Background Check

What an employment background check covers

There is no single standard check. Employers choose a package based on the role:

• Identity and Social Security number trace: confirms identity and surfaces past addresses and names, which decide which court records to search.
• Criminal records: county court searches where the person has lived (the most reliable source), statewide repositories, a multi-jurisdiction database search, federal court records and the national sex offender registry.
• Employment verification: confirms past employers, dates and titles. See employment verification.
• Education verification: confirms degrees and attendance.
• Professional license and certification checks: nursing, CDL, security guard, financial licenses.
• Motor vehicle record: for any role that drives for work.
• Credit report: limited to financial roles, and restricted or banned for most jobs in several states and cities.
• [Drug test](/glossary/drug-test/): often ordered alongside, though technically separate.

Match the package to the job. A cashier, a delivery driver and a nurse need different checks.

How long does a background check take

Typical timelines for a standard US criminal and identity package run two to five business days. Many clear in one or two days.

What slows them down:

• County courts without online access, where a court runner must pull records in person.
• Common names, which create possible matches that need manual review.
• Employment and education verification, where the screening company waits on a former employer or school. These often add three to seven days.
• International checks, which commonly take one to three weeks.
• Holidays and incomplete candidate information.

For high-volume hiring, every day matters, because candidates waiting on a check are still interviewing elsewhere. Order the check the day a contingent offer is accepted and keep candidates updated.

The FCRA process step by step

When an employer uses a consumer reporting agency for a check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a specific sequence:

1. Disclosure. Give the candidate a clear written disclosure that a report may be obtained, in a document consisting solely of the disclosure. Mixing in liability waivers or other terms has led to many class action lawsuits.
2. Authorization. Get the candidate's written permission.
3. Certification. The employer certifies to the screening company that it complies with the FCRA.
4. Pre-adverse action notice. If you may reject the candidate based on the report, first send a notice with a copy of the report and the "Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."
5. Waiting period. Give the candidate a reasonable time to dispute or explain. Five business days is a widely used practice.
6. [Adverse action](/glossary/adverse-action/) notice. If you go ahead, send a final notice with the screening company's contact information, a statement that it did not make the decision, and the candidate's right to dispute and get a free copy of the report.

The FCRA also limits what can be reported: arrests that did not lead to conviction and most other adverse items older than seven years generally cannot be reported for jobs paying under $75,000 a year. Convictions are not subject to that federal time limit, though some states impose their own.

Criminal history and fair chance rules

The EEOC's 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records says blanket exclusions of anyone with a criminal record can violate Title VII because of their disparate impact. It recommends considering the nature and gravity of the offense, the time passed since it, and the nature of the job, and giving the person a chance to explain (an individualized assessment).

Ban-the-box laws in many states and cities go further. They typically delay criminal history questions until after an interview or a conditional offer, and some require a written individualized assessment and extra notice before a final decision. California's Fair Chance Act, for example, applies to employers with five or more employees and bars conviction history inquiries before a conditional offer. Rules vary widely by state and city.

A worked example

A national retailer hiring 500 seasonal associates sees 18% of candidates who accept contingent offers drop out before their background checks clear. HR operations manager Carlos Rivera finds the median time from offer to clear check is six business days, and candidates hear nothing in between.

He changes three things. The FCRA disclosure and authorization go out by text with the contingent offer. Packages are simplified for associate roles to identity trace, county criminal for the past seven years of addresses and a national database search, with employment verification dropped for entry-level roles. Candidates get an automatic update when the check is ordered and when it clears.

Median time to clear falls to three business days and drop-off between offer and start falls to 9%. A small number of reports return records; for each, the team follows its individualized assessment process and sends pre-adverse action notices before any decision.

Common mistakes

• Extra text on the FCRA disclosure. Keep it standalone.
• Skipping the pre-adverse action step. Rejecting someone the same day the report arrives is a frequent FCRA violation.
• Blanket policies. "No felonies" for every role invites disparate impact claims.
• Asking about criminal history too early where ban-the-box laws apply.
• Inconsistent checks. Run the same package for everyone in the same role.
• Running checks before an offer when it is not needed. Checking only finalists after a contingent offer is cheaper, faster and fits most fair chance laws.
• Not checking state rules on credit reports, salary history, marijuana testing and lookback periods.

Use our background check policy template to document a consistent approach. This is general information, so confirm requirements with counsel.