BeenVerified Review 2020

ASecureLife's Favorite Background Check Service
Beenverified Logo
Plans start at $26.89/mo.
Pro Bullet Access to lots of information in one place
Pro Bullet Multiple payment options
Con Bullet Restrictions on how information can be used
3.8 out of 5 stars3.8
The bottom line
BeenVerified gives you access to public records so you can perform your own background check on new roommates or potential dates.
We added star ratings for each metric.

You can learn a lot with a Google search these days, but there are still a few questions a search engine can’t answer. If you need specific information about an individual (whether it is a potential roommate or potential date), you might get further with a background check.

BeenVerified scours public records to collect information so you can access it in one convenient report. If you need more information than a search engine can provide, you might want to try this service. Keep reading to learn more about what BeenVerified can—and cannot—offer.


Our favorite background check service
Beenverified Logo
BeenVerified
Our rating:
3.8 out of 5.0
3.8 out of 5 stars3.8
Customer Service
3.5 out of 5 stars3.5
Price
4 out of 5 stars4.0
Product
4 out of 5 stars4.0
Plans start at 
$26.89
/mo.

    BeenVerified pros and cons

    Pros
    • Pro BulletMobile apps (including an app for Apple Watch)
    • Pro BulletWebsite with answers to lots of customer questions
    • Pro BulletAccess to lots of information in one place
    • Pro BulletMultiple payment options
    • Pro BulletCourt runner service for offline information
    Cons
    • Con BulletRestrictions on how information can be used
    • Con BulletInformation you pay for that can be found elsewhere for free
    • Con BulletOccasional unavailable or inaccurate information

    BeenVerified price

    A one-month BeenVerified membership costs $26.89. If you plan to use the service for more than a month, you can save money with a three-month membership. It costs $52.44, which comes out to $17.48 per month.

    Both memberships include a bunch of services:

    • Background reports
    • Phone and email lookups
    • Criminal record and sex offender lookups
    • Address lookups
    • Contact information

    BeenVerified features

    Demystifying public data

    It’s ironic that most public records are really hard to find. Your public data might be scattered across a number of local governments and corporate entities, making it truly difficult to track down. BeenVerified aggregates public information from across government and corporate entities, essentially doing the hard work for you.

    BeenVerified doesn’t claim to offer perfect data. There’s always the chance for missing information and non-digitized records that don’t show up in the BeenVerified database. But overall, the data you’re getting is as accurate and comprehensive as it gets.

    Court runner service

    Not all public files and records are digitized. To get access to those analog records, BeenVerified sends court runners to retrieve any relevant files and documentation. Court runners are familiar with the court system and can work quickly with county clerks to retrieve public information for you.

    Mobile apps

    BeenVerified offers an app for Apple and Android users that lets you search for people, phone numbers, email addresses, and property records. The app interface is much easier to use than trying to navigate a browser window on your phone. The app even works with the Apple Watch so you can perform reverse phone lookups on recent callers.


    BeenVerified reviews

    Positive reviews of BeenVerified focus on how easy it is to process all the information.

    We also found quite a few negative reviews, but we should note that almost all of these negative reviews complain about receiving inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date reports. While these are valid frustrations, they don’t necessarily represent something the company has done wrong. You’d run into the same issues with any other company in the industry because they’re all dealing with the same set of restrictions.

    BeenVerified is transparent about the fact that its reports are based on public records and that this information may not be correct.


    FAQs

    What information is included in a background check?

    Background checks are allowed to include only information that is available in public records. BeenVerified gathers information from court records, mortgage deeds, utility bills, magazines, and other public documents to compile your reports. Of course, BeenVerified doesn’t provide sensitive information like credit card numbers, financial account numbers, or anyone’s Social Security number.

    The results of your search will depend on what information is publicly available. If you run a people search, you may find someone’s age, address, phone number, criminal records, and email address. The report could also include photos, social media profiles, court records, criminal records, and names of their family members.

    When can you use BeenVerified

    BeenVerified is a good provider if you want to quickly look up basic information about another person you don’t know. It’s geared toward more casual use than intense investigation.

    • Find out what a background check reveals about yourself
    • Look up an address to send out holiday cards or important announcements
    • Check out a potential date to make sure they’ve been honest with you before you meet in person
    • Get verification about potential roommates before you move in with them (unless you are a landlord)
    • Check out people who are selling something online
    • Check out someone who is buying something from you online

    When do you have to use a consumer reporting agency instead of BeenVerified?

    Many situations require you to use a consumer reporting agency instead of a background check company. Here are a few things you can’t use BeenVerified for:

    • Screening someone for employment or a promotion
    • Hiring household workers like nannies or landscapers
    • Screening tenants
    • Evaluating someone’s eligibility for an educational program or scholarship
    • Determining someone’s eligibility for insurance or credit

    Our recommendation

    If you want to satisfy your curiosity, check out your future roommates, investigate that guy your friend is trying to set you up with, or find out whether your neighbors have criminal records, BeenVerified could be a useful service.

    Been Verified Review

    Background checks have limitations, but if you want to learn more about people in your life and protect yourself from the unknown, this service makes it easy to check out all the publicly available information in one place. We especially appreciate that BeenVerified makes it extra easy to access this information on your phone with a mobile app.

    We wouldn’t recommend signing up for a subscription unless you plan on running multiple background checks on a regular basis. But if you’re trying out online dating, selling things online often, or looking up contact information for a large group, the subscription could be a great deal.

    Otherwise, you’re probably better off paying for individual reports when you look up your own information, check out new roommates, or make a one-time purchase from a stranger online.

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