Criminal Background Check

A criminal history check is generally included in a pre-employment or employment background check—a legal investigation into a person’s past that helps inform decisions about whether to hire, promote, contract with, or use a person’s services. Depending on the type of criminal background check selected, a criminal record check may search national, federal, state, and county databases to provide information about a candidate’s criminal history.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what you need to know about criminal history check information.

A criminal background check may search national, federal, state, and/or county criminal court databases to report information about a candidate’s criminal history, such as felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, and any pending criminal cases.

Different types of criminal record checks may reveal different offenses, depending on the court record that is searched. For example, a search of one state’s criminal records database will only report criminal activity in that selected state’s criminal court system. However, employers may choose to search multiple states and counties based on where the candidate has lived, or if a nationwide search reveals criminal activity in more than one state.

Employers have different screening goals depending on the nature of the work and positions they’re filling. Many organizations check criminal records to learn about any misdemeanors or felonies in a candidate’s background, such as assault, theft, burglary, or DUIs.

Following are different types of criminal record checks that may be included in a pre-employment background check, and what jurisdictions are checked:

The information that shows up on a criminal background check can include felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, and any pending criminal cases. Criminal background checks may also report history of incarceration as an adult, active warrants, and infractions. Infractions may only be reported if they are within the last seven years.

An arrest that did not lead to convictions may appear in some background checks as long as they are within the last seven years; GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to conform to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines.

Criminal background checks may also include a Sex Offender Registry check, which searches registries across all states to report where a candidate may be currently registered as a sex offender.

Some time limitations, based on state and federal laws, determine what can be reported legally on an employment background check. Learn more about how far back background checks go.

It’s important to understand how to read a background check, and what the different terms and abbreviations mean. A criminal history report includes the name of the crime, disposition (conviction, non-conviction, or pending), and disposition date. GoodHire does not report non-convictions.

Following are examples of the types of records that may show up on a criminal history check:

Petty offenses that are typically punishable by fines but not jail time, and are not considered criminal offenses. Depending on the jurisdiction, infractions may or may not show up on a criminal history record, but under federal law they may only be reported if they are within the last seven years.

There are many different types of background checks, each of which uncovers somewhat different personal background information. It’s important for both employers and job candidates to understand what kind of information is included in each type of background check, and how that information can be used.

Some criminal history record results may be returned within a few hours, such as a national criminal database search, while other types of screenings may take between 1 to 3 days or longer.

Criminal background checks that look for a criminal history record at the county level may take several days—especially in counties where the records aren’t digitized or that require the assistance of a court employee.

If the employer is using a CRA, the applicant will be asked to provide their name, date of birth, and Social Security number, as well as give consent, as required by the FCRA. The CRA uses an individual’s personal identifying information to search public record criminal databases at the county, state, national or federal level to find any criminal records associated with the individual in the criminal justice system. If a match is found, the CRA takes additional steps to ensure maximum possible accuracy before the candidate’s report is delivered to the employer who ordered it. 

Typically, after a conditional offer is extended to a job candidate, it is the hiring manager’s responsibility to order a criminal record check as part of a comprehensive pre-employment check. The hiring company’s human resources department will outline in a company background check policy which searches are required for each position type, which may vary depending on the industry they’re in. 

A fingerprint background check, or Identity History Summary, is often used as part of the pre-employment screening process and is mandatory for government-run institutions such as public schools, airports, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and fire departments. 

An employer can run a candidate’s fingerprint against the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to get an accurate read of a person’s criminal history from authorized criminal justice agencies, including arrests and disposition reports. If a fingerprint background check is required, applicants will visit an authorized local fingerprint business or government organization to have their fingerprints scanned (or inked) and submitted.

For an $18 fee and a fingerprint card, the FBI can provide a person with a copy of their own Identity History Summary check. This summary can include information related to a person’s:

• Criminal history
• Federal employment
• Naturalization
• Military service

If you’re ready to conduct a background check on one or more employees, you’re in good company—95% of employers use employment background screening as part of their hiring process.

GoodHire makes employment screening easy. Our user-friendly dashboard, intuitive workflows, and built-in compliance tools help simplify the background screening process. Let us know how many checks you need, provide some information about your company, then select the pre-bundled package that fits for your needs. 

All of our pre-bundled packages include a Nationwide Criminal Databases search and Sex Offender Registry search. We also offer options to customize your background checks with add-on searches, such as Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) checks, Education Verification, and Employment Verification, for a more complete background check.

Employers that use a background check company, such as GoodHire, to run a pre-employment background check must follow federal, state, and even local laws that regulate employment screening. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets out requirements for consumer reporting agencies (employment screeners like GoodHire), as well as rules that the employers who use the reports must follow.