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How Long Does a Toronto Background Check Take?

A typical Toronto employment screening background check will usually take a week, or 5 business days to complete.


However, it can even be completed sooner if the background check just involves a search of “pay to access” Toronto databases.


It may seem that a Toronto background check using digital databases should be instant, and it is, but to be done correctly the results require a real person to verify the results. This human oversight will prevent technical errors and ensure that the subject of the check will receive results that are intended for them only.


So, if a Toronto background check only involves using databases, it can be accomplished in 2 to 3 days, typically.


However, as mentioned before, the time the check takes is dependent on how thoroughly the Toronto background check is. Because many background investigations are different, the time for completion can vary quite a bit.


But, there is a fundamental foundation to a thorough background search:

  • criminal history (OPP/ RCMP)

  • financial credit history

  • social media existence

  • past ON post-secondary education

  • career history

  • personal references

  • individual’s personal history

A big part of performing a Toronto background search will involve verifying an individual’s history using databases, some that are paid databases and also free ones.


A Toronto Private Investigator usually uses a paid government database to acquire information regarding an individual's criminal history. However, just simply finding court records is usually a service that many governments offer for free.


Many times, a Toronto background Investigator will lookup an individual’s court record for free and then resort to purchasing a criminal record check if there are court records found.


Unlike searching for court records, a financial credit history check will often require the Toronto Private Investigator to pay for accessing the database that digitally houses financial records.


As mentioned before, these databases can be instant but need 2 to 3 days for an actual person in Toronto to evaluate the results correctly.

how long does a background check in Toronto

Why is the Toronto Background Check Taking so Long?

When performing a background check, a Toronto background Investigator will often have to do a lot of phone calls.

  • This is where a background check can take more time

This is due to the fact that the Toronto Private Investigator is relying on the schedule and availability of the people that the background Investigator needs to personally talk to.


This happens a lot when verifying things such as educational degrees. Often, the Toronto Investigator will contact the ON post-secondary educational institute via phone call and validate the degree with the institute's records department.


However, many Ontario universities and colleges protect these records. In this situation, the Toronto Investigator will have to reach out to the individual who is undergoing the background check and get them to contact the post-secondary institution themselves in order to access the information. The subject of the background check will then be asked to request a school transcript from the records department and get the school to mail it to an address of the Toronto background Investigator's choosing. This will reduce to possibility of tampering of the transcript.


It is obvious that performing this phone outreaching can take a fair bit of time. As with researching ON education, researching personal references will also require phone calls and time.

  • Contacting personal references in Toronto can be the most time consuming

Some people can be reached easily while some may take a long time to contact along with great effort. The Toronto Private Investigator will then have to take the necessary time to validate that the references are who they say they are and finally hear their opinions on the subject of the background check.


Toronto Background Time: Researching On-line

The last part of the Toronto background check foundation will be on-line researching. The background Investigator will use the internet as an investigative tool to research the subject's personal history.


The amount of time this takes is fairly standard in the Toronto investigations industry:

  • Ten hours to thoroughly research the subject using the entirety of the web

A large part of the time allotted will be used searching social media platforms. However, a lot of information can be found on the subject outside of social media.


There could be many mentions of the subject on various websites. The amount of the ten hours spent on social media vs the web outside of social media will depend on where most of the information on the subject is located.


Many people have a poor grasp on searching the web. A novice could find a few pieces of information when searching on the internet. However, a skilled Toronto background Investigator will be able to find all relevant information and be able to accurately verify and document it properly.


Furthermore, as mentioned in our blog, a skilled Toronto Private Investigator would be able to do this in a timely fashion whereas a novice would require much more time. This is why, even with a simple background check task, an experienced and skilled Toronto Investigator should always be utilized.


An experienced Toronto Private Investigator will be able to gather all relevant information and do it in the least amount of time possible.

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