Run a nanny background check before you hire
The person you invite into your home to be alone with your child is not screened by anyone but you. Search a name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass, confirm who they really are, then keep watching once they start. 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 safety and awareness — not a consumer report, and never a tool to harass anyone. See the FAQ below.
The one hire nobody checks for you
Daycare workers and schoolteachers are screened by law. A nanny, babysitter or au pair you hire privately is not — no rule requires it, so the responsibility falls to the family.
A nanny works unsupervised, in your home, with your child, often for years — the exact situation where knowing a person’s history matters most, and the one setting the law leaves entirely to you. A charming interview and a couple of references tell you little; a registry and records search tells you whether the person you are about to trust has a history you would want to know about first. It takes minutes and it is the cheapest insurance a parent can buy.
- Checks a name against all 58 US sex offender registries at once
- Surfaces county, state and federal criminal records in the same search
- Catches someone who moved states — a local search would miss them
- Every match carries a photograph and a link to the official record to verify
What a nanny background check should include
A name typed into a search engine is not a background check. Here is what actually belongs in one — and what Offendersearch returns in a single search.
Sex offender registries
The first check any parent should run: all 58 US registries at once, since registration follows the person across state lines and a local-only look misses anyone who moved.
Criminal records
County, state and federal records surface convictions a registry alone would not — violence, theft, drugs, DUI — the history that matters for someone driving or alone with your child.
Identity you can verify
A photograph and official-record link on every match, so you are confirming the actual person in front of you, not a namesake two states away.
How to run a nanny background check
Four steps, a few minutes, no investigator. You need a name and a date of birth; the search covers every US registry at once.
1 · Get their full legal name and date of birth
A full legal name plus a date of birth is what lets a search tell your candidate from a stranger who happens to share the name. Ask for it as part of a normal reference-and-details conversation — a candidate with nothing to hide will give it.
2 · Search registries and criminal records
Run the name across all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records in one pass. Someone who was registered or convicted in another state and moved still surfaces — the gap a single-state site or a quick web search leaves wide open.
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 before you draw any conclusion — a shared name is never proof by itself.
4 · Keep watching once they start
The person in your home for months or years was only checked once. A person monitor re-checks the name for you and emails you if they are ever added to a registry — so awareness does not end on the day you hire.
A clear answer, not a wall of data
Type a name and get scored matches you can 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.
What a search can — and can’t — tell you
A registry and records search is a strong, fast safeguard — but it is one tool, not a guarantee. It surfaces people who are registered or have a public record; it cannot flag someone who has never been caught or convicted. Names repeat, so confirm the photograph and date of birth before you act. And it is for awareness, not a hiring verdict: for a formal hiring decision, pair it with an FCRA-compliant background check, references you actually call, and your own judgment meeting the person.
A hire is a snapshot — the job lasts years
You checked once, on the day you hired. A monitor keeps the check running and emails you the moment something changes — cancel anytime.
Watch a person · $3/mo
Add your nanny or sitter by name and date of birth. You are emailed if they are ever added to a sex offender registry — awareness that keeps working long after the interview.
Watch your area · $10/mo
Want to know who is registered near your home and your child’s routine? An area monitor alerts you when a registrant moves in nearby. Search near me first.
Nanny background check questions
Do I really need to background check a nanny?
There is no federal law requiring it — daycares and schools are screened by law, but the person you hire privately to be alone with your child is not, so the check is yours to run. Given that a nanny works unsupervised in your home, most parents treat a sex offender and criminal-records search as a basic, non-negotiable step before hiring.
What should a nanny background check include?
At minimum, a search of all 58 US sex offender registries and criminal records across county, state and federal sources, matched on full name and date of birth, with a photograph and official-record link to confirm identity. For a formal hiring decision, pair it with an FCRA-compliant background check run through a consumer reporting agency.
What do I need to run the check?
A full legal name is enough to start; a date of birth (and city, if you have it) narrows the matches, which matters because names repeat. You get scored results with photographs and links to the official record so you can be sure it is the right person.
Can I keep an eye on things after I hire?
Yes — and it is the part a one-time check cannot do. A person monitor watches a name and date of birth and emails you if they are ever added to a sex offender registry or a record changes, for $3 a month, cancel anytime. It keeps awareness working over the months and years a nanny is in your home.
Can I use this to decide whether to hire someone?
Offendersearch is for personal safety and awareness — it is not a consumer reporting agency and its results are not a consumer report. Hiring a household employee can be an FCRA-covered decision, so for the formal decision use an FCRA-compliant provider with the notices and consent the law requires. And never use registry information to harass anyone, which is a crime in every US state.
Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and results are not a consumer report. Use them for personal safety only — for an FCRA-covered hiring decision use a compliant provider, and never use registry information to harass anyone.
Know who’s caring for your child
Search a name free — 25 searches, no card — then set a $3/mo alert to keep watching.