HILLSBORO, Ohio — The Highland County Sheriff’s Office says it does not conduct, process or release background checks online, after its records division fielded a wave of complaints from people who believed the agency was holding up requests they made through outside websites.
In a Facebook post labeled an “official public notice,” the sheriff’s office said anyone who paid for an “online background check” through a website did not go through the agency, and that it has no way to access or verify those third-party records.
“If you paid for an ‘online background check’ through a website, you did not do so through our agency, and we cannot access or verify those records,” the records division said in the post.
The office said all Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI background checks must be completed in person at its records division. Applicants must bring picture identification to verify their identity, and a scanner takes their fingerprints, which are then uploaded to BCI or the FBI depending on which check is requested. Results are mailed directly from those agencies to the address the applicant provides at the time of the transaction, the sheriff’s office said.
The Highland County Sheriff’s Office lists fees of $30 for a standard background check, $32 for an FBI check and $62 for a combined BCI/FBI check, along with a 5-cent-per-page charge for document copies, according to the office’s website. The records division is based at the sheriff’s office, 130 Homestead Ave. in Hillsboro.
The sheriff’s office said its records office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents who cannot make it in during those hours were asked to contact the records office directly, with staff saying they “will do our best to accommodate you.”
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.
