National criminal database searches.
A national criminal search queries a commercially compiled database: state repositories, department-of-corrections files, some county feeds, and often sex-offender and watchlist data. It is the fastest way to find records outside the counties you would guess from a current address — it does not replace reading the case at the court of origin.
Also called national criminal database, multi-jurisdictional database search, nationwide criminal search, NatCrim.
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How it runs on vID
Identity verified
Search runs
Report returned
What it covers
Possible criminal records outside the counties your current-address search would suggest- Leads from state repositories, DOC files, and contributing county feeds
- Alias-based hits when run on developed SSN-trace names, not just the application name
The United States has no single criminal court, so the compiled file is how a researcher sees past the current ZIP code. Every partner version — JDP’s national file, DataFacts’ 4,000-plus-source national-with-alias, NCSI’s dual multi-jurisdictional pass, 3rd Degree’s national database — agrees that hits should be confirmed at the court of origin, and Synapse can dispatch that county confirmation through TazWorks automatically.
What it covers
- Possible criminal records outside the counties your current-address search would suggest
- Leads from state repositories, DOC files, and contributing county feeds
- Alias-based hits when run on developed SSN-trace names, not just the application name
- Sometimes sex-offender, OFAC, or wanted-person slices — not a substitute for dedicated searches
What it doesn’t cover
Prove the absence of a record. County-level coverage gaps are real and unpublished- Replace a county criminal search. Dispositions and current status live at the court
- Cover federal district court as a class. Most federal data is not included
- Bind a record to a person. Thin identifiers require corroboration before reporting
Where the data comes from.
Commercial multi-jurisdictional files
Compiled from state repositories, DOC, AOC, DPS, contributing counties, and proprietary offender data; the mix varies by CRA.
Alias / developed-name pass
When ordered, the SSN-trace names are searched, not just the application name.
Bundled extras, sometimes
Sex-offender, OFAC, or wants-and-warrants data may ride along in a given CRA’s national SKU; dedicated products exist because bundles vary.
Why identity comes first.
National files are noisy on common names and thin on dates of birth. vID’s ID scan and face match give Synapse a real person to hold against those rows. Hits that cannot be corroborated are escalated or suppressed rather than reported.
How the network fulfills it.
Cerebrum does not maintain a private national criminal database; partner CRAs do. Synapse picks the network path for the SSN trace and national search, then sends hits to TazWorks for county confirmation.
This is the wrong search if…
You want to say “we searched the whole country”
You searched a compilation, not every court. If you need primary-source coverage, that is county, statewide, and federal territory.
You plan to take adverse action on an unverified hit
FCRA accuracy obligations, and basic fairness, want a court-confirmed record. The database is the lead; the county is the case.
The role is only about driving, exclusions, or a license
Those live in other systems. A national criminal file will not tell you a license is expired or a name is on the OIG list.
Commonly ordered with.
- County criminal search
Confirm hits and cover address-history counties the database is silent on.
- SSN trace & address history
Without address history and aliases, the search runs on one name.
- Sex-offender registry search
Do not rely on whatever slice was bundled into the national SKU.
Add National criminal search to your next check.
Identity-verified, fulfilled through the partner network.
Frequently asked questions.
Search wide, then confirm at the court.
Standard runs the national file on an identity-verified candidate. Plus, or a hit-confirmation path, tells you whether a hit is a case file or a false match.
Start with a national search