Where does Pescheck get its data from?
Our data comes from official registries, certified providers, and direct verification with employers and institutions. No scraping, no shady third-party brokers.
In short: Our data comes from official government registries, certified data providers, and direct verification with employers, institutions, and referees. We do not buy from data brokers, we do not scrape, and we audit every source for accuracy.
Primary sources
For each check type:
| Check | Primary source |
|---|---|
| Dutch criminal record (VOG) | Justis, the Dutch Ministry of Justice screening agency |
| International criminal record | Each country’s official judicial registry or accredited local agent |
| ID verification | Government ID document features and biometric matching via a specialised provider |
| PEPs and sanctions | Industry-leading global watchlist and sanctions data providers |
| Credit | Official national credit bureaus in each candidate’s country of residence |
| Education and qualifications | Direct verification with the issuing institution |
| Employment history | Direct contact with each named former employer |
| References | Direct contact with each named referee |
| Adverse media | Established international news archives and watchlist providers |
What we do not do
- No data brokers, we do not buy aggregated personal profiles from third parties
- No scraping, we do not pull data from social media or web crawls without explicit consent
- No data resale, we never sell or share screening data with anyone outside the screening
- No retention beyond purpose, data is anonymised once it has served the legitimate purpose
Sub-processors
Screening data is shared only with carefully selected sub-processors when necessary for a specific check (e.g. a previous employer for employment verification, an institution for qualification verification, or specialised processors for ID checks). The current sub-processor list is published in the Pescheck Trust Centre. Per our processing agreement, we notify customers of any intended changes in writing, with a 15-day window to object.
Why this matters
Many cheaper screening providers cut corners by buying pre-aggregated database results. Those databases are full of stale, miscategorised, and outright wrong data. The cost is paid by the person being screened, who has no easy way to correct the record.
We source from the original registries every time, because that is the only way to be sure the information is current and accurate. It is slower than a database lookup, but it is right.
Audit trail
Every piece of data in a screening report is traced back to its source in our internal audit log. If you ever need to know where a finding came from, we can tell you. If a finding is wrong, we can correct it at source and reissue the report.
Related articles
How does Pescheck protect my data?
We process your data under a Dutch Ministry of Justice POB licence and ISO 27001 certification, with encryption in transit and at rest and EU-only storage.
What data does Pescheck collect about me?
Only the data that's necessary for the specific checks you've consented to. Here is what we collect, why, and how long we keep it.
What is an international background check?
A background check that combines verifications across multiple countries. Useful when candidates have lived, studied, or worked abroad.
