Thomas and Co. Fees
Effective 8/1/2024 – Thomas and Company, an employment verification third-party processing company, will increase their fee $6.00 per search. Please contact cs@universalbackground.com with any questions.
New York Child Abuse Registry - Delays
Due to the high volumes New York Child Abuse is receiving, there is an ongoing delay averaging about 8-10 weeks as a TAT. NY does not currently have an ETA on resolution/lower volumes. Please continue to expect extended delays.
Michigan Clean Slate Law Search Restrictions
Due to the Michigan Clean Slate law, the following courts are limiting the scope of work that they will search:
Updated 4/22/2024:
Antrim (7-10 years District)
Bay (10+ years District)
Baraga (7 years District)
Cheboygan (10+ years District)
Clare (7 years District)
Gladwin (7-10 years District)
Grand Traverse (7-10 years District)
Kent (10+ years District and 2018-Present Circuit)
Leelanau (7-10 years District)
Ottawa (7-10 years and 10+ years circuit)
Presque Isle (10+ years District)
Saginaw (7+ years District and 10+ years Circuit)
St. Joseph (10+ years District and Circuit)
Schoolcraft (2008- Present Circuit)
Updated 4/22/2024:
Antrim (7-10 years District)
Bay (10+ years District)
Baraga (7 years District)
Cheboygan (10+ years District)
Clare (7 years District)
Gladwin (7-10 years District)
Grand Traverse (7-10 years District)
Kent (10+ years District and 2018-Present Circuit)
Leelanau (7-10 years District)
Ottawa (7-10 years and 10+ years circuit)
Presque Isle (10+ years District)
Saginaw (7+ years District and 10+ years Circuit)
St. Joseph (10+ years District and Circuit)
Schoolcraft (2008- Present Circuit)
Updated 9/5/2024 - Court Search Delays
Illinois Statewide:
4/22/2024: The Illinois State Police is working with limited staff and resources. Please expect extended delays.
Holmes County, Mississippi:
Updated 7/18/2024: Courts in Holmes, MS have recently installed a public access terminal which allows searches to be completed, however their files do not contain complete information and searches still require clerk assistance. Please continue to expect extended delays. We will provide additional updates as we receive them.
Los Angeles County, California:
3/26/2024: Updated 9/6/2024: Effective 2/23/2024 the Superior Court of Los Angeles County will no longer include the month and year of birth as criteria in its criminal name search engines. Courts are also setting limitations on file pulls based on staffing levels and service demands extending excessive delays. Please continue to expect extended delays. Information will be updated as it's available.
Berrien County, Michigan:
5/31/2024: Please expect extended delays as courts in this county are undergoing a change in their case management system. This will begin on 4/8/2024 and is taking longer than originally expected. No searches will be completed during this time. A MI Statewide search is a viable alternative. Information will be updated as soon as it is available.
Clayton County, Georgia:
5/2/2024: Please expect extended delays in Clayton County, Geogia, as courts in this county are experiencing system issues and only one Public Access Terminal is functioning. We will continue to monitor and provide an update as soon as one is available.
NSOPW:
8/16/2024: The NSOPW is back up and processing, however the database continues to experience intermittent outages that occur when individual jurisdictions go down. These outages may cause minor delays in processing. We are monitoring the database and will provide updates if extended delays are to be expected.
Carson City, Nevada:
6/3/2024: Updated 9/6/2024: Please expect delays for searches in Carson City, Nevada as the clerks in the District Courts have advised that there is limited staff. We will continue to closely monitor and provide updates as they become available.
Robertson County, TN:
9/6/2024: Robertson County, TN, The Circuit Court is undergoing construction, and the Public Access Terminal (PAT) will be unavailable until at least Monday, September 9th. Searches will not be able to be completed during this time. Please expect delays after reopening as the courts work thru their backlog.
4/22/2024: The Illinois State Police is working with limited staff and resources. Please expect extended delays.
Holmes County, Mississippi:
Updated 7/18/2024: Courts in Holmes, MS have recently installed a public access terminal which allows searches to be completed, however their files do not contain complete information and searches still require clerk assistance. Please continue to expect extended delays. We will provide additional updates as we receive them.
Los Angeles County, California:
3/26/2024: Updated 9/6/2024: Effective 2/23/2024 the Superior Court of Los Angeles County will no longer include the month and year of birth as criteria in its criminal name search engines. Courts are also setting limitations on file pulls based on staffing levels and service demands extending excessive delays. Please continue to expect extended delays. Information will be updated as it's available.
Berrien County, Michigan:
5/31/2024: Please expect extended delays as courts in this county are undergoing a change in their case management system. This will begin on 4/8/2024 and is taking longer than originally expected. No searches will be completed during this time. A MI Statewide search is a viable alternative. Information will be updated as soon as it is available.
Clayton County, Georgia:
5/2/2024: Please expect extended delays in Clayton County, Geogia, as courts in this county are experiencing system issues and only one Public Access Terminal is functioning. We will continue to monitor and provide an update as soon as one is available.
NSOPW:
8/16/2024: The NSOPW is back up and processing, however the database continues to experience intermittent outages that occur when individual jurisdictions go down. These outages may cause minor delays in processing. We are monitoring the database and will provide updates if extended delays are to be expected.
Carson City, Nevada:
6/3/2024: Updated 9/6/2024: Please expect delays for searches in Carson City, Nevada as the clerks in the District Courts have advised that there is limited staff. We will continue to closely monitor and provide updates as they become available.
Robertson County, TN:
9/6/2024: Robertson County, TN, The Circuit Court is undergoing construction, and the Public Access Terminal (PAT) will be unavailable until at least Monday, September 9th. Searches will not be able to be completed during this time. Please expect delays after reopening as the courts work thru their backlog.
Statewide Criminal Court Fees Update - Kansas Statewide Searches
Effective July 1st, 2024, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has updated its fees.
You can locate these updates by going to your “Help Tab” and choosing the “State and County Fees” dropdown.
You can locate these updates by going to your “Help Tab” and choosing the “State and County Fees” dropdown.
Montana Statewide Change
Montana Statewide Change:
Please note, effective 7/17/2024, the Montana Statewide will be conducted thru the Department of Justice. This change will enable UBS to search all district and justice courts and report more than just felony convictions.
Please note, effective 7/17/2024, the Montana Statewide will be conducted thru the Department of Justice. This change will enable UBS to search all district and justice courts and report more than just felony convictions.
Bangladesh - Education Verifications
7.31.24 - We have been advised there is an indefinite strike in public universities and schools, and we are facing severe processing delays. We will post any updates we receive.
California Delays caused by DOB Redaction
On June 21, 2021, several CA courts have redacted DOB from their public index and files due to a 4th Appellate District Court, Court of Appeal, Division One, State of CA opinion.
We are still able to conduct name-based searches. Due to the redaction, researchers are having to use alternative methods to obtain DOB, where possible, therefore causing delays. These delays will impact County Criminal searches and Nationwide Database searches.
Counties with redactions: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Lassen, Los Angeles, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Tulare, Ventura
We are still able to conduct name-based searches. Due to the redaction, researchers are having to use alternative methods to obtain DOB, where possible, therefore causing delays. These delays will impact County Criminal searches and Nationwide Database searches.
Counties with redactions: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Lassen, Los Angeles, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Tulare, Ventura
Marin County, California
As of April 17, 2024, the clerks in Marin County confirmed that all cases currently on Diversion, dismissed after successful completion of Diversion, and cases that have been dismissed per P.C. 1203.4 record clearances are designated as “Confidential” in the court computer system. Clerks will not have access to the DOB information for any of these cases marked “Confidential." Please expect delays as Marin County adjusts to this change. We will provide new information as we receive it.
Clean Slate Initiative
The Clean Slate initiative automatically seals certain non-violent conviction records if a person has remained conviction-free for a period of time (seven years for misdemeanors, 10 years for felonies).
Universal will continue to provide information that is reportable by state and federal laws.
States that are part of this initiate are as follows:
• PA
• UT
• NJ
• MI
• CT
• DE
• VA
• OK
• CO
• CA
• MN
• NY (Effective November 2024)
Please click on the below link for additional information by state.
Learn more
Universal will continue to provide information that is reportable by state and federal laws.
States that are part of this initiate are as follows:
• PA
• UT
• NJ
• MI
• CT
• DE
• VA
• OK
• CO
• CA
• MN
• NY (Effective November 2024)
Please click on the below link for additional information by state.
Learn more
SUSPENDED SERVICES
All verification services out of the following countries are suspended:
Afghanistan, Haiti, Ghana, Russia, Sudan. Syria, Ukraine.
Criminal searches are currently not available in Afghanistan and Palestine at this time as well.
We will continue to monitor the situation and notify you when we are able to reinstate services.
Criminal searches are currently not available in Afghanistan and Palestine at this time as well.
We will continue to monitor the situation and notify you when we are able to reinstate services.