There are many different reasons why people want to perform a criminal record search or a criminal background check. Some of the reasons may be personal or business related. Most people start looking for ways to perform background checks when they have doubts about a situation.

There are some free resources that you can use to do a criminal record search but you're unlikely to find anything that you can use to make a decision about your situation. If you're lucky, you can find the information you need from free records that are provided by your state. Go to your state's website and look for links to their public records database. After you've tried all the free sources, you may decide to try the paid ones in order to try and find out if there's more information that you haven't been able to find. Here are some options you may consider.

1. Use a private investigator to perform the criminal record search for you.

This used to be a very popular option before criminal record searches became available over the internet. The main disadvantage with this method is that it's very expensive and may take a bit of time for you to get the results that you're looking for. The good thing about it is that you are guaranteed a thorough search and a result.

2. Use a pay per search online investigation website.

These are less expensive than hiring a dedicated private investigator. The prices differ depending on the service that you choose to use. Also some take a few hours while others may take days to get you the information that you're looking for.

3. Use a membership based reverse search directory to do the criminal record search on your own.

This is the quickest option and it's also the cheapest. Most reverse lookup services just charge a simple one-time fee as a membership fee. But after you've joined as a member, you get unlimited access and searches. They are easy to use and you can use the service from anywhere where there's an internet connection. This makes reverse search directories one of the most convenient ways of searching criminal records.

Click here to see how easy it is to do a criminal record search online