Background checks for personal assistants and errand runners
Shopping, pickups, errands, and household tasks mean money, keys, calendars, and access — the broadest trust footprint of any independent household role.
Short answer
Can a personal assistant pay for their own background check?
Yes. An independent personal assistant or errand runner can order and pay for their own background check and share the finished report with private clients, family offices, and household agencies.
Why clients ask personal assistants and errand runners for a background check
- The assistant handles cards, cash, and sometimes accounts.
- Keys, codes, calendars, and travel plans are all known to the assistant.
- Work spans the home, the vehicle, and the client's errands.
- Family office and high-net-worth clients screen exhaustively.
What the check should include
These are the searches we would run for a personal assistant. A contractor ordering their own report gets the same searches an employer-ordered check would use.
| Search | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| SSN address trace | Identity and address history. |
| National criminal database search | Multi-state first pass. |
| County criminal search | Court-verified theft, fraud, and violence. |
| Financial Risk Search | Bankruptcies, judgments, and liens — standard context where a worker handles funds. |
| Motor vehicle record (MVR) | Errands are driven, often in the client's car. |
| Employment verification | Confirms the prior household or executive roles the hire is based on. |
Who pays, and how contractor-paid works
When a personal assistant orders the report, they pay at checkout, the finished report is delivered to them, and they decide who sees it — one report, shown to every client who asks. When a platform or company orders it instead, the company holds the report and carries the adverse action obligations that come with using it to make a decision.
Our personal background check is a fixed $44.95, plus any court access fee charged by the counties searched — published at cost on our access fee lookup. Median report time is under four hours, and 89% of reports return the same business day.
Questions personal assistants and errand runners ask
What screening do private clients expect for an assistant?
Confirmed identity, county criminal searches, a driving record, financial risk context where money is handled, and verified prior employment.
Why verify past employment?
Household roles are hired on reputation and referral. Verification is what turns a claimed history into a confirmed one.
Can a family office accept a report I ordered?
Some will; many run their own as a matter of policy. Holding a current one still moves the conversation forward.
How often should it be refreshed?
Annually for ongoing work.
Related contractor guides
Back to the contractor-paid background checks hub for all 30 occupations.
Keep reading
- How to run a background check on yourselfThe candidate-side guide: what to request, what to expect, and how to correct an inaccurate record.Read the guide
- What shows up on a background checkEvery record type an employment screen can return, what it cannot return, and the lookback limits that apply.Read the guide
- Adverse action: meaning, notices, and timelineWhat adverse action means under the FCRA, the two required notices, and how long to wait between them.Read the guide