(AP) — The addition of online access for background checks has proved popular with Nebraskans who want to see whether a prospective employee or baby sitter or even a future spouse has a criminal record.

More than a year ago the Nebraska State Patrol put its background check system online. It lets people check a name through the patrol database for $18.

Lt. John Shelton said if the numbers keep climbing, the patrol system will have run 40,000 checks by the end of the year — 40 percent online.

The patrol says that without the online service, a name check can take seven to 10 days. But the online system will provide a result immediately if the person checked has no criminal record.