Businesses required by law or regulation to run Federal Court searches and non-mandated businesses use federal searches as an expanded scope where the position or applicant pool could be linked to violations of federal law.

ESR performs federal criminal and civil records searches through the federal judiciary’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), an electronic access service that allows ESR to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. The primary actions held at this level include violations of securities, banking and tax laws, immigration law, certain weapons crimes, interstate drug crimes, civil rights violations, and civil cases filed at the federal level. Download our sample list of crimes that can be charged in a federal court as compiled from Title 18 and Title 26 of the United States Code and others. ESR does not guarantee this list to be complete but is a helpful guide when determining if a federal search should be included in your program.