Instant checkmate provides a wealth of information you can use to research family members, neighbors, online sellers and more. We like its simple interface and easy-to-read reports. There are less expensive background check sites, but instant checkmate was one of the highest-rated providers out of 17 services we tested and evaluated.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Great Reputation
- Accurate Information
Cons
- Higher Price
For Our Instant Checkmate Review, We Purchased A One-month Most Popular Subscription And Used It To Conduct More Than A Dozen Background Searches By Name And Address, Testing For Speed, Accuracy And More. You Could Use Instant Checkmate To Search By Name, Address, Email Or Phone.
Specs
- Business started: 2010
- BBB accredited: Yes
- Privacy guarantee: Yes
- Dark web alerts: Yes
- ID protection: No
- Subscription-based: Yes
- Trial available: Yes, $1 for 5 days
- Fee for PDF download: Yes
Instant Checkmate Background
Instant checkmate was launched in 2010 and is based in san diego. The company holds an a+ rating from the better business bureau (bbb) where it’s been accredited since 2014. Instant checkmate’s customer care team may be reached at 800-222-8985 during business hours – 7am-7pm pst. You can also email the team at [email protected] or check out the company’s facebook page for contact info.
Why should you use a background check service?
Background Checks Pull Information From Multiple Public Records Sources And Compile It Into One Report That You Could Use To Screen Online Sellers Or Potential Dates, Research Family Or Friends You’ve Lost Touch With Or Simply Look Up Your Own Name To See What Information Is Available On You Online. If You’re Considering Meeting Up With Someone You Met Online, Running A Background Check Beforehand May Give You Peace Of Mind.
Instant Checkmate Can Be Used To Check The Backgrounds Of Anyone In The United States, Including:
- Yourself
- People You Meet Online
- Old Friends
- Family Members
- Your Date Or Significant Other
- Online Seller
- Parents
- Neighbors
- Potential Telemarketing Phone Numbers
- Potential Scam Emails
When You Cannot Use A Background Check Service
According to the fair credit reporting act, you cannot use a personal background check site like instant checkmate for hiring purposes. For screening a new nanny, housekeeper or even a tenant, you’ll need to use a consumer reporting agency (cra). Cras are for:
- Confirming job or education qualifications
- Researching the background of tenants or service providers
- Hiring professionally or personally (including home workers and babysitters)
- Checking credit scores or insurance eligibility
Instant checkmate is not a cra. This means that you are prohibited from using instant checkmate for any of the purposes mentioned above. It should only be used for personal reasons.
Instant checkmate costs
Like most background check sites, you’ll need to sign up for an instant checkmate subscription before you can read any of its reports. Its two main packages let you search for someone by name or address. The only difference between them is the option to pay for one month or three months. You may upgrade to a premium report for an additional $19.99
Here’s a closer look at the information that typically comes with a standard report versus information that you may receive with a premium report.
Instant Checkmate Standard Reports vs. Premium Reports
Standard
- Date of birth
- Phone numbers
- Address history
- Relatives
- Criminal and traffic records
- Government licenses
- Social media profiles
- Email addresses
Premium
- Civil judgments
- Corporate affiliations
- Watercraft and aircraft owned
- Uniform commercial code (UCC) Filings
- Properties owned
- Voter registration
- Tax liens
- Professional licenses
- Hunting/fishing/weapons permits
- Foreclosures
Which Instant Checkmate Package is Right for You?
The power users package offers a discount — about $28 a month versus $35.12 — but we only recommend it if you’re sure you’ll be using instant checkmate extensively for the next three months. Otherwise, the most popular package will be a better fit for your needs.
Whichever package you choose, instant checkmate uses auto-renewal, so you’ll want to be careful to cancel your subscription over the phone or online to avoid any unwanted billing.
Instant Checkmate Free Trial
You can also try out unlimited standard reports during a five-day trial for $1. After the five days expire, you’ll be automatically enrolled in a most popular subscription at $35.12 a month.
Instant Checkmate Fees
Unlimited standard reports with the most popular or power users package means that you can run background and location reports, but you won’t be able to download any of those reports as a pdf, search by email address or phone number or access dark web monitoring. You’ll need to pay extra for these features.
Instant Checkmate Add-Ons
Phone reports —reverse lookup any phone number to learn more about the phone’s owner.
Email reports — reverse lookup any email address to learn more about the address’s owner.
Dark web monitoring — track if your information has been leaked on the dark web.
If you choose all of these add-ons, you’ll pay an extra $18.96 a month or about $54 total for the one-month Most Popular Package. Compare this to a background check service like BeenVerified, which lets you access all of its search products and download PDF reports for $26.89 for one month.
What Is Revealed in an Instant Checkmate Background Check?
You’ll potentially find a person’s birth information, job history, education, social media links, possible relatives and more when you use Instant Checkmate. It may even provide marital status, although this information did not show for us when we conducted our tests. You can also find phone numbers, emails and previous locations, which you can use to run address reports.
Criminal and traffic records, including watchlists and traffic violations, are shown, along with financial histories like bankruptcies and liens. Instant Checkmate even gives business information like corporate filings, trademarks, assets and professional licenses. You’ll also get education history, social media links and more.
An address report may provide:
- Neighbor information
- Past residents
- ZIP code demographics
- Ownership status
- Census information
- Popular food, nightlife, shopping and outdoor activities located nearby
- Neighborhood crime statistics
- Nearby registered sex offenders
Are Instant Checkmate Reports Accurate?
Instant Checkmate provides a high rate of accuracy in its reports. You still may find outdated information, and a few sections might be missing depending on the person or address. However, Instant Checkmate pulls a large amount of data from public records and compiles it for you in an easy-to-read format.
How to Use Instant Checkmate
The simplest and quickest way to use instant checkmate is to click the “go now” button by scrolling to the “short on time?” section on the homepage. Once you sign up for an account, you can begin your first search from your account dashboard.
Instant checkmate has one of the simplest websites to navigate when compared to background check services like truthfinder and intelius. We like instant checkmate’s easy-to-navigate dashboard where you may search by name, phone, address and email at the top and, underneath, easily access previous reports you’ve opened. Below that, you’ll find your account information along with links to add extra reports. While it’s a more simplistic, minimal dashboard than other background check sites we’ve tested, instant checkmate makes it simpler to find exactly what you’re looking for quickly.
Instant Checkmate’s Reputation
On consumer review site trustpilot, the company has an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 290 reviews. Most of the reviews are five stars, many of which point out the great value and ease-of-use instant checkmate provides. Instant checkmate complaints include users reporting that they lost access to their accounts, experienced cross-listings and never received reports. Reviewers on the better business bureau give it an average 2.76 stars with recent complaints about the fee to download a report and a lack of information turned up by the site — most negative bbb reviews are prior to 2021.
Instant Checkmate Review: Should You Use It
You’ll find some discrepancies and confusing reporting, but most of the information instant checkmate provided in our tests was useful. It stands out for its easy-to-use website and account dashboard. We liked the streamlined signup process that allows you to quickly start pulling unlimited reports. Some background check sites use scare tactics to convince you to use their services, but not instant checkmate.
The downside is that it costs more, as much as $74 for a premium report plus extra fees. However, most people won’t need or want all those bells and whistles. If you’re looking for unlimited reports by name or address, we think instant checkmate’s simplicity and accuracy make it worth the price.
