The Michigan Supreme Court ordered the redaction of PII (personal identifying information) from all court records in Michigan courts. This process went into full effect on April 1st, 2022. An earlier post covered these potential changes when they were first announced. The initial plan was to have signed consents from applicants provided to the court in order to access the full date of birth on the record.
A New Solution Through PBSA
Our industry worked together with PBSA (Professional Background Screening Association) to create an additional method by which researchers can access full dates of birth. Michigan State Court Administration Office has formed a new process in which researchers are vetted and approved. Researchers must register with the state and provide Assurance & Liability Insurance.
When a vetted researcher goes to court, they will be able to access a full date of birth in the court records. This gives researchers the opportunity to verify that a record belongs to the request subject without delays. This process also eliminates the need to have signed consents directly from the applicant.
Why Date of Birth Matters for Record Matching
When a researcher pulls a criminal record from a court, they need to confirm that the record belongs to the subject of the search — not someone with a similar name. Date of birth is the primary identifier used for that match. Without it, there's a real risk of either missing a record that belongs to your applicant, or attributing a record to the wrong person — which creates serious FCRA liability for everyone involved.
The Michigan Supreme Court's redaction order removed this identifier from public court documents, which is precisely why the vetted researcher process matters. When our approved researchers access Michigan court records in person, they can view the full date of birth on file and confirm the match before the record is ever reported.
What This Means for Background Checks
For employers and clients running background checks on applicants with Michigan connections, the vetted researcher process ensures that records can still be matched to subjects with confidence. Our researchers are registered with the state and carry the required insurance, so Michigan criminal searches continue to meet FCRA compliance standards.
Michigan Criminal Searches
Our vetted researchers meet Michigan's new requirements. Get accurate, FCRA-compliant results for applicants with Michigan criminal history.