering.
• NCS BOI Filing Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) filing service to help businesses comply with FinCTA reporting requirements, available on annual subscription.
• CoverEase Business Insurance & Employee Benefits Business insurance and employee benefits service offering coverage and benefits solutions to NCS customers through partner network.
• NCS PAY Credit Card Processing Credit card payment processing solution for businesses, offered through the NCS partner network for NCS customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Instant or within-minutes results for many database searches; most county criminal searches returned within a few days (some jurisdictions up to 5-7 business days)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Payroll CompaniescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner program for payroll companies to offer co-branded background screening services to their clients. Partners receive custom packages, co-branded websites, and additional revenue opportunities.
• Accounting Firms / CPAscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccounting firms and CPAs can offer NCS screening services to their business clients as an added service offering.
• Insurance CompaniescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInsurance companies can integrate background screening services for their clients through the partner program.
• BankscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBanking institutions can offer NCS screening services to business customers through co-branded partnerships.
• Staffing CompaniescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStaffing companies can provide NCS background screening services to screen candidates before placement.
• The Payroll GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorListed as a partner organization, The Payroll Group provides payroll-related services and refers clients to NCS for screening needs.
• ATS/Hiring System ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationHirelink integrates with Applicant Tracking Systems and hiring solutions, allowing background checks to be ordered directly within existing hiring workflows. Integration is free through the Chrome browser extension.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PeopleFacts: PeopleFacts is a long-standing U.S. background screening firm offering employment, tenant, and drug screening to SMB and mid-market customers. Comparable to NCS in product breadth, FCRA compliance focus, and SMB customer orientation.
• Asurint: Asurint is a background screening vendor combining criminal, employment, and healthcare credentialing with ATS/HRIS integrations. Comparable to NCS on screening products and channel/technology distribution, with a similar mid-market customer profile.
• Checkr: Checkr is a leading technology-driven background screening platform serving employers, gig economy, and staffing customers with API-first ordering. It competes directly with NCS in employment screening and uses self-serve and integration-led GTM motions similar to NCS's Hirelink approach, but at significantly greater scale.
• InfoMart: InfoMart is a PBSA-accredited screening provider offering employment, tenant, and volunteer screening, with a focus on mobile-first and SMB customers. It overlaps directly with NCS's employee, tenant, and SafeChoice volunteer products and pricing model.
• Accurate Background: Accurate Background is a PBSA-accredited background screening provider focused on SMB and mid-market employers with a self-serve platform and ATS integrations. It is closely comparable to NCS in customer segment, product mix, and PLG/partner-led distribution approach.
• SentryLink: SentryLink is a background screening provider targeting SMB employers with pay-per-check pricing and a self-serve platform. It mirrors NCS's usage-based model and SMB-first positioning most closely of any direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• First Advantage: First Advantage is a global screening and identity verification provider serving large employers, staffing, and government clients. Comparable to NCS on core background checks, but with broader geographic reach, larger enterprise footprint, and additional identity/fraud products.
• HireRight: HireRight is a global, broad-based background screening and workforce solutions provider serving enterprise, staffing, and government clients. Comparable to NCS on core employment screening, but with deeper enterprise sales, global coverage, and a wider product portfolio including drug and health screening.
• Sterling: Sterling is one of the largest U.S. background screening providers, offering employment, tenant, and healthcare screening with PBSA accreditation. It is directly comparable to NCS in product scope but operates at much broader enterprise scale and includes identity, credentialing, and risk analytics beyond core criminal checks.

Emerging players

• Veremark: Veremark is a digital-first background screening provider focused on international checks and API-driven integration. Comparable to NCS on screening fundamentals but differentiated by global focus and a more technology-native, API-only delivery model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/natlcrimesearch

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Crime Search