Independence Day
Universal will be closed on Thursday July 4, 2024, in observance of the Fourth of July.
Please note that the closure of courts, government agencies, employers and collection sites throughout the United States could be impacted on Friday 07/05 as well. Our Client Services and Occupational Health team will be available on Wednesday 07/03 and Friday 07/05 at 8 AM EST for assistance. All systems will be operational during the holiday weekend.
Updated 7/2/2024 - Court Search Delays
Illinois Statewide:
4/22/2024 - The Illinois State Police is working with limited staff and resources. Please expect extended delays.
New Hampshire - All Counties:
4/22/2024 - Courts in all New Hampshire counties are currently operating with limited staff which is causing increased turnaround time in court search processing. We do not have an ETA for resolution at this time, please continue to expect extensive delays.
Holmes County, Mississippi:
3/8/2024 - Updated 4/11/2024: Clerks in Holmes, MS courts are currently not assisting with court searches. At this time, there are no alternatives to completing the county search and searches are unable to be processed. We do not have an ETA for resolution; however, we are closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates as we receive them.
Los Angeles County, California:
3/26/2024: 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:
5/3/2024: In order for this search to process, all 50 jurisdictions need to be up and running. There is currently one or more jurisdictions that are down, and there is no ETA at this time. Please continue to expect delays.
San Patricio, Texas:
5/30/2024: Courts in San Patricio, Texas are experiencing intermittent outages with their case management system. Please continue to expect delays while they work to resolve the system issues; searches are unable to complete at this time. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as they are received.
Carson City, Nevada:
6/3/2024: 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.
Bexar, Texas:
6/10/2024: Please expect delays at this time while courts are undergoing a change in the case management system. Searches cannot be completed during this time. We will keep you posted with any updates when available.
San Luis Obispo, California:
6/24/2024: Due to recent changes in staffing and ongoing system migration issues, courts in this county are experiencing extensive delays. We do not have an ETA for resolution at this time but will continue to monitor and provide updates as they become available.
Missouri Court Searches:
7/2/2024: Due to system issues, court searches in Missouri are unable to be completed at this time. These delays are affecting both the statewide search and all county searches. We do not have an ETA for resolution but will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.
4/22/2024 - The Illinois State Police is working with limited staff and resources. Please expect extended delays.
New Hampshire - All Counties:
4/22/2024 - Courts in all New Hampshire counties are currently operating with limited staff which is causing increased turnaround time in court search processing. We do not have an ETA for resolution at this time, please continue to expect extensive delays.
Holmes County, Mississippi:
3/8/2024 - Updated 4/11/2024: Clerks in Holmes, MS courts are currently not assisting with court searches. At this time, there are no alternatives to completing the county search and searches are unable to be processed. We do not have an ETA for resolution; however, we are closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates as we receive them.
Los Angeles County, California:
3/26/2024: 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:
5/3/2024: In order for this search to process, all 50 jurisdictions need to be up and running. There is currently one or more jurisdictions that are down, and there is no ETA at this time. Please continue to expect delays.
San Patricio, Texas:
5/30/2024: Courts in San Patricio, Texas are experiencing intermittent outages with their case management system. Please continue to expect delays while they work to resolve the system issues; searches are unable to complete at this time. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as they are received.
Carson City, Nevada:
6/3/2024: 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.
Bexar, Texas:
6/10/2024: Please expect delays at this time while courts are undergoing a change in the case management system. Searches cannot be completed during this time. We will keep you posted with any updates when available.
San Luis Obispo, California:
6/24/2024: Due to recent changes in staffing and ongoing system migration issues, courts in this county are experiencing extensive delays. We do not have an ETA for resolution at this time but will continue to monitor and provide updates as they become available.
Missouri Court Searches:
7/2/2024: Due to system issues, court searches in Missouri are unable to be completed at this time. These delays are affecting both the statewide search and all county searches. We do not have an ETA for resolution but will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.
Quebec MVRs - Delayed
Quebec MVRs are currently delayed as the verifying agency is experiencing higher than normal volume. Turnaround time is currently 8-10 weeks. Please continue to expect extended delays.
Illinois Child Abuse Registry
6/11/2024: The Illinois Child Abuse Registry has moved to an Online Portal Platform. The Illinois Abuse forms will no longer be accepted. Universal Background Screening will be reaching out to the applicant to approve the Illinois Child Abuse screening, then Illinois will send the applicant a link to fill out the necessary fields in order to complete the Illinois Child Abuse Registry check.
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)
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.
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.
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
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 (pending Governor approval)
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 (pending Governor approval)
Please click on the below link for additional information by state.
Learn more