A background check is a review of your records, such as court files, past jobs, schools and sometimes your driving or credit history, that an employer orders to confirm what you told it and to spot anything that matters for the role. Most employers run it after a conditional offer, which is an offer that depends on the results.
I spent years on the hiring side sending these requests and reading the reports that came back. This page is the map: a plain definition, the order things happen, the federal rules that protect you, and a table of every detailed guide on this site, grouped by topic.
Quick answers
What it is
A records review an employer or landlord orders, often through a background screening company.When it happens
Usually after a conditional offer, sometimes after a final interview.Typical time
About two to five business days for a standard job screen.Your permission
Required in writing, on a standalone form, before a screening company runs it.Main federal law
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by the FTC and CFPB.If it goes wrong
You get a copy of the report before a final decision, and you can dispute errors.
What is a background check? A plain definition
Here is the background check definition I give new hires: it is a set of searches about you, pulled together into one background check report. For hiring, employers usually buy it from an outside vendor known as a background screening company. In the federal statute's terms that vendor is a consumer reporting agency, and what it sells is a consumer report.
So the background check meaning is broader than criminal records. A single report can include an identity trace, court searches, a check of your past employers, your degree, a professional license and, for some jobs, a motor vehicle record or credit report. Drug screening tends to happen alongside it, yet the lab result stands apart.
Medical records are not part of a background check. Under federal disability law an employer cannot ask medical questions until after a conditional offer.
How the hiring screen runs, from offer to result
- You get a conditional offer, or a note that you are a finalist.
- The employer sends a disclosure form and asks for your written permission. You enter your name history, date of birth, addresses and Social Security number into the vendor's secure portal.
- The screening company runs the searches the employer picked.
- Results come back, often in a few business days, labeled with words like clear or needs review.
- If nothing concerns the employer, the offer becomes final and you get a start date.
- If an item could sink the offer, you first receive the report itself along with a federal rights summary, and time to answer.
For each email you may get from the vendor, and what it means, read the pre hire screening walk through.
Every guide in this section, by topic
Use these tables to jump to the exact question you have. Each row gives the short answer first.
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Employment background check | The pre hire screen most employers run after a conditional offer, explained in order. |
| Types of checks | Basic, standard and comprehensive packages, and what each one adds. |
| What shows up | Records, verifications and reports a typical job screen can contain. |
| Result meanings | Clear, consider, pending and other status labels decoded. |
| Consent form | The separate notice and signature page, line by line. |
| Cost | Who pays, and the add ons that make a screen more expensive. |
| Jobs without checks | Kinds of work where formal screening is less common. |
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| How long it takes | Usually two to five business days, with an estimator for your mix of searches. |
| Why it is taking long | Common holdups and a polite way to ask about them. |
| How long results last | No federal expiry date; employer policy and licensing rules decide. |
| How far back it goes | Seven and ten year reporting windows, and the conviction exception. |
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Criminal background check | County, state and federal court searches explained. |
| Arrests | Arrests without a conviction, and the 7 year reporting window. |
| Misdemeanors | Lower level convictions and how employers weigh them. |
| DUI | Court record plus driving record, and why driving jobs care. |
| Pending charges | Open cases appear in court files; state rules vary on use. |
| Expunged and sealed records | How sealing orders work, and why old copies sometimes surface. |
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Employment history | How past jobs, dates and titles get verified. |
| Education verification | Degree and diploma checks, including schools abroad. |
| Credit checks | A soft inquiry on debts and payment history for some roles. |
| Driving record checks | What a motor vehicle report shows a fleet or delivery employer. |
| Social media checks | Public posts, what reviewers may look at and what they skip. |
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Fingerprint checks | Prints matched against state and FBI records when a law requires it. |
| FBI check | Your Identity History Summary and when employers need one. |
| FBI check apostille | Getting an FBI record authenticated for use in another country. |
| Federal checks | Screening for federal agencies and contractors, plus fair chance rules. |
| Level 1 and level 2 | Florida's two screening tiers: names only, or prints too. |
| Healthcare and care jobs | Extra registries and fingerprint rules for care work. |
| Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Laws and your rights | The FCRA notices, state limits and fair chance laws in one place. |
| Failed a check | What the notices mean and the steps you still have. |
| Disputing errors | Fixing a wrong record through the screening company. |
| Checking yourself | Order the official records yourself, ahead of any offer. |
State rules differ a lot, so there is also a separate list of state guides.
The federal rules every employer has to follow
Once an outside vendor is involved, the Fair Credit Reporting Act fixes the order of events. According to the FTC's page on employer background checks, the employer must:
- Hand you a separate written notice that a report may shape the hiring decision.
- Get your written permission. You can say no, but then the employer may drop your application.
- Before rejecting you over the report, hand you a copy of it plus the official summary of your FCRA rights.
- After deciding, send an adverse action notice naming the screening company, stating that it played no part in the choice, and noting you may dispute it and request a no cost copy if you ask inside 60 days.
The EEOC's guidance for applicants adds a second layer: an employer cannot hold some applicants to stricter screening than others because of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information or age. The full set of rules, including state limits, is on the laws and rights page.
Background check vs reference check
People often mix these up because they arrive together. A background and reference check is really two separate jobs.
| Background check | Reference check | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it | Usually a screening company | Usually the recruiter or hiring manager |
| What it looks at | Records: courts, dates of employment, degrees, licenses | Opinions: how you worked, what you were like on a team |
| Who you name | Nobody, beyond past employers and schools | Two to four people you choose |
| Federal notice rules | Yes, when a screening company is used | Not when the employer calls your references itself |
One wrinkle: if a screening company interviews people about your character, that is an investigative consumer report and needs its own extra notice. Tips on choosing people are in the references guide.
How to check your own background first
Yes, you can check your own background, and it is the single best way to avoid a surprise. Order the records a screen would touch: the criminal file your state keeps (kept by the state police or a central records office), case files in each county you called home, a motor vehicle report, and your credit reports. For a national view, the FBI issues an Identity History Summary.
Skip people search websites for this. They are not built for hiring decisions, mix up people with similar names and often carry stale records. Official sources tell you what an employer's screen is likely to find.
The guide to checking yourself walks through each request, including asking a vendor for the file it holds on you.
Name based searches and fingerprint checks
Most private job screens are name based. The screening company searches court indexes using your name and birth date, then confirms matches with other identifiers. It is fast but can confuse two people with the same name.
Fingerprint checks compare your prints with state records and the FBI's national files. They are used when a law requires them, for example in schools, child care, healthcare, some finance roles, many licenses and federal work. Florida calls these two approaches Level 1 and Level 2; see levels explained.
When something negative turns up
A record on the report is not the end of the process. The EEOC's arrest and conviction guidance makes the point that being arrested is not, by itself, evidence of a crime, and it wants hiring teams to look at how serious the offense was, the years since, and what the role involves. Local fair chance rules in many places also push record questions later in hiring.
Read the pre adverse action notice the day it arrives. It usually gives you only a few business days to point out a mistake or explain the record before the employer decides.
Spot a mistake and the vendor has to look into it again without billing you, normally inside 30 days. A ready to edit letter sits in the dispute guide.
Where these rules come from, and a word of caution
Everything on these pages comes from the federal agencies that write or enforce the rules: the FTC and CFPB for the FCRA, the EEOC for discrimination, the FBI for fingerprint records and the Office of Personnel Management for federal hiring. State agencies set extra limits, so the state pages link each state's own office.
This site explains the rules; it is not a law firm and cannot tell you how your own case will turn out. For that, read the agency page linked above or put your question to a legal aid clinic or a lawyer who handles job cases.
Questions people ask
What is a job background check?
It is a report on your records that an employer uses to decide whether to finalize a job offer. It often covers criminal court records, past employment and education. Nothing starts until you sign a consent.
Can you check your own background?
Yes. You can order your state criminal history, county court records, driving record and credit reports, and the FBI sends an Identity History Summary once you submit prints. Doing this before you apply lets you fix errors early.
What is the difference between a background check and a background verification check?
They usually mean the same thing. Verification is the part that confirms facts you gave, such as job titles, dates and degrees, while the criminal search looks for records you may not have mentioned.
Does a background check report show my credit score?
Not usually. What an employer receives lists accounts, balances and late payments instead of a number. Only some roles include it, and the pull is a soft inquiry that leaves your score alone.
Can I refuse a background check?
You can decline to sign the consent. The employer is then allowed to stop considering you, so refusing usually ends that application.
Who pays for a background check?
Hiring employers normally cover the vendor's bill. You might cover it yourself for a license, some volunteer posts, or records you request about yourself.