In June 2021, L.A. County, California removed public access to full date of birth information and moved to providing partial date of birth as an identifier for criminal records. Date of birth information is a key identifier used to match candidates to court records. With this change, the L.A. County court made it difficult to obtain sufficient identifiers needed to fulfill and complete searches. In response, Sterling adopted a combination of automation and inhouse research procedures to help avoid widespread delays; only a small percentage of criminal checks in L.A. County took longer than usual due to the additional steps needed to look for additional identifiers. In spite of these additional measures, due to the court’s action, some searches were no longer able to be completed. As a result, some searches were closed as unperformable.
On Friday, February 23, 2024, the Superior Court of Los Angeles county took the additional step of removing public access to all date of birth information for criminal searches conducted online or via kiosks. This decision impacts all court researchers and screening companies. With this change, the L.A. County court has made it significantly more challenging to accurately identify individuals during background checks so that criminal searches in this county can be completed.
As a result, delays for criminal checks in L.A. County are expected to increase. If you are concerned about a delayed Los Angeles County search and would like to have it closed, please reach out to your Client Success representative with a written request.
Sterling is exploring all possible avenues to fulfill all search requests, including working with our trade associations to restore access to full or partial date of birth. Unfortunately, there is no quick path to resolution, and we anticipate this issue will continue in the foreseeable future. While the issue today is limited to L.A. County, we are closely monitoring the situation and will take action if other counties follow suit.
We will continue to keep you up to date, and we understand that you may have questions and concerns, so please feel free to contact your Sterling Client Success representative.
Sterling is not a law firm and does not dispense legal advice. The information provided herein is general business information, is not based on any particular facts or situations, and is not to be relied upon as legal advice, even if you are currently a client of Sterling. You are encouraged to seek advice from your own legal counsel concerning matters covered in this notice.