Why Do Most Background Checks Search Back Seven Years?

In the minds of the superstitious, the number 7 carries significance . But for employers and job seekers, it’s an important number for a much more practical reason.

It’s the typical number of years in the lookback period for most pre-employment background checks.

However, despite this commonly cited number, we can tell you that the number seven for background checks is by no means set in stone. In fact, this number varies depending on the type of background check and the location in which it is carried out.

Here is the breakdown on laws and regulations governing the lookback period in background checks. 

The FCRA

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law which governs background checks. Most employers utilize a third-party company (like Veriswift) to carry out these background checks for them. These companies are considered consumer reporting agencies and as such, they are bound to adhere to limitations imposed by the FCRA.

Originally, the FCRA existed to regulate credit reporting. For this reason, creditors may only reveal damaging credit history for seven years. This law has been expanded to include other kinds of consumer reports as well.

Arrests Vs. Convictions

While the FCRA does allow any arrests (whether or not they resulted in a conviction) to appear in background checks going back seven years, some states have additional restrictions about the lookback period.

California and New York prohibit looking at any arrests that did not result in convictions. In Georgia, employers may not bar a candidate from employment on the basis of a criminal history processed under the First Offender Act. Every state is different, and it’s important to make yourself aware of the regulations in your own state.

State By State

There are some circumstances which fall outside the jurisdiction of the FCRA. However, some states have their own FCRA guidelines which restrict the lookback period to seven years for both arrests and convictions.

These states are:

●     Maryland

●     Nevada

●     Washington

●     Massachusetts

●     New York

●     California

●     Montana

●     Texas

In addition, some states have restrictions depending on salary. For example, employers in California may go back as far as ten years for positions with a salary of more than $125,000 a year.

Level 2 Background Checks

The phrases “Level 1” and “Level 2” to describe different tiers of background checks can be confusing, because they often have different meanings in different locations. For example, in Florida, a Level 2 background check is much more comprehensive and includes fingerprint searches and criminal history searches of local, federal and national databases. But a Level 1 search typically only searches Florida records.

Rules and Restrictions

Of course, the takeaway from all this is that the seven-year lookback period is actually somewhat variable depending on your location and the type of position for which you are hiring. While the FCRA provides a minimum federal guideline, different states have their own rules and restrictions on top of that.

It’s important that the company performing your background checks is aware of any restrictions on the lookback period in your state or municipality.

You can always trust that experts at Veriswift can carry out background checks with accuracy, speed, and compliance with any state or federal laws. If you need help with FCRA-compliant background checks for your company, contact us today.