Run a caregiver background check before they start
You are about to give someone daily, unsupervised access to a parent, a child or your home. Before they start, search a name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass, confirm who they really are, then keep an alert running. Free to start, no card.
Try a live search
Search every US registry — no account needed
A live demo returning sample data. Real, scored results across every US registry take a free account — 25 searches, no card.
For personal awareness only — not a consumer report, and never a tool to harass anyone. See the FAQ below.
The risk is the person you trust most
In-home care is intimate and unsupervised — and the data is clear that harm to older adults comes far more often from a trusted caregiver than from a stranger.
About one in ten older adults experiences abuse in a given year (NCEA), and elder financial exploitation — much of it by a caregiver, relative or friend — is reported in only about one case in 44. The consequences are not abstract: research finds elder-abuse victims are markedly more likely to be hospitalized and to die. Many of the people at highest risk — someone with dementia, someone who cannot easily report harm — depend entirely on the caregiver you choose. A five-minute check before they start is the cheapest safeguard you will ever buy.
- Confirms a name against all 58 US sex offender registries in one search
- Surfaces county, state and federal criminal records in the same pass
- Catches a caregiver who moved states — a single-state site would miss them
- Every match carries a photograph and a link to the official record to verify
How to run a caregiver background check
Four steps, five minutes, no investigator — whether you hire through an agency, an app or word of mouth.
1 · Get the caregiver’s full name and date of birth
Whether you found them through an agency, an app or a referral, ask for a full legal name and date of birth up front — a professional expects it. That pairing is what separates a real match from a stranger who happens to share a name.
2 · Search registries and records in one pass
Run the name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records at once. Someone who was registered in another state and moved still surfaces — the gap a single-state site leaves open, on a person who will be alone with a vulnerable adult.
3 · Read the record, not just the name
Each result is scored and carries a photograph, offense detail and a link to the official record. Confirm the photo and date of birth match the person in front of you before you conclude anything.
4 · Keep watching once they start
A caregiver relationship lasts months or years, not one visit. A person monitor re-checks the name for you and emails you if anything changes — so a single search does not become a one-time assumption.
A clear answer, not a wall of data
Type a name and get scored matches you can actually read — photograph, date of birth, offense and the official record link, so you can be certain it is the right person.
Jordan A. Sample
Review · match 0.98- Date of birth
- 1984-03-11
- Sex
- Male
- Offense
- Registrable offense · Tier II
- Last known address
- Springfield, IL 62704
- Registry
- Illinois Sex Offender Registry
- Matched on
- last name, first name, date of birth
Sample result — fictional data. Every real result links to the official registry record so you can verify it at the source, and carries the match score and the fields it matched on.
Warning signs worth acting on
A check confirms history; these are the day-to-day signals that tell you to look closer — before hiring and after.
Reluctance to be screened
A professional caregiver expects a background check and provides a full name and date of birth without friction. Evasiveness about identity or history, before anyone is even hired, is the earliest warning you get.
Isolating your parent
Discouraging family visits or calls, or insisting on being the only point of contact, is a common precursor to both abuse and financial exploitation — which is most often committed by a trusted caregiver, relative or friend.
Money that doesn’t add up
Unexplained withdrawals, new “gifts,” added account access or missing valuables. Older adults lose billions a year to financial exploitation, and only about one case in 44 is ever reported.
Unexplained physical or mood changes
New bruises, weight loss, fearfulness, or sudden withdrawal around a particular caregiver. Many victims cannot report harm themselves — which is why proactive checking matters.
Care lasts months — a search is one moment
A single search tells you about today. Over a long care relationship, a monitor keeps the check running for you and emails you the moment something changes — cancel anytime.
Watch the caregiver · $3/mo
Add them by name and date of birth. You are emailed if they are ever added to a sex offender registry or a matching record changes — awareness that lasts as long as the care does, without you re-running the search.
Watch your area · $10/mo
Also worried about the neighborhood a parent lives in? An area monitor alerts you when a registrant moves in nearby. Search near me first.
Caregiver background check questions
Can I run a background check on a caregiver I’m hiring privately?
Yes. Sex offender registries and many criminal records are public, so a family can search a prospective in-home aide, companion or home health worker by name — and date of birth if you have it — before they start. It is a personal-safety check, not a consumer report, so it is not a substitute for an FCRA-compliant background check if you hire through an agency, and it must never be used to harass anyone.
What do I need to check a caregiver?
A full name is enough to start; add a date of birth to narrow the matches, because names repeat. You get scored results with photographs and a link to the official record, so you can confirm you are looking at the right person and not a namesake.
What does the search cover?
One search covers all 58 US sex offender registries — every state, DC and the territories — plus criminal records across county, state and federal sources. A caregiver who moved states still surfaces, and each match is cited to the official record so you can verify it yourself.
Who abuses older adults — isn’t it usually strangers?
The opposite. Elder abuse and financial exploitation are most often committed by someone the older adult trusts — a caregiver, family member or friend. Roughly one in ten older adults experiences abuse in a given year, and reporting rates are very low, so the person with daily access is exactly the person worth checking.
Can I keep watching after the caregiver starts?
Yes — this is the part a one-time search cannot do. A person monitor watches a name and date of birth and emails you if they are ever added to a registry or a record changes, for $3 a month, cancel anytime. Over a months- or years-long care relationship, that is how awareness keeps working.
Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and results are not a consumer report. Use them for personal safety only — for FCRA-covered hiring (including through an agency), use the process the law requires, and never use results to harass, threaten or exclude anyone, which is a crime in every US state.
Know who you’re trusting
Search a name free — 25 searches, no card — then set a $3/mo alert to keep watching.