Disclosures
How we pay for the research, how you can tell when something is paid, and what money can't touch.
Last updated October 31, 2026
How the site is paid for
Second Chance Index is free to read. We pay for the research in three ways:
- Sponsorships. An organization can pay for one labeled card beside the content on some pages, such as a state's record-clearing page or the bank account comparison.
- Paid links. On some bank account pages, we may earn a fee if you open the account through our link.
- Data licensing. Organizations can license our reviewed state-law data.
A page with no sponsor shows a short note saying the spot is available. Links to employers, and to banks without a paid-link label, pay us nothing.
How paid content is labeled
- A sponsor's card says Sponsored, names the sponsor and links to how sponsorship works.
- A paid link says Paid link right next to it.
- Both are marked for search engines as sponsored.
What payment can't change
- The facts on a page, the sources behind them, or the date we checked them.
- An employer's stance, a bank account's ChexSystems label, or a state's score or rank.
- Whether an employer, account or state is listed, or the order of any list.
- A correction or a removal. Sponsors never see our work before it runs.
The full rules, including who we don't accept, are on our sponsorship page.
Not advice
Nothing on this site is legal, financial or employment advice, and a sponsor's card isn't a recommendation. We aren't a consumer reporting agency and don't provide reports about any person.