2/17/2010 - New Background Check Available to Applicants

Under KRS 311A.010 the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services may require background checks of its applicants for certification or licensure. In exercising its authority, the Board previously created a policy that required FBI background checks. Now, KBEMS is offering an alternative means for completing the background check requirement. Beginning February 17, 2010, applicants may follow links from this website to Verified Credentials, a commercial personal background investigative service.

Verified Credentials has been conducting background checks for over two decades and is a trusted vendor used in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. By offering this service as an alternative to the FBI background checks, KBEMS hopes to address issues that have arisen in the past, particularly with the timeframe necessary in many federal processes. Verified Credentials has assured KBEMS that all applicants who seek a background check through them will have a substantially shorter wait than the one experienced through the FBI background check procedures.

The benefits of using Verified Credentials include:

1. A quicker turn-around from registration/payment until return of the report. Verified Credentials has indicated their average reporting time is 3-5 business days;
2. A stream-lined process for requesting a report. All requests and payments may be done online without any burdensome travel;

   and

3. A dispute process handled through Verified Credentials. If an applicant has an issue on a background check that is in dispute, Verified Credentials has a procedure for investigating and resolving it. Unlike with the FBI background check, the online process removes the burden of investigation from the applicant and places it on Verified Credentials.

Instructions for using Verified Credentials are available by selecting the "Background Checks" tab at the left of this page underneath "Internal Policies". If applicants choose to seek a background check through the FBI, they may also find a link to the FBI there. All fees associated with Verified Credentials and the FBI background checks are the sole responsibility of applicants.