PERSONAL BACKGROUND CHECK

You will earn this credential by passing both a criminal and civil background check.

Criminal Background Check – 7 Year

Powered by Acxiom, a global consumer data provider, this comprehensive check confirms your identity and assures consumers you have had no felony or misdemeanor convictions during the last seven years. We perform this check by querying Acxiom’s national criminal records database, which has more than 600 million individual records. This credential is fully compliant with the Fair Credit Practices Act and with all state and local regulations.

Civil Background Check – 7 Year

Powered by Acxiom and Transunion, a leading provider of credit histories for more than 200 million U.S. individuals, this check confirms that during the last seven years you haven’t been a defendant or plaintiff in a civil lawsuit. It also verifies you haven’t declared bankruptcy during the same period or have otherwise been delinquent in meeting your financial obligations. This credential is fully compliant with the Fair Credit Practices Act and with all state and local regulations.

PROFESSIONAL LICENSE CHECK

Conducted by the National Ethic Association’s compliance specialists, this check verifies that you are properly licensed in your field and have kept up with your continuing-education requirements.

REGULATOR CHECK – 7 year

Conducted by the National Ethics Association’s compliance specialists, these checks confirm you have upheld your industry’s regulatory requirements during the last seven years. Based on your identified regulatory bodies, we will check with one or more of the following entities.

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

Checks for Administrative Law Judge initial decisions and orders, administrative proceedings, reports of investigations, and litigation releases that relate to your work in the securities or investment advisory industry.

In addition, our compliance specialists check the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosures (IAPD) which provides information about current and former Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs), Investment Adviser firms registered with the SEC and/or state securities regulators, and Exempt Reporting Advisers that file reports with the SEC and/or state securities regulators.

IAPD also includes individuals who:

• have been registered with a state securities regulator within the last ten years, or
• (1) have ever been the subject of a final regulatory event, (2) convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to a crime, (3) have been the subject of a civil injunction or civil court finding involving a violation of any investment-related statute(s) or regulation(s), or (4) have been a respondent or defendant or the subject of an arbitration or civil litigation which resulted in an award, decision, or judgment for a customer that has been reported on a registration form.

Department of Insurance

Checks your resident and non-resident insurance licenses with the appropriate state insurance department(s). Verifies with insurance regulators that your licenses are valid, that you have no disqualifying violations, and that you have stayed current with continuing education requirements.

FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)

Verifies your record in FINRA’s Central Registration Depository (CRD®), the securities industry’s online registration and licensing database. Checks both active and inactive securities licenses for disqualifying violations.

Real Estate Regulators

Verifies your background with your real estate regulatory authority. Confirms that you haven’t violated any real estate broker/agent or mortgage broker regulations.

Other Regulatory Agencies

If you are subject to regulations from other regulatory bodies, we will verify your record providing you include them in your membership application.