For some people, the terms people search and background check are confusing. "Aren't they the same thing?" they may ask. The answer is no: people search and background check are two completely different things. Knowing the differences between the two will be beneficial to a number of individuals that may find themselves in certain situations that require one or the other to be used.

The main difference between people search and background check is the type of information that the research returns. For people search, the person's full name, address, and phone number is typically all that is returned from the search. With background check, the person's criminal history is revealed, detailing every crime that they have been convicted of as an adult.

People search and background check are used for different things as well. People search is generally used when a person is trying to locate another person, such as an old friend or a relative that lives out of town. Background check is generally used when the person is going to put into a position of trust, such as handling money or watching children, to determine whether they have been convicted of any crime in the past that should be cause for alarm.