A clean result only means something if the search went everywhere it needed to. Tempe Municipal Court, at 140 E. 5th St., handles misdemeanors, traffic and city-ordinance cases. Felonies go through Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix, so someone who checked only the Tempe docket may have seen a fraction of the picture.
When we run a criminal background check in Tempe, we pull records from the courts themselves, plus the other places that person has lived. That matters here. ASU and the employers around Tempe Town Lake and North Tempe draw people from other states, and their history doesn’t stay in Arizona.
It also changes how you decide. If you own a small rental and you’re leasing ahead of the August move-in rush, you get findings you can keep on file instead of a hunch. If you’re hiring for a startup near SkySong with no HR department, you get education and employment confirmed with the registrar and the former employer, not read off a resume. That’s what good background check services in Tempe should hand you: a clear answer you can act on, whichever way it points.
Quantum Investigations is a veteran-owned, Arizona DPS-licensed agency led by Jeff Penrod, a former Phoenix Police Department officer with a military background. He has 23+ years in the field, and we work one case at a time.
That Phoenix police background is why Maricopa County records aren’t a mystery to us. It doesn’t mean Jeff worked Tempe cases, and he won’t pretend it does. What it means is that when a Tempe landlord or employer asks for a background investigation, we know where the municipal, county and out-of-state records live and how to read them.
We’re Phoenix-based with a second office in Mesa, so Tempe sits right between the two. You don’t have to take our word on the license. You can look it up on the Arizona DPS public portal before you ever call.
It starts with a free, confidential call. You tell us who you’re checking and why, whether that’s a hire, an applicant, a roommate or a business partner. We tell you straight whether an investigation is the right move. If a simpler check will do, we’ll say so before you spend anything.
Next comes the scope and a quote before any work begins. What drives it is how many places need searching, how much out-of-state history there is, how many people you’re checking, and how deep you want the verification to go.
Then the real work starts. We pull records from Tempe Municipal Court and Maricopa County Superior Court, plus any other courts where the person has lived, and check them against about 30 data indexes. Employment and education are confirmed directly with the school registrar and former employers. You finish with a written report from a licensed investigator who can testify to it.
Tell us your deadline on the first call. Tempe’s court says formal records requests average about 10 business days, and late July through early August is when leases near ASU move fast. Planning around timing beats hoping it works out.
Ready to get started?
Most Tempe jobs fall into a few groups. Pre-employment screening in Tempe and employment background checks for small businesses and startups hiring fast near SkySong, ASU Research Park or Mill Avenue. Tenant screening for owners of small rentals, where 55% of apartments sit in complexes of fewer than 50 units and many landlords are individuals, not property managers. Business partner due diligence before you sign anything. And personal safety checks on a roommate, a subletter or someone new in your life, which makes sense in a city where more than half of households rent.
The work scales with the case, from a focused criminal background check to a full background investigation with interviews and out-of-state records. Attorneys with matters running through Tempe Municipal Court and Maricopa County Superior Court can use the same work for witness and subject background.
Two ground rules apply. If you use a report to make a hiring decision, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires written disclosure and the applicant’s authorization. For housing, apply the same criteria to every applicant. Anything that looks like stalking, harassment or a purpose the law doesn’t allow gets a no.
Not automatically, and that’s where a lot of searches go wrong. Tempe Municipal Court, at 140 E. 5th St., handles misdemeanors, traffic and city-ordinance cases. Felonies are filed with Maricopa County Superior Court, and its Central Court Building is at 201 W. Jefferson St. in Phoenix.
A search that stops at the Tempe docket can come back clean on someone with a felony file downtown. When we run a criminal background check in Tempe, we pull from both courts and from the other places the person has lived, in Arizona and out of it. That matters with ASU in the city, since so many people arrive with history somewhere else.
It depends on the case, and anyone who promises a flat turnaround before they know the case is guessing. What moves the clock is how many courts need searching, whether the person has out-of-state history, and how quickly schools and former employers respond to verification requests.
For reference, Tempe Municipal Court says formal records requests average about 10 business days. That’s the court’s number, not ours, but it shows why a rushed hire in Tempe can run into the calendar. If you’re filling a role fast, say so on the free consultation. We’ll tell you what’s realistic and whether you’re better off holding the offer until the pre-employment screening is back. For employment checks, get the applicant’s written authorization before anything starts.
Yes, but the rules depend on who you are in the arrangement. If you’re a landlord deciding on an applicant or a subletter, that’s a housing decision. The Fair Credit Reporting Act can apply, and you should use the same criteria for every applicant. If you’re a tenant vetting someone you’ll live with, that’s closer to a personal safety check, which is also a legitimate purpose.
This comes up constantly in Tempe. Lease takeovers and furnished sublets peak around July, and you can end up handing keys to someone who moved from another state a few weeks earlier. A check can confirm identity, look for records in the places they’ve lived, and verify the employer they gave you. We can walk through your situation on a free call. It isn’t legal advice, but we’ll tell you what’s allowed and what isn’t.
An online site runs a name through databases and hands you a printout. That’s a fine first look. The gap is what databases don’t hold. Many counties haven’t digitized their court records, so someone has to go get them, and name variations or old addresses can send a search past the right person or onto the wrong one.
We pull court records directly, verify employment and education with the registrar and former employers instead of the applicant, and write up findings a licensed professional can stand behind, including in court. Over 87% of the discrepancies we see come from employment and education claims, which is exactly what databases tend not to confirm. In Tempe, where so many resumes list a degree from ASU or work history from another state, that’s the part worth paying for.
Usually not. We don’t notify the person you’re checking, and the findings go to you. In a place like Tempe, where student and young professional circles overlap, that discretion matters whether you’re vetting a business partner or a new roommate.
Employment is the exception, and it comes from the law, not the investigation. If you’re using a report to make a hiring decision, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you to give the applicant a written disclosure and get their authorization first. So an applicant will know by design. We also work only within lawful purposes. Requests that amount to stalking or harassment get a no, and we’ll tell you that on the first call, not after you’ve paid for anything.
No. We’re Phoenix-based with a second office in Mesa, and Tempe sits between the two. It’s about 20 minutes east of downtown Phoenix, and I-10 and US 60 connect all three. Most of the work is records, verification calls and written reports, so you don’t have to go anywhere.
If you want a background check near you in Tempe, the first step is a free, confidential consultation at (480) 269-7099. Tell us what you’re deciding and when you need an answer. We’ll tell you whether an investigation makes sense, what it involves, and what it will cost before anything starts. You can also check our license on the Arizona DPS public portal.
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