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Nanny & caregiver background checks: a parent’s guide
You are about to give someone a key to your home and responsibility for the people you love most. Few decisions deserve more diligence — and few are made with less. Here is how to check a caregiver properly.
Why a real check matters here
A nanny, babysitter, or in-home caregiver operates with almost no supervision, in your home, around the most vulnerable members of your family. A polished résumé and a warm interview tell you how someone presents — not their history. The gap between the two is exactly what a background check closes.
The stakes are not hypothetical. Undisclosed criminal history, a suspended license for someone who will drive your kids, fabricated experience, or a pattern of very short prior jobs are the kinds of things that surface only when someone actually looks.
What to verify before you hire
A thorough caregiver check should cover:
- Identity and Social Security number verification
- County, state, and federal criminal records
- Nationwide sex-offender registry search
- Driving record, if they will transport your children
- Prior-employment and reference verification
- Any relevant abuse or exploitation registries
The rule most families do not know
Here is the part that trips people up: when you pay a nanny or caregiver directly, you are a household employer, and running a background check for that hiring decision is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. That means you generally need to give the applicant a stand-alone disclosure and get their written authorization before ordering a report — and follow the adverse-action process if you decide not to hire based on what it shows.
It sounds bureaucratic, but it is simple to do correctly with the right partner — and doing it correctly is what keeps your decision fair and lawful.
Why an app screenshot is not enough
Nanny-finding apps and instant checks vary wildly in what they actually verify, and many surface unconfirmed database hits — or miss records entirely. A licensed investigator verifies at the source, distinguishes your applicant from someone with the same name, and delivers a report you can genuinely rely on before you hand over the keys.
Caregiver-screening questions
Yes. Because hiring a nanny or caregiver is an employment decision, the FCRA requires you to disclose that a check will be run and obtain their written authorization first. A reputable provider walks you through this.
At minimum: identity and SSN verification, criminal records at the county, state, and federal levels, a nationwide sex-offender search, prior-employment and reference verification, and — if they will drive your children — a motor-vehicle record.
It is worth confirming exactly what the agency screened and how recently. Agencies vary, and an independent, verified check gives you certainty rather than an assumption.
Our verified background check is a flat $99 per person — a small price for certainty about someone you are trusting with your family.
Trust, verified.
Before you welcome a caregiver into your home, let a licensed investigator confirm they are exactly who they say they are.
Order a Background Check