Public Record Searcher Agreement

This agreement is made on this date, between ________________________________________, a (sole
proprietorship, corporation, limited liability company) located at ____________________
___________________________________________, hereinafter called “Searcher”, and Advent
Investigations LLC dba Veritas Background Screening hereinafter called “Veritas Background”, located
at 955 Elizabeth Avenue, Elizabeth, NJ 07201.
Whereas, Veritas Background is in the business of employment background screening, and has the need
to perform public records searches; and
Whereas, Searcher has a familiarity with public records and is willing to perform public records searches
for Veritas Background upon request;
Therefore, in consideration of the above stated premises and other good and valuable consideration, the
sufficiency of which is acknowledged, the parties agree to the following:
1. The Searcher will, upon request by Veritas Background, conduct a search of public records of the
courts in the geographic area agreed upon, and report on the presence or absence of public records of
criminal, civil, UCC, federal, and property relating to the individual identified in Veritas
Background’s request. Searcher will respond to public record search requests within 24 hours after
receipt of the request. Searcher also agrees to adhere to the reporting guidelines as indicated in
Veritas Background’s Searcher Operations Manual.
2. In performing public record search services for Veritas Background, the Searcher will have
privileged access to the personal and private information of an individual. By signing this
agreement, the Searcher agrees to not share any of this personal information with any person not
associated with the verification process. The Searcher further agrees that they will not retain, make a
personal record of, or compromise the personal information provided to them by Veritas
Background. Any violation of this agreement may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
3. Searcher shall use reasonable and legal procedure to achieve the maximum possible accuracy in
searching the public record information and in providing it to Veritas Background under this
Agreement. The Searcher shall use an in-person searcher to perform all searches. The Searcher shall
not use any other methods, including but not limited to mailing requests to the court and on-line
services, without the knowledge and approval of Veritas Background. All records are to be
researched for a minimum of ten (10) years from the date of disposition, unless otherwise noted on
the search request.
4. Searcher shall advise Veritas Background at least ten (10) business days in advance, or as soon as
reasonably practical, if Searcher is unable to perform the services described in this Agreement (i.e.
vacation, sickness power outage, transportation problems, etc.). If at any time there is to be a delay
past 24 hours, the Searcher must advise Veritas Background as soon as possible as to the nature of
the delay.
5. In exchange for service under this Agreement, Veritas Background agrees to pay the Searcher the
fees agreed upon with the Veritas Background Searcher Network Department. Payment will be
issued to the searcher upon receipt of the monthly invoice detailing the work done (name, control
number, search type, and cost) over the previous thirty (30) days by the Searcher for Veritas
Background. Invoices submitted after 90 days will not be processed. A written agreement signed by
both parties is required to alter any previously agreed upon searcher fees. Altered fees will not be
paid without such an agreement.
6. All agreed upon fees (on a per name basis) are inclusive of all costs that may be associated with the
search process, with the exception of court imposed search fees. Court search fees will be paid to the
Searcher upon Veritas Background’s verification of those court imposed fees. Any other costs that
are associated with the search shall be the liability of the Searcher. This shall include, but not be
limited to; mileage, parking, copies, phone calls, extra labor for record retrieval, and faxing. No
additional fees will be paid to the Searcher by Veritas Background unless prior express written
permission is granted by the Veritas Background Searcher Network Department. Should you qualify
based on volume, you will be contacted regarding our Retainer Program.
7. The parties shall agree that Veritas Background reserves the right to test all searchers for accuracy
with known records for quality control purposes. Veritas Background employs a zero tolerance
policy for inaccurate records and will terminate this agreement if the Searcher can not achieve the
highest level of accuracy possible.
8. If erroneous results are provided to Veritas Background, the Searcher must contact their Research
State Investigator, the Searcher Network Department, or any member of management immediately
upon realizing the error and before re-faxing the corrected results. Re-verification of a missed,
inaccurate, or disputed record must be completed within 24 hours with no additional charge to
Veritas Background.
9. Searchers authorizes Veritas Background to obtain an Investigative Background Report including
criminal, credit, driving, and other related reports on themselves, as part of Veritas Background’s
screening process.
10. At no time shall this Agreement constitute a contract for employment purposes. Each of the parties
to the Agreement are independent contractors and nothing contained in this Agreement shall be
construed as creating a joint venture, partnership, licensor-licensee, principal-agent, mutual agency
relationship or employment agreement between or among the parties. Nothing in this Agreement is
intended to limit or restrict the Searcher’s ability to provide similar services to other purchasers.
11. Searcher shall hereby certify that all research will be conducted in compliance with all federal, state,
& local laws, as well as in the manner prescribed by the jurisdiction which maintains the official
record of the court. Information will not be obtained through illegal or unethical means.
12. Searcher further certifies that all research will be performed in the utmost professional manner and
will maintain & secure copies of completed search requests for a period of five (5) years, after which
time, all records shall be shredded.
13. Searcher agrees to maintain and provide to Veritas Background a copy of any required license as
stipulated in the applicable jurisdictions.
14. Searcher hereby acknowledges receipt of the attached “Notice to Furnishers of Information”, and
hereby certifies that all information reported will be in accordance with the “Obligations of
Furnishers under the FCRA”.