How do I run a Background Check?

Updated Since 10/13/2025

Sections

How do I create a PeopleTrail™ Account?

What are the screening filters in PeopleTrail™ ?

How do I link my Arbiter account and my PeopleTrail™ Account?

How do I create a registration?

How do I run a background check?

How do I interpret background check results?

How do I create a PeopleTrail™ Account?

PeopleTrail™ is the accredited pre-employment, background, and drug screening services provider used by Arbiter. To create an account, you will need to do the following:

1. Navigate to the People tab and Officials sub-tab.  
2. Click on the Background Check link, under Utilities.

3. Click the link to create a PeopleTrail account. Included is an agreement for service, certification. 

4. Fax completed forms to PeopleTrail at [phone].

Questions regarding the applications should be directed to PeopleTrail at (801-307-4100) or Toll-Free at 1-866-223-8822.

5. Once reviewed PeopleTrail will give the user a nine-digit account number to link their Arbiter account to the PeopleTrail account.

What are the screening filters in PeopleTrail™ ?

PeopleTrail can provide a wide variety of customization in setting up your background check. The background checks offered tend to fall into one of two categories:

1. Recommended Search - Verifies the identity of the official using Name, Date of Birth and SSN and allows you to filter out unneeded results.  Results are returned from the National Criminal Database, the 50 State Sex Offender registries, the OFAC Terrorist Watch List database and hundreds of local databases.

2. Customized Search - Customize to meet the needs of the organization, such as county court records, driving records, credit, and financial reports, etc.

How do I link my Arbiter account and my PeopleTrail™ Account? 

1. Click on the People tab. You should automatically be directed to the Officials sub-tab.
2. Click on the Background Check link under Utilities on the left side.

3. The following window will pop up to link your PeopleTrail account.
4. Enter the provided nine-digit PeopleTrail account number and click save. A notification will appear acknowledging that the account was saved successfully.

5. At this point, your Arbiter account and PeopleTrail accounts are linked.

How do I create a registration?

1. Click on the Eligbility tab.
2. Click on the Registration sub-tab.
3. Click on the + sign on the left-hand side

 

4. Enter Registration Type (Officials, Coaches OR Schools), Add Name, Set Dates, and School year.

 

5. Check the following options:

 If you check off REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECK CONSENT, you will need to view the Consent Terms and sign

6. Click Create, Select the sport(s) you would like to support with your registration. 

7. Set up the registration with applicable questions, fees, and personal information.
8. Select Publish on the top right-hand side

 

How do I run a background check?

Create a filter on the People Tab, Officials sub-tab to find officials that need a background check run.

1. Click on the "Create" button to create a new filter.


2. Name the filter.

3. Set filter for "Background Check Status". 

1. Use the filter to select your officials.
2. Click Background Check.
3. On this summary, you will find the following pieces of information:

• Date- Date the background checks are requested.
• Selected Officials-Total number of officials for background checks determined by the filter selected.
• Excluded Officials- Reasons why an official could be excluded from a background check is listed along with the number of officials that fall into each category.  A "View" option on the right allows the user to see excluded officials.  As is listed, the following must be true of the official to be able to have a background check run for them:

1) The official must have their Date of Birth (DOB) registered in the Arbiter system.
2) The official must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) in the Arbiter system.
3) The official must not be under the age of 18.  If a background check is requested for a minor, the background check will always return as passed. The expiration of this background check will automatically be set for their 18th birthday.
4) The official must be marked as active.
5) The official must have given consent for the background check.  This is done through the registration that was setup prior.
6) The official must not have a recently run previous background check.

• Total number of officials being sent to PeopleTrail- Final number of officials that will have their background check run by PeopleTrail.
• Background Check Depth- Only officials that have no "Hits" or have been reviewed are eligible for an 18-month background check as their second background check.  Otherwise, select a full background check to be run.
• Background Check Expiration-  This is how long the background check will be considered acceptable. This is capped at 3 years, regardless of the date that is chosen.
• Agreement- The admin of the account must agree before the background check requests will be sent to PeopleTrail.

4. Click Send. 
5. Wait for a response from PeopleTrail in your Arbiter account.

How do I interpret background check results?
 

Upon completion of a background check, a small square will appear to the right of the official.  Each square will have a color and pattern representing something different.

Blue = Background Check Pending
Green = No Hit = Background Check Cleared
Yellow = Hit = Action Needed (Pre-Adverse or Adverse Letter to be sent) - The official will need to contact PeopleTrail to handle the issue. Once the issue has been cleared up, the assigner can change the status of the background check to green
Yellow/Red = Pre-Adverse letter has been sent
Red = Adverse Finding = Background Check Didn’t Clear (Declined) - Assigner can review the background check to determine if a pre-adverse or adverse letter should be sent.  It should be noted that if an account adverses (declines) an official, that official can no longer be active in that account.
Black = API Service Error - This indicates that there is an issue with the product and it will need to be investigated further by Arbiter.  If this occurs in your account, please contact our Customer Success Team at [e-mail]

Each square is interactive. Click on the colored square to see the name of the official, when the background check was sent, status, and Background Check Report.

Privacy is held in the highest regard and is only viewable for the official, PeopleTrail, and the group administrator. 

Decisions regarding eligibility are made by the group administrator, not Arbiter or PeopleTrail.

For a background check that returns with a "Hit," you will be given an option of sending a Pre-Adverse Letter. This letter is a notification to the official of the report, letting them know that a decision will be made based on the report contents.  Additionally, the letter contains PeopleTrail's information for any questions or disputes and a link to the report. 

Once a report has been reviewed, the administrator is given the option of immediately sending an Adverse Letter, scheduling one to go out later (can be setup to go out 3 days after the pre-adverse letter), or to cancel the Adverse Letter based on the findings.  The Adverse Letter provides the Group's, official's, and PeopleTrail's information.  It also notifies the official that the group cannot grant them eligibility based on the mutually agreed upon background check.

If the official would like to dispute the findings, the official can obtain a free copy of the background check with proper identification from PeopleTrail.  The information found in the report can be disputed with PeopleTrail within 60 days of receiving the Adverse Letter.

When the user is working with PeopleTrail, it is beneficial to approach them with the email address, phone number, and postal code of the official in question.  Providing this information can greatly assist in their efforts to help you.  

If old/no longer valid background check results need to be removed from the Arbiter system, this is handled by the Arbiter System Maintenance team and involves a fee of $50.00.

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