A background check is a process used by organizations to examine an individual’s commercial, public, and financial records to verify their identity and history. This examination confirms qualifications and mitigates potential risks. The information collected assists organizations in making informed decisions about a person’s suitability for a role, tenancy, or license. The complexity and depth of the check are determined by the context in which it is requested.
Defining the Modern Background Check
A background check represents a comprehensive review of a person’s recorded history, gathered from various sources by a third-party agency. Organizations use these reports to authenticate the claims a person makes on an application for employment, housing, or professional certification. The primary reasons for conducting a background check involve risk management and due diligence.
For employers, this means protecting assets, ensuring a safe workplace, and avoiding negligent hiring claims. For landlords, the focus is on assessing financial reliability and tenancy history to maintain the safety and stability of their properties.
Common Types of Background Checks
The context of the background check dictates its scope, which ranges from a simple identity verification to a multi-faceted search across various record systems. The required level of scrutiny directly influences the specific types of information an organization is legally permitted to access and ensures the collected data is relevant to the decision being made.
Employment Screening
Pre-employment screening is the most common form of background check, conducted before an employer extends a final job offer. The depth of this check is tailored to the position, differing significantly between an entry-level role and an executive position. Employers use this process to verify a candidate’s work history, educational credentials, and relevant criminal history to ensure they are a qualified hire.
Tenant Screening
Landlords and property management companies use tenant screening to evaluate a prospective renter’s financial and residential stability. This check prioritizes a person’s creditworthiness and their history of paying rent and utility bills on time. Screening also searches for prior evictions and relevant court judgments to forecast future reliability as a tenant.
Professional Licensing and Financial Checks
Regulatory bodies mandate checks for professional licensing in fields requiring public trust, such as medicine, law, and financial services. These screenings focus on a person’s integrity and compliance with complex regulations. For roles with fiscal responsibility, a financial check assesses a person’s history of financial management, often required for securities or banking positions.
The Core Components: What Information Is Searched?
Background checks compile data from numerous sources to create a profile of the individual being screened. This process is conducted by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), who specialize in aggregating public and commercial records. The resulting report is a composite of different searches.
Criminal History Records
Criminal record searches must span multiple jurisdictions because no single national database contains all records. The most detailed information is found through county-level searches, as the majority of felony and misdemeanor cases are processed locally. Statewide searches aggregate records but can be incomplete if county courts do not consistently report data to the state repository.
Federal criminal checks are separate and search for crimes prosecuted in the U.S. District Courts, such as tax evasion, fraud, and interstate trafficking. The look-back period for reporting non-conviction information is often limited to seven years, though conviction records may be reported indefinitely unless restricted by state laws. Limitations also exist for certain minor offenses, non-convictions, and expunged records, which should not appear on a compliant report.
Employment and Education Verification
Verification searches confirm the accuracy of a person’s application information regarding their professional and academic past. Employment verification involves contacting past employers to confirm dates of employment, job titles, and sometimes the reason for leaving, validating the work experience claimed by the applicant.
Education verification involves reaching out to academic institutions to confirm attendance dates and earned degrees or credentials. These checks help employers prevent credential fraud, especially for positions requiring specialized knowledge. Verifications are conducted by the CRA contacting the institution’s human resources or registrar’s office.
Driving Records
Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) checks are performed for positions that involve driving a company vehicle, operating heavy machinery, or requiring a commercial driver’s license. The MVR report includes license status, class, violations, accidents, or suspensions. This information assesses a person’s safety record and eligibility to drive for professional purposes.
Credit Reports
An employment credit check is distinct from the report used for applying for a loan or credit card. It is less detailed and does not provide an actual credit score, which is excluded from employment reports. The report evaluates a person’s financial responsibility, showing information like bankruptcies, accounts in collections, and judgments. These checks are reserved for roles involving handling money, access to sensitive financial data, or high-level fiduciary duties.
Digital Footprint and Social Media
Screening a person’s public-facing digital presence and social media profiles is a growing trend. The purpose is to identify publicly available content that may reflect poorly on professionalism, such as evidence of illegal activities, hate speech, or discriminatory language. Compliant social media checks are conducted by third-party agencies that only review public content. They must filter out information that falls under protected classes, such as race, religion, or disability, ensuring the candidate’s public conduct aligns with company standards.
The Background Check Process and Timeline
The background check process begins when an organization requests an investigation for a candidate. The individual must first receive a clear, written disclosure that a check will be performed and provide written authorization for the search to proceed. This ensures compliance with federal regulations protecting consumer information.
Once authorized, the organization submits the request to the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). The CRA contacts various public and private sources, such as courts and former employers, to compile the necessary information. The turnaround time for a standard employment check is usually three to ten business days, though this can be extended if manual court searches or hard-to-reach verification sources are required.
Your Legal Rights and Protections
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the federal law governing how Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) collect, use, and share information for background checks, including those for employment and tenancy. The FCRA grants individuals specific rights that organizations using a CRA must follow.
A central requirement of the FCRA is the right to disclosure and written consent before a check is conducted. The organization must notify the person and obtain express written permission on a separate form. If information in the report is used to take an adverse action, the individual must be notified of their right to receive a copy of the report and to dispute any inaccurate findings.
State and local laws provide additional protections, such as “Ban the Box” measures. These measures restrict when an employer can ask about a person’s criminal history during the hiring process. These laws aim to give individuals with a criminal record a fairer chance at employment by delaying the background check until later in the application cycle.
Addressing Discrepancies and Adverse Action
If an organization decides against hiring or renting based on a background check report, they must follow a specific two-step adverse action procedure. The first step is sending a “pre-adverse action” notice, which includes a copy of the consumer report and a summary of the individual’s rights under the FCRA. This notification allows the person to review the information and dispute any inaccuracies before a final decision is made.
The individual is given a reasonable amount of time, usually at least five business days, to contact the CRA and initiate a dispute. If a dispute is filed, the CRA must reinvestigate the information and correct any inaccuracies within a set timeframe. After the waiting period, the organization issues the final “adverse action” notice, formally notifying the person of the decision. This final notice must include the CRA’s contact information and a statement that the agency did not make the hiring decision.