From pre-employment screening to firearm purchases, there are many circumstances where background checks are a must, and for a good reason!
A background check’s purpose dictates the information it’s supposed to reveal, as well as its importance and timespan to analyze.
Read on to discover how far back different background checks go and why!
Identity Verification
Every background check begins by verifying the identity of the individual applying for the job position, the creditor who applies for credit, etc. The concerned party must make sure they are dealing with the person that the applicant claims to be.
While there are multiple ways to verify someone’s identity, most commonly, the authenticity of one’s identity document is done digitally.
Education and Past Employment Verification
Education background checks are conducted in almost every hiring process. The employer may use databases belonging to the company or even use paid services to cross-reference the education records provided by the candidate.
Education background checks can go back as much as needed to confirm the claims with official records.
Similarly, employers rely on third-party services to run employment background checks and verify the truthfulness of the candidate’s claims about their previous jobs.
Depending on the position and the responsibility that comes with it, past employment background checks can go back for three or up to seven years.
There are federal and state laws that restrict the period of time that employers may dig into the candidate’s past, which are discussed in detail further in the article.
Social Media Background Check
A social media screening is one of the most common background checks that employers may run on their potential hires. Even though there is a lot to learn about someone from browsing their social media profile, social media background checks are looking for specific things.
Most notably, hate speech, excessive drug and alcohol use, support of violence, and other similar explicit content is considered red flag.
Please note that social media screenings are not generally used to learn personal things about an individual, such as their sexual orientation, religious views, relationship status, etc.
While social media profiles allow people to go back into someone’s content for as long as it is available, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) limits background-checking companies from reporting anything older than seven or ten years.
Technically, nothing stops employers from browsing the social media profiles of their candidates and looking at content older than that.
However, this isn’t generally practiced as that content is considered irrelevant.
Criminal Background Check
There is no need to explain the importance of criminal background checks and why it is imperative that employers inspect the criminal history of their potential hires.
Regardless of the position they are applying for, the company must know if the candidate has a violent past, or history of sexual offenses to ensure the security of the other employees.
In addition, specific job positions, like dealing with sensitive information or working with children, require different levels of responsibility, so it is best to get as much information on the candidate as possible.
Depending on the range of information required, concerned parties may conduct national, federal, statewide, or county background checks.
While they all provide criminal background histories, there are differences in what information they provide and how far back they go.
National Criminal Background Check
The national criminal background check is the broadest form of research on an individual’s criminal history.
It examines thousands of databases across the whole country and locates records of criminal infractions, misdemeanors, felony convictions, and even pending cases at a state or county level.
However, it doesn’t report on federal criminal records.
As such, the national criminal background check is best used as a starting point before the background check is narrowed down to a more local level.
Running a national background check alone is ill-advised as it will not provide the necessary details that can be found in county background checks.
All background checks are regulated by the FCRA, including national criminal background checks. The law says that an individual must consent to have a background check run against them, even when it comes to criminal records.
It also says that all types of criminal background checks can be reported indefinitely, unless a local law restricts them to a shorter period, most commonly seven years, or other local restrictions apply.
Federal Criminal Background Check
It is a common misconception that national and federal are the same thing. While they are both nationwide searches of criminal histories, federal criminal background checks only locate criminal records in federal jurisdictions.
Federal crimes can’t be found in the databases used for the national criminal background checks, so to be thorough, both checks need to be conducted.
What they have in common, though, is that they are both regulated by the same FCR Act, which means federal criminal background checks can go back indefinitely, unless they are restricted by local regulations.
However, it is a common practice only to go back seven years even if state laws don’t forbid going back further. A misdemeanor from 20 years ago should not affect a hiring decision if the individual has been showing exemplary behavior in recent years.
State and County Criminal Background Checks
As the name suggests, state and county background checks research the criminal histories of individuals within a certain state or county. While they have a considerably more narrow range of databases to inspect, they often contain the most details and are considered the most credible sources of criminal records.
After running national and federal background checks to pinpoint the location of certain criminal activities a candidate potentially was involved in, the county background checks can provide the information actually needed for a hiring decision.
They report records on all felonies and misdemeanors and give details on the case. Was the defendant found guilty, was the case dismissed, etc.
State and county background checks are also regulated by the FCR Act mentioned earlier, though almost every state has additional regulations and treats them differently.
For example, California prohibits the reporting of convictions older than seven years and doesn’t report on arrests that didn’t lead to a conviction.
In Hawaii, background checks can only report on felony convictions in the past seven years, and this period is reduced to five years for misdemeanor and infraction convictions.
Kansas, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Washington also have a seven-year rule, but exceptions can be made if the candidate’s annual salary is expected to be over $20,000.
Overall, ten states go by the seven-year rule, though exceptions exist, while the remaining 40 states go by a ten-year background check rule, which sounds ambiguous considering they can report indefinitely.
Ban the Box laws impose some restrictions in these states as well, though, in Texas and Florida, there are no such laws, which means less regulation on how far back employers may dig in the past of their candidates.
FBI Background Check
An FBI background check is a comprehensive examination of a criminal record against the FBI’s national database. As a federal background check, it is very thorough, and in addition to arrest and conviction history, it can even provide information on traffic violations, such as parking tickets, etc.
FBI background checks can be done with a fingerprint.
Individuals can only run FBI background checks on themselves and get their criminal records for a fee of $18. If an employer wants to run this sort of check on a candidate applying for a job, they must get the candidate’s permission.
According to federal law, FBI background checks can provide information on arrests and court appearances in the past seven years.
However, state laws also need to be considered, as some states have additional regulations regarding reporting non-convictions and arrests whose charges are still pending.
Learn more: Do pending charges show up on a background check?
Also, depending on the state and the position that the applicant is applying for, felonies and criminal misdemeanors may even be reported indefinitely.
Level Two Background Check
Level two background check is another type of examination of an individual’s criminal history that currently only exists in Florida.
Also known as level two screening, this background check is very thorough and uses a fingerprint scan which is run against both the statewide Florida records and the nationwide records of the FBI.
As such, the level two background check is usually used on people applying for official government positions or jobs that involve working with patients, children, or the elderly.
It reports detailed information on criminal records, including felony convictions, arrests, and misdemeanors, though it doesn’t report on warrants.
There isn’t a federal law that outlines how far back level two checks can go, which technically means that it can go indefinitely, but that’s rarely the case. Even in Florida, where there are no ban the box laws, not everything is reported.
For example, arrests that didn’t lead to a conviction older than seven years are not reported. Felonies, on the other hand, are reported indefinitely, and the only way to have them removed from the report is by expunging them.
Fingerprint Background Check
As Florida is the only state that recognizes a level two background check, its equivalent in the remaining 49 states is simply referred to as a fingerprint background check.
In addition to the criminal records mentioned above, the fingerprint background check also reports on personal information such as name, birthplace, place of residence, date of birth, gender, race, etc.
To get such information, the fingerprint screening will go back as far as the report on the scanned individual goes.
As for criminal records, just like any other criminal background check, there are limitations and restrictions posed by state law that the fingerprint background check must abide by.
Depending on the record and the state law, it can go back for five, seven, ten, or more years for more serious offenses and felonies.
Bank Background Check
Since working at a bank involves dealing with sensitive information and other people’s money, candidates applying for a job at a bank need to be ready to agree to a few additional background checks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act prohibits banks from employing anyone who has been convicted of money laundering or other criminal offenses that involve a breach of trust or dishonesty.
This is why banks will run a criminal background check on any candidate they are looking to hire and look for red flags, such as embezzlement, identity theft, and fraud. Candidates convicted of such felonies will be immediately disqualified.
In bank background checks, there is no limit on how far back convictions can be reported. However, arrests that didn’t result in a conviction have a seven-year limit.
Additionally, there are exceptions if the expected annual salary of the candidate exceeds $75,000, in which case, these restrictions don’t apply.
Furthermore, banks will do the standard identity verification checks, education and past employment history checks, and in some cases, credit background checks.
Credit Background Check
Checking the credit history of a potential employee is commonly known as an employment credit check. It is regularly conducted when considering candidates for high-end positions outside of financial institutions as well.
While it doesn’t report the credit history of the candidate, it provides insights into past bankruptcies, unpaid bills turned over to collections, and credit-to-debt ratio, which can be very valuable to the employer.
Credit background checks are also regulated by the FCRA, limiting them from going back more than seven years. However, there are exceptions.
Most notably, past bankruptcies can be reported up to ten years back. Depending on the state laws and the expected salary of the candidate, there can be higher or lower restrictions on what credit data can be reported and how far back the checks can go.
Real Estate Background Check
Similar to bank employees, real estate agents and other professionals in this industry have a unique responsibility of dealing with properties belonging to other people.
They have keys and access codes to their clients’ homes, and their employers must ensure they are not abusing their position.
In addition to identity verification, past employment, and criminal background checks, hiring realtors usually involves:
- Sex offender registry searches that report if an individual has a history of sexual assaults. Violent sex offenders remain in the registry for life, while in some less severe cases, they might get removed a few years after serving their sentence.
- License and certification verifications which go back as far as they need to verify the legitimacy of the real estate license of the individual.
- Driving history checks, also known as MVR background checks, examine an individual’s history of driving motor vehicles and operating heavy machinery. Since there is no national database for MVR checks, the records are provided by the state’s DMV, which means they are regulated by state law. They can go back three, seven, or ten years but in most cases, they go three.
Military Base Background Check
Joining a military base involves some of the most rigorous background checks under which an employee can be put. An in-depth examination of the candidate’s history is conducted even for entry-level positions where the employees don’t deal with classified information.
To ensure national security, the government insists on these comprehensive checks, and, in some cases, even the families of the candidates are inspected.
In addition to the standard identity verification, criminal records, and fingerprint background checks already covered in this article, military recruits are required to answer a questionnaire about their personal histories. Interviews with the candidate’s spouses, friends, past employers, and neighbors are also conducted.
Let’s take Joint Base Andrews as an example. It is the military base used by the President of the United States, so its security levels are at the highest. The background checks required to join Joint Base Andrews and how far back they go are disclosed upfront, and anyone who doesn’t meet them is immediately disqualified.
- Felony conviction checks go back indefinitely.
- Narcotics and drug charges checks go back five years.
- Weapon-related charges checks go back ten years.
- Theft and larceny checks go back five years.
- Assault charges checks go back five years.
- Hate crime and violent act checks go back five years.
- Sexual offense checks go back indefinitely.
Additionally, the military base also conducts a DUI background check that goes back five years, and offenders may be disqualified or granted a non-driver badge.
Other Background Checks
It is not only prospective employers who run background checks on candidates, and there are other reasons they are conducted. For example, federal law obligates arms dealers to run a firearm background check on anyone interested in buying a gun.
There are a dozen red flags that can disqualify a buyer from purchasing a gun, and the background check for them goes back indefinitely.
It is common for landlords to run housing or rental background checks on their potential tenants, which involve examining their criminal records, credit history, and eviction reports.
For most records, tenant screening services can go back seven years, but as previously mentioned, bankruptcies can be reported for up to ten years, and convictions are reported indefinitely.
The Bottom Line
Recruiters have a terribly hard job of judging the characters of people they just met and deciding which ones are trustworthy. When hiring employees for positions that require above-average levels of responsibility, every piece of information they can get on their candidates is valuable.
The bottom line is, most commonly, employers will not look further than seven years to find “dirt” on their potential hires. Serious offenses like murder or sexual assault will always be reported indefinitely, but wrongful arrests, or minor misdemeanors from decades ago, will not be mentioned.
