Background checks for pet sitters
In-home pet visits, feeding, overnight care, and boarding mean the sitter has the house to themselves — sometimes for a week.
Short answer
Can a pet sitter pay for their own background check?
Yes, and independent sitters routinely do. A pet sitter who orders and pays for their own background check holds the finished report and can show it to every new client, which is the single most effective trust signal in a business built on house keys.
Why clients ask pet sitters for a background check
- The sitter holds keys or codes and is alone in the home, often overnight.
- Clients are away and cannot check in.
- Medication, valuables, and mail are all accessible during a stay.
- The animal's welfare depends entirely on the sitter showing up.
What the check should include
These are the searches we would run for a pet sitter. 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 confirmation and the county list. |
| National criminal database search | Broad multi-state first pass. |
| County criminal search | Court-verified theft, burglary, violence, and animal-cruelty charges where they exist. |
| Sex offender registry | Standard for unsupervised access to a private residence. |
Who pays, and how contractor-paid works
When a pet sitter 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 pet sitters ask
Should pet sitters be background checked?
Yes — pet sitting is unsupervised home access with keys. Most sitting platforms advertise screening, and independent sitters who hold their own report book faster.
Does the check show animal cruelty charges?
Where such a charge exists in a searched jurisdiction's court records, it appears like any other criminal record. There is no nationwide animal-abuse registry equivalent to the sex offender registry.
How much does it cost a sitter?
Our personal background check is a fixed $44.95, plus any court access fee for the counties searched.
How often should a sitter refresh it?
Once a year, or whenever a new client asks for something current.
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