What Shows Up on an Employment Background Check
Updated 12 min read
Every search at a glance
| Search | What it can show | Federal reporting limit |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal records | Convictions, pending cases, arrests | Convictions: none. Arrests: 7 years or the statute of limitations |
| Sex offender registries | Registration and the offense behind it | Convictions: none |
| Identity and SSN trace | Names and addresses tied to the number | Adverse items: 7 years |
| Employment verification | Employers, dates, titles, sometimes rehire status | Adverse items: 7 years |
| Education verification | Schools, dates of attendance, degrees | Adverse items: 7 years |
| Driving record (MVR) | License status, violations, suspensions | Convictions: none. Other adverse items: 7 years |
| Credit report | Accounts, balances, collections, bankruptcies | Collections: 7 years. Bankruptcy: 10 years |
| Civil records | Lawsuits and judgments | 7 years or the statute of limitations |
| Drug test | A verified result for a set panel | No age rule; DOT tests five drug classes |
A background check is not one search. It is a package you order from a screening firm, and each line in the package reaches a different set of records. What comes back depends on three things: which searches you ordered, what the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act lets the firm report, and what your state or city adds on top. This guide takes them in that order, from the employer's side of the desk.
The firm is a consumer reporting agency, and the report it sells you is a consumer report, whether it covers credit, criminal records or a former employer's answers. That is why the FCRA's limits apply to every row above, and why you need the person's written authorization before you order any of them. Our guide to what a consumer reporting agency is explains where the line sits, and the FCRA rules for employers cover the consent steps.
What a screening firm may report and what you may use are separate rules. The FCRA mostly limits the firm. Fair chance and ban-the-box laws mostly limit you. A record can be lawful to report and still off limits for your decision, as the California and New York City rows below show.
How far back a report can go
7 years
Most adverse items: civil suits, judgments, arrests, paid tax liens, collections
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(2)–(5)
10 years
Bankruptcy cases
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(1)
No limit
Records of criminal convictions
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(5)
$75,000
Expected annual salary at which the limits stop applying
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(b)(3)
The seven-year rule is a limit on the screening firm, not on your questions, and it has holes. Convictions are carved out of it entirely, so a 20-year-old conviction can appear on a federally compliant report. Arrests, civil suits and judgments run seven years from the date of entry or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer. For collections and charge-offs the seven years start 180 days after the delinquency began.
None of these time limits apply to a report used for “the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more.” The figure is fixed in the statute and is not adjusted for inflation, so each year it reaches more ordinary jobs.
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(b)(3)
The background check lookback checker takes the type of record, its date and the salary, and tells you whether a federal report may still carry it and when it drops off.
What to do
- Expect convictions of any age on a report; expect most other negative items to stop at seven years.
- For roles paying $75,000 or more, expect older items too, unless your state says otherwise.
- Check an item's date before you rely on it, and question any entry that looks out of range.
Criminal records
The criminal search is the one most employers mean when they say background check. Screening firms usually search county court records where the person has lived, state repositories where the state allows it, and federal court records, then report what matches. A report can show convictions, cases still pending, and arrests that did not lead to a conviction, each with the court, the charge and the outcome.
Federal law is permissive here. Convictions may be reported however old they are. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction drop off after seven years, unless the statute of limitations is still running or the job pays $75,000 or more. EEOC guidance adds a caution for the decision itself: “The fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred.”
- Federal
- NY
- CA
- NYC
| Where | What the rule removes | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (FCRA) | Arrests without conviction: 7 years, or longer while the statute of limitations runs. Convictions: no limit | 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a) |
| New York State | No arrest or charge unless it led to a conviction or is still pending. Convictions older than 7 years from disposition, release or parole are left out, unless the job pays $25,000 or more | N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 380-j |
| California (employer use) | Never use: arrests without conviction, diversion, convictions dismissed, sealed, expunged or pardoned, juvenile records, non-felony marijuana possession convictions 2+ years old. The CRD fact sheet adds convictions more than seven years old | 2 CCR § 11017.1(b); CRD fact sheet, June 2025 |
| New York City (employer use) | Never use: non-convictions, including sealed convictions, violations and youthful offender findings | NYC Commission guidance, Part IV |
This table lists only the places whose rules we read for this page. Many other states and cities limit criminal history in hiring, mostly by controlling when you may ask and what you must do before rejecting someone. Check yours in our ban-the-box laws by state and city, and for the two longest local processes, the California and New York City fair chance guides.
When a screening firm reports a court record for a job, it must either tell the applicant at the time, with your name and address, or keep strict procedures so the record is complete and up to date. If an entry looks stale, ask the firm which route it used.
15 U.S.C. § 1681k(a)
What to do
- Read the disposition on every line: charge, outcome and date are three different facts.
- Ignore any entry your state or city bars you from using, even if the report shows it.
- Weigh a conviction against the job before deciding; the individualized assessment guide shows how.
Sex offender registries
Most screening packages include a registry search. The underlying data is public: every state keeps a registry, and the Justice Department's Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) searches them together by name, zip code or radius. A match shows that a person is registered and usually the offense that required it.
NSOPW exists by statute: the Attorney General maintains it, and it must let the public search every jurisdiction's registry with a single query.
34 U.S.C. § 20922
Names collide, so a registry hit needs the same identity match as any court record: date of birth, address history, a middle name. For roles with children, youth sports or vulnerable adults, the registry is one search among several; our volunteer screening planner sets the scope by role.
Identity and SSN trace
Most packages start with an identity or Social Security number trace. It is generally built from the commercial address data a screening firm buys, and it returns the names and addresses that have been linked to the number, often with rough dates. Its job is to tell the firm which counties to search. It is a lead list, not a finding: a trace that shows an unfamiliar name or a missing address history is a question to ask the applicant, not a verdict on them.
An SSN trace does not prove someone may work in the United States. That is Form I-9, completed after the hire, and E-Verify when you use it, which may never be used to pre-screen an applicant. Our Form I-9 employer guide covers the timing.
Employment and education verification
An employment verification confirms what the resume says: the employer, the dates and usually the job title. Many former employers will confirm only those facts as a matter of policy, so a thin answer is common and is not a red flag on its own. Some will also say whether the person is eligible for rehire. A verification that finds a different employer, different dates or a job that never existed is the result that matters.
Who makes the call changes the rules. FTC staff read the FCRA so that a screening firm passing on a former employer's answers produces a consumer report, even when the information comes by phone. When the firm goes further and interviews references about character or reputation, that is an investigative consumer report, and you owe the applicant an extra written notice within three days of ordering it. When your own staff call references, FTC staff say the investigative-report rules do not apply.
| What a school holds | Release without the student's consent? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Dates of attendance, degrees, honors and awards | Directory information: may be released without consent | 34 CFR § 99.3; § 99.31(a)(11) |
| Major field of study, enrollment status | Directory information: may be released without consent | 34 CFR § 99.3 |
| Transcripts, grades, disciplinary records | Signed, dated written consent naming the records, purpose and recipient | 34 CFR § 99.30 |
| Social Security number | Never directory information | 34 CFR § 99.3(b)(1) |
Education checks run on FERPA. Degrees and dates of attendance are directory information that a school may confirm without the student's consent, unless the student has opted out, which is one reason a verification sometimes comes back unconfirmed. Transcripts and grades need the student's signed, dated consent that names the records, the purpose and who receives them. A screening firm that sends you a GPA should be able to show that consent.
What to do
- Treat an unconfirmed result as unconfirmed, not as false, and ask the applicant for a diploma or a W-2.
- Use a screening firm for references only with the investigative-report notice in place.
- Ask for transcripts only when the job needs them, with a FERPA consent the school will accept.
Driving records (MVR)
A motor vehicle record comes from the state that issued the license. It typically shows the license status and class, endorsements, suspensions and revocations, and violations and accidents within the state's own reporting window. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act decides how the DMV may release it to you. Two routes matter for hiring: an employer may get the record of a commercial driver's license holder, and any requester may get a record with the driver's written consent.
Motor carriers pull a commercial driver's three-year record from every state that licensed them within 30 days of hire, then pull and review it at least once every 12 months.
49 CFR §§ 391.23(a)(1), 391.25
If a screening firm pulls the record for you, it arrives as a consumer report with the FCRA steps attached. In New York City the record waits until after the conditional offer, because the Commission says a driving abstract mixes criminal and non-criminal entries. The MVR checks for employers guide covers state fees and setting a driving standard for non-commercial roles.
Credit reports
An employment credit report shows open and closed accounts, balances, payment history, collections and public record items such as bankruptcies. The FCRA limits apply: collections and charge-offs drop off seven years after a start date 180 days after the delinquency began, bankruptcies after ten, unless the job pays $75,000 or more.
New York State bars employers from requesting or using an applicant's or employee's consumer credit history, outside listed exceptions such as bonded roles, security clearances and signing authority over $10,000 or more (Gen. Bus. Law § 380-b, signed December 19, 2025, in force 120 days later). New York City's Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act already did the same inside the city. Connecticut bars requiring a credit report unless an exception applies, such as a role that issues payments or handles money (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51tt). Other states have their own lists.
Order credit only for roles where money or financial data is the point of the job, and say so in writing. Our credit checks for employment guide covers the FCRA steps for credit reports and the states and cities that limit them.
Civil records
A civil search looks for lawsuits the person filed or faced, and judgments against them, in the courts the firm searches. Under the FCRA, civil suits and judgments can be reported for seven years from the date of entry, or longer while the statute of limitations is still running, and without a time limit for jobs paying $75,000 or more. Civil searches matter most for senior, fiduciary and contract-signing roles; for most hourly jobs they add cost and rarely change the decision.
Drug tests
A drug test result reports the panel tested and the verified result. For DOT-regulated jobs the panel is fixed: marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids and PCP, and the lab may test a DOT specimen for nothing else. A commercial driver cannot start safety-sensitive work until the employer has a verified negative pre-employment test and has run a full Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse query with the driver's consent. Outside DOT, the employer picks the panel, and state law can limit when and what you test.
A screening firm may not furnish a report for employment that contains medical information unless the information is relevant to the job and the person gives specific written consent describing how it will be used. Ask your firm how it handles that consent for any health-related search.
15 U.S.C. § 1681b(g)(1)(B)
The drug testing guide covers test types and state rules.
What to do
- Match each search to the job: driving roles get an MVR, money roles may get credit where lawful.
- For CDL drivers, run the DOT steps first; the screening package does not replace them.
- Leave out searches that cannot change your decision; each one is more data to protect and dispose of.
What never belongs on the report
| Never | In practice | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Negative items past their federal window | Arrests, civil judgments, collections past 7 years; bankruptcies past 10 (jobs under $75,000) | 15 U.S.C. § 1681c |
| Information the firm has reason to know is wrong | A record matched on name alone, a case belonging to someone else | § 1681e(b); N.Y. GBL § 380-j(a)(4) |
| Medical information without specific consent | Health details, unless relevant to the job and consented to in writing | § 1681b(g)(1) |
| Race, religion, color, ancestry, ethnic origin | Barred from a New York report outright | N.Y. GBL § 380-j(a)(2) |
| Sealed and expunged convictions (employer use) | California and New York City bar employers from using them | 2 CCR § 11017.1(b)(3); NYC guidance, Part IV |
Sealed and expunged records are the case employers ask about most. The FCRA has no line that names them, and the CFPB's 2024 advisory opinion on background screening, which addressed them, was among the guidance documents the Bureau withdrew on May 12, 2025. That leaves state law and the firm's general duty to follow reasonable procedures for maximum possible accuracy. In California and New York City the answer for the employer is plain: a sealed or expunged conviction may not be used, whatever the report says.
Every screening firm must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of what it reports. Ask yours how it matches records to people, and whether it confirms identifiers beyond a name before a record reaches you.
15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)
When something shows up
A hit is the start of a process, not a decision. If anything on the report might lead you to say no, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse notice first: a copy of the report and A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA, before you act. Federal law sets no number of days to wait; FTC staff say a reasonable period must pass, and five business days is common practice. If the applicant disputes the report, the screening firm generally has 30 days to reinvestigate. Only then does the final adverse action notice go out.
For criminal records, weigh the offense, the time passed and the job before you decide; several states and cities make that weighing law. The pre-adverse and adverse action notice guide covers both letters, and the adverse action timeline calculator dates them.
What to do
- Send the pre-adverse notice before any decision that rests on the report.
- Give the applicant time to answer, and listen to the answer.
- Use a screening firm that knows the FCRA; our FCRA-compliant screening companies compare is a starting list.
- Convictions
- No federal time limit15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(5)
- Arrests without conviction
- 7 years, or the statute of limitations if longer§ 1681c(a)(2)
- Civil suits and judgments
- 7 years, or the statute of limitations if longer§ 1681c(a)(2)
- Collections and charge-offs
- 7 years§ 1681c(a)(4), (c)
- Bankruptcies
- 10 years§ 1681c(a)(1)
- Limits lift at
- $75,000 expected salary§ 1681c(b)(3)
- New York State convictions
- 7 years, unless the job pays $25,000+N.Y. GBL § 380-j(f)
- Medical information
- Only with specific written consent§ 1681b(g)(1)(B)
- Degrees and dates of attendance
- Directory information under FERPA34 CFR § 99.3
Questions employers ask
Does a background check go back only seven years?
No. Convictions have no federal time limit, and the seven-year limits on other items lift for jobs expected to pay $75,000 or more. Some states shorten the window again: in New York a report for a job paying under $25,000 leaves out convictions more than seven years past disposition, release or parole.
Will a dismissed charge show up?
It can, as an arrest, for up to seven years under federal law. In New York a report may not include an arrest that did not lead to a conviction unless the case is still pending, and in California and New York City you may not use it.
What is an SSN trace for?
It lists the names and addresses linked to a Social Security number so the screening firm knows which counties to search. It does not verify work authorization; that is Form I-9 after the hire.
Is a credit check part of every background check?
No, you order it separately, and in some places you may not order it at all for most jobs. See the credit check guide.
How long does all this take?
It depends on which searches you order and how many places the person has lived. Our guide to how long a background check takes goes search by search.