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American DataBank · Student & clinical placement background checks

American DataBank report showed a relative's record?

American DataBank runs the background checks many nursing and health sciences programs require before students start clinical rotations. If your report pinned a parent's, sibling's or other relative's criminal charges on you, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute it and, in the right case, to sue.

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Who American DataBank is and who relies on its reports

American DataBank is a background screening and compliance company founded in 1998. Much of its work is in healthcare education: nursing and allied health programs use it for the background checks, drug screens and immunization and clinical rotation tracking that hospitals and other clinical sites require before students can train there. California State University San Marcos, for example, tells nursing students they must complete a background check and drug screen through American Databank before starting the program, and says the check is required by all of its clinical agencies.

In February 2025, DISA Global Solutions, a workplace screening and compliance company owned by Audax Private Equity, announced that it had acquired American DataBank and launched a Healthcare Technology division. American DataBank’s website now redirects to DISA Healthcare.

For a student, this report is a gatekeeper. If it shows a criminal record, the school or clinical site may block your placement, and without clinical hours you cannot finish the program. Some schools only see whether you “cleared,” so you may not learn what the report said until you ask for it.

How a relative’s record ends up on your report

Relatives share a lot of identifying information: last names, sometimes first names, home addresses, and in the case of parents and children, very similar names with only a Jr. or Sr. to tell them apart. When a background check company matches court records on name and address rather than full birth date and other identifiers, a father’s DWI, a brother’s theft charge or a cousin’s warrant can land on your report.

Court records often make this worse. Many show only a name and a birth year, or leave off the suffix. A report that treats “John Smith” at your family’s address as you, without checking the full date of birth, is the kind of error the FCRA’s accuracy requirement is meant to prevent.

Errors that show up on student background checks

  • Jr./Sr. mix-ups. A parent’s or child’s record reported on the other because the suffix was dropped or ignored.
  • Shared-address matches. A sibling’s or other relative’s case matched to you because you lived at the same address.
  • Name-only matches. Records attached to you even though the birth date or middle name does not match.
  • Missing outcomes. Charges reported without the dismissal or final disposition.
  • Duplicates. One case listed more than once.
  • Old non-conviction records. Arrests and other non-conviction records more than seven years old, which the FCRA generally bars from consumer reports.

How to dispute American DataBank

  1. Get the full report. Ask for a copy of your background check. DISA Healthcare’s support page links to forms to request a copy of your background check and to dispute it, and lists a support line at 888-723-4263.
  2. Identify every entry that is not yours. Note the name, birth date, case number and court for each one.
  3. Gather proof you are a different person. Your full legal name and suffix, your date of birth, your ID, and the court record showing the relative’s birth date, middle name or other identifiers. If you can, get a certified copy of the court record.
  4. File the dispute in writing. Use DISA’s background check dispute form, explain that the records belong to a relative, and attach your proof. Keep a copy and the confirmation.
  5. Tell your program and clinical coordinator. Let them know a dispute is pending and ask them to hold any decision on your placement.
  6. Track the 30 days. A consumer reporting agency generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)).
  7. Keep everything. The report, your dispute, school emails about clearance, and any notice that your placement or enrollment was delayed or denied.

How to contact American DataBank

American DataBank’s website now redirects to DISA Healthcare. DISA Healthcare’s support page lists:

We could not verify a mailing address for disputes, so use the online form and keep the confirmation.

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). American DataBank must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information it reports about you. Matching a relative’s record on name and address alone can fall short of that standard.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). It must reasonably reinvestigate disputed information and correct or delete what is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
  • Your file (§ 1681g). You have the right to see the information in your file and its sources.
  • Employment rules (§ 1681b(b) and § 1681k). When a report is used for employment, such as a check for a healthcare job, extra notice and accuracy procedures apply. Whether those rules reach a student clinical placement can depend on the facts.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.

Can you sue American DataBank?

Yes, in the right case. As a consumer reporting agency, American DataBank must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)) and must reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, generally within 30 days (§ 1681i). When it reports public records for employment purposes, § 1681k requires it either to notify you at the time or to use strict procedures to keep those records complete and up to date. Section 1681c bars reporting most non-conviction records, such as arrests, that are more than seven years old, with an exception for some high-salary jobs. If American DataBank put someone else’s record on your background report, showed a dismissed or sealed case as open, or ignored your dispute, you may have a claim.

You generally must file an FCRA lawsuit within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after the violation occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p).

What you may recover. If American DataBank negligently violated the FCRA, you may recover actual damages, such as lost tuition, a delayed graduation, lost wages from a delayed career start, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If the violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. No fee unless we win.

Get a free case review

The clock is running. An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and within five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If an American DataBank report put a relative’s record on you and cost you a clinical placement or a job, save the report, your dispute and your school’s messages, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing American DataBank

Can I sue American DataBank?

Yes, if the facts support it. American DataBank prepares background reports that schools and clinical sites use to decide whether students can train, which makes it a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. You may have a claim if it reported someone else's record without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Who owns American DataBank now?

DISA Global Solutions announced on February 4, 2025 that it had acquired American DataBank and launched a Healthcare Technology division. DISA is a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity. American DataBank's website now redirects to DISA Healthcare, whose support page links to DISA's background check copy and dispute forms.

My school only sees 'cleared' or 'not cleared.' Who do I dispute with?

Dispute with the company that prepared the report, not the school. Some nursing programs say they cannot see students' actual results, only whether they cleared. Get the full report, dispute the wrong entries in writing, and tell your program and clinical coordinator that a dispute is pending.

What does a case cost?

Nothing out of pocket. FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, with no fee unless we win, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

Sources

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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