Due Diligence Glossary

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Address History

Current and prior addresses tied to a person. Used to pick jurisdictions for public-records research and to resolve identity when names collide.

Adverse Media

News, regulatory releases, and other credible public sources that raise negative or risk-relevant points about a person or organization.

Advanced Due Diligence

Industry shorthand for a deeper review than a basic check — more jurisdictions, sources, or lookback, often with litigation, regulatory, adverse media, and sanctions work. True Court’s named packages use different labels (for vendors: Baseline / Deep Dive / High-Stakes Diligence; for executives: Core Profile / Extended Review / Critical Mandate).

Alias / AKA

Another name linked to a person — former name, maiden name, nickname, spelling variant, or other form under which records may sit. Alias research catches court and public records that miss the current legal name.

Asset Search

Publicly available research on assets tied to a person or business. Scope and jurisdiction decide what shows — real property, business interests, UCC filings, liens, and similar records.

Background Screening

Industry term for reviewing a person’s or organization’s history for identity, qualifications, legal matters, or other risk factors. When used for employment, housing, credit, or other FCRA-regulated purposes, it is typically performed by a consumer reporting agency. True Court is not a CRA; our work is investigative / non-FCRA diligence and wholesale research support for CRA partners — not employment screening for employers.

Bankruptcy Research

Review of bankruptcy court records for current or historical filings involving a person or business.

Basic Due Diligence

Industry term for an initial pass that surfaces ready risk indicators — identity, core public records, sanctions, litigation, and similar. True Court’s vendor starting points are Baseline, Deep Dive, and High-Stakes Diligence; executive depth uses Core Profile, Extended Review, and Critical Mandate.

Beneficial Ownership

The people who ultimately own, control, or financially benefit from an entity, including when ownership sits behind other companies or structures.

Business Due Diligence

Research on a company — ownership, operations, litigation, regulatory matters, financial-distress signals, public records, and related risk.

Business Entity Research

Corporate registrations, Secretary of State records, ownership, affiliations, status, and other public filings tied to a company.

Civil Litigation Research

Civil court records on people or businesses — contracts, business disputes, fraud allegations, professional matters, and other non-criminal cases.

Collections

Outstanding debts placed with a collection agency or otherwise reported through commercial or public sources.

Corporate Affiliation

A documented link between a person or organization and another entity — ownership, management, officer or director roles, employment, control, or similar.

Corporate Registration

The government filing that establishes or registers a legal business entity in a jurisdiction.

Corporate Status

An entity’s standing with the registration authority — active, inactive, dissolved, revoked, withdrawn, administratively dissolved, and so on.

Criminal Record Research

Criminal court records that may involve a person. Methods and available records vary by jurisdiction. In True Court’s diligence work this is investigative research for non-FCRA purposes, not employment background screening.

Denied Party

A person or organization under government restrictions that can limit transactions, exports, relationships, or other activity.

Direct-Source Research

Going to the authoritative source — courthouse, agency, corporate registry, regulator, or official database — rather than relying only on aggregated feeds.

Due Diligence

Gathering and weighing information before a business relationship, transaction, investment, or other consequential decision. Goal: surface legal, financial, regulatory, reputational, and operational risk.

Education Verification

Confirming attendance, degree, graduation date, or related credentials with the school or an authorized source. Common in employment-screening workflows run by CRAs. True Court does not provide FCRA employment screening; when education appears in our work it is as part of investigative / non-FCRA diligence, not hiring decisions.

Enhanced Due Diligence

Industry term for deeper research when risk, complexity, ownership opacity, or other red flags call for more. May expand public records, source verification, adverse media, and regulatory inquiry. True Court’s named scopes differ — vendor: Baseline / Deep Dive / High-Stakes Diligence; executive: Core Profile / Extended Review / Critical Mandate.

Enhanced Review

Extra research when initial findings need clarification, corroboration, or follow-up investigation.

Escalation

Routing a significant finding, discrepancy, or risk indicator for further review or a decision.

Executive Due Diligence

Research on executives, founders, owners, directors, or other key people whose background, reputation, litigation, regulatory exposure, or affiliations matter to a deal or relationship. True Court’s executive depth levels are Core Profile, Extended Review, and Critical Mandate.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

U.S. federal law governing consumer reports and consumer reporting agencies for regulated uses such as employment, credit, and housing. True Court is not a CRA. Our diligence reports are non-FCRA investigative work and may not be used for FCRA-regulated purposes.

Federal Criminal Court Research

Criminal proceedings filed in U.S. federal courts involving a person.

Financial Distress Indicator

A signal that may point to financial trouble — bankruptcy, judgments, tax liens, collections, certain UCC filings, or related public records.

Financial Risk

Chance of loss or instability tied to a person, company, deal, or relationship. Indicators can include bankruptcies, liens, judgments, and other public financial records.

Financial Risk Research

Public or commercial indicators of financial concern — bankruptcy, liens, judgments, UCC filings, collections, and business credit information where available.

Global Sanctions

Economic, trade, or related restrictions imposed by governments or international authorities against designated countries, organizations, entities, vessels, or individuals.

Government Records

Records created or held by agencies, courts, regulators, corporate registries, and other public bodies.

High-Risk Third Party

A vendor, supplier, contractor, partner, intermediary, or other outside party whose ownership, geography, activity, access, or regulatory exposure may call for deeper diligence — often High-Stakes Diligence in True Court’s vendor packages.

Historical Business Affiliation

A past ownership, management, officer, director, employment, or other documented link between a person and a business.

Identity Verification

Confirming a person is who they claim to be using identifying information and reliable sources.

Investigative Due Diligence

Deeper diligence that combines public records, open-source research, litigation, regulatory information, media, business affiliations, and related sources for a fuller risk picture.

Investigative Research

Structured collection and analysis from public records, open sources, regulatory databases, courts, media, business records, and other relevant material.

Judgment & Lien Research

Court judgments, tax liens, and other recorded claims that may signal financial obligations or disputes.

Jurisdiction

The geographic area, government authority, or court system with legal power over a person, entity, matter, or record.

Jurisdictional Research

Research in specific places tied to the subject by addresses, business registrations, litigation history, or other leads.

Key Principal

An owner, executive, manager, director, founder, or other person whose role or influence matters to understanding a business or relationship.

Know Your Business (KYB)

Processes used to verify a business, map ownership and operations, and weigh regulatory, financial, fraud, or reputational risk.

Know Your Customer (KYC)

Processes used to verify customer identity and assess risk before or during a business relationship.

Legal Risk

Potential loss, liability, disruption, or reputational harm from litigation, regulatory matters, contract disputes, or other legal issues.

Lien

A legal claim or recorded interest against property or assets that may secure payment of a debt.

Litigation History

Lawsuits or other court proceedings involving a person or organization over a defined period.

Litigation Research

Searching court records for civil or other legal proceedings involving a person, organization, or related party.

M&A Due Diligence

Research around mergers and acquisitions — companies, owners, executives, counterparties, and other stakeholders in the deal.

Media Research

News, trade press, online sources, press releases, and related media for information on a person, company, or relationship.

Negative Media

Public news, reports, or other credible coverage that raises concern about a person or organization. Often used interchangeably with adverse media.

Non-FCRA Due Diligence

Diligence for purposes outside FCRA-regulated consumer-reporting uses — for example certain business transactions, investments, M&A, and vendor relationships. This is the lane True Court works in. Our reports are not for employment, tenant, credit, or other FCRA purposes, and True Court is not a CRA. Wholesale court research for CRA partners is separate partner support, not True Court acting as a CRA.

OFAC

Office of Foreign Assets Control — the U.S. Treasury unit that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions.

Ongoing Monitoring

Periodic or continuous review of people, businesses, or vendors for new risk signals — sanctions, regulatory actions, litigation, adverse media, and similar.

Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)

Information collected from publicly accessible sources — websites, news, government records, social media, corporate filings, and other open material.

Operational Risk

Loss or disruption from people, processes, systems, vendors, controls, or other operational failures.

Politically Exposed Person (PEP)

Someone who holds or has held a prominent public role, or who is closely connected to such a person. PEP checks are common in anti-corruption and enhanced diligence work.

Private Equity Due Diligence

Research for PE investments — companies, management teams, founders, owners, and other stakeholders for legal, regulatory, reputational, and operational risk.

Professional License Verification

Confirming whether a person holds a professional license or credential and reviewing status, issuing authority, or disciplinary history where available.

Public Records Research

Collecting and analyzing information held by courts, agencies, regulators, corporate registries, and other public sources.

Quality Control Review

A check that research matched the scope, covered relevant sources, documented findings properly, and presents information accurately and consistently.

Record Matching

Weighing identifiers to decide whether a public record reasonably belongs to the person or organization under review.

Red Flag

Information from diligence that may call for more review, clarification, investigation, or decision-maker attention.

Regulatory Action

Enforcement, disciplinary, administrative, licensing, or other formal action by a regulator or government authority against a person or organization.

Regulatory Research

Review of regulatory agencies, enforcement databases, disciplinary records, government releases, and related sources.

Reputational Research

Public information that may shape how a person or organization is perceived — adverse media, controversies, allegations, regulatory matters, and related material.

Reputational Risk

Chance that negative information, conduct, associations, or public controversy harms reputation or business relationships.

Restricted Party

A person, business, organization, vessel, or other party under sanctions, export limits, debarment, exclusion, or similar government restrictions.

Restricted Party Screening

Comparing people or organizations against sanctions, denied-party, debarment, exclusion, and related government lists.

Risk-Based Due Diligence

Adjusting depth and scope to the risk level of the person, entity, transaction, or relationship — the idea behind True Court’s tiered vendor and executive packages.

SAM Exclusion

A record in the U.S. federal System for Award Management showing exclusion from certain federal contracting or assistance.

Sanctions

Legal or economic restrictions imposed by governments or international authorities against specified countries, organizations, entities, or individuals.

Sanctions Screening

Comparing individuals, organizations, owners, or other parties against sanctions lists maintained by governments or international authorities.

Secretary of State Research

State business registration records — legal name, entity type, formation date, status, registered agent, officers or managers, addresses, and other available corporate detail.

Social Media Research

Publicly accessible social media content or associations that may be relevant to an investigative diligence review.

Source Verification

Confirming information through an authoritative, direct, or otherwise reliable source instead of relying only on aggregated or unverified data.

Statewide Court Search

A search across a state-level court system or statewide repository. Coverage, completeness, record types, and access vary by jurisdiction.

Tax Lien

A claim by a taxing authority for unpaid taxes. Availability and reporting vary by jurisdiction and source.

Third Party

An outside person, company, vendor, supplier, contractor, consultant, intermediary, partner, or other organization in a business relationship.

Third-Party Due Diligence

Researching an outside company or person before or during a relationship for ownership, legal, regulatory, financial, sanctions, or reputational concerns. True Court’s vendor packages — Baseline, Deep Dive, High-Stakes Diligence — are starting points for this work.

Third-Party Risk

Legal, financial, regulatory, operational, cybersecurity, reputational, or other exposure from relationships with outside parties.

Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM)

How organizations identify, assess, manage, monitor, and respond to risk from vendors, suppliers, contractors, and other external parties.

UCC Filing

A Uniform Commercial Code filing that may document a secured party’s interest in certain business or personal property. Often reviewed in business and financial-risk research.

Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)

The individual(s) who ultimately own or control a legal entity, directly or indirectly, including through intermediate companies.

Vendor Due Diligence

Research on a vendor or supplier — identity, ownership, legal history, financial-risk indicators, regulatory history, sanctions exposure, reputation, and related factors. True Court’s named vendor packages are Baseline, Deep Dive, and High-Stakes Diligence.

Vendor Risk

Financial, legal, regulatory, operational, reputational, security, or other exposure from using an outside vendor or service provider.

Vendor Screening

Reviewing current or prospective vendors with selected verification, public-record, sanctions, regulatory, commercial, and investigative sources. Distinct from FCRA employment screening.

Verification

Confirming information through a reliable or authoritative source.

Watchlist

A list maintained by a government, regulator, international body, or other authority naming parties tied to sanctions, exclusions, restrictions, enforcement concerns, or related risks.

Watchlist Screening

Comparing a person, company, owner, principal, or other party against applicable government, regulatory, sanctions, exclusion, denied-party, or other watchlists.