Criminal record check
Also known as: Criminal background check · Criminal history check · Ban the box · Fair chance hiring
A search of court and repository records for a person's arrests and convictions, used in hiring, tenancy and licensing, and regulated in the US by the FCRA, equal-employment law and fair-chance rules.
Legal basis
FCRA, 15 U.S.C. §1681c (obsolete information)
Criminal records in the US live where they were created — county and state courts, state repositories, federal courts — so a check is only as complete as the jurisdictions it searched. A clean county search says nothing about the next county over.
What a screening company may report is set by the FCRA: arrest records generally cannot be reported once they are more than seven years old (or past the statute of limitations, if longer), while convictions carry no federal time limit. The seven-year limits do not apply to jobs paying $75,000 a year or more. Some states impose stricter limits of their own.
How an employer may use a record is shaped by the EEOC's 2012 enforcement guidance under Title VII: an arrest alone does not establish criminal conduct, and a screen should weigh the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed and the nature of the job — ideally with an individualized assessment. On top of that come fair-chance or ban-the-box rules: the federal Fair Chance Act bars federal agencies and contractors from asking about criminal history before a conditional offer, and many states and cities apply similar rules to private employers.
Frequently asked questions
How far back does a criminal background check go?
Under the FCRA, a screening company cannot report arrests that did not lead to a conviction if they are more than seven years old, but convictions can be reported regardless of age. The seven-year limit does not apply to jobs paying 75,000 dollars a year or more, and some states set stricter limits.
What is ban the box?
It is the policy of removing the criminal-history question from job applications and delaying the inquiry until later in hiring, often until after a conditional offer. The federal Fair Chance Act applies it to federal agencies and contractors, and many states and cities apply it to private employers.
Can an employer reject me because of an arrest?
The EEOC's position is that an arrest by itself does not prove criminal conduct, so excluding someone solely because of an arrest can violate Title VII. An employer may consider the underlying conduct if it makes the person unfit for the specific job.