Background checks and old arrests

What federal law lets a background check show, and your rights.

A background check is a report about you that an employer, landlord or licensing board may ask a company to prepare. Federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), sets rules for what those companies may report and gives you rights when a report is wrong. This guide lists those federal rules with the law for each, the federal employment guidance on arrest and conviction records, and where to find your own state's rules on what you may say after a record is cleared.

What a background check company may report

An arrest record can be reported for 7 years from the date of entry, or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2)
Most other negative information older than 7 years cannot be reported. Convictions are the exception.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5)
Federal law sets no time limit for reporting convictions. A conviction can show up no matter how old it is, unless a state law limits it.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5)
The 7-year limits do not apply if the job pays, or is expected to pay, $75,000 a year or more. They also do not apply to credit of $150,000 or more or life insurance of $150,000 or more.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)
Background check companies must use reasonable procedures to make reports as accurate as possible. When they report public records such as arrests or convictions for a job, they must either tell you at the time (with the name and address of who gets the report) or keep strict procedures so the record is complete and up to date. An arrest or conviction counts as up to date if the report shows its current public record status.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b); 15 U.S.C. 1681k(a)
In most cases, an employer must tell you in writing and get your written permission before it orders a background report on you. Before it turns you down because of the report, it must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681b(b)(2), (b)(3)

Job applications and old records

A federal law called Title VII bans job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The EEOC has guidance on how this applies to criminal records.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq
An arrest does not prove that you did anything wrong. Under EEOC guidance, turning someone down only because of an arrest is not job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer may still act on the conduct behind the arrest if that conduct makes you unfit for the job.
An employer must apply the same background rules to everyone, whatever their race, national origin, sex, religion or other protected trait.
The EEOC guidance says a policy that rejects everyone with any criminal record can be illegal if it hurts a protected group and does not predict who will be a safe, reliable worker. Employers should look at the type of offense, how long ago it happened, and the type of job.

Your rights when a report is wrong

A federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), sets rules for companies that sell background checks to employers and landlords. It limits how long some records can be reported and lets you see and dispute what is in your file.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. (Fair Credit Reporting Act)
If something in your file is wrong or incomplete, you can dispute it with the company. It must look into it for free, usually within 30 days, and fix or delete information that is wrong or cannot be verified. If your record was sealed or expunged, you can send a copy of the court order with your dispute.
Law: 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)
First dispute the mistake directly with the background check company. If it does not fix the mistake, you can file a complaint with the CFPB. If an employer got your report without your permission or turned you down without the required notices, you can contact the FTC at ftc.gov or 877-382-4357.

What you may say after a record is cleared

What you may say after a record is cleared depends on your state. Our 50 published state guides each have a section on it; the table after this guide shows each state's rule in short.

Your own records

You can check your own state and FBI records before an employer does. See how to get your own criminal record.

The FBI keeps a national record of arrests that were sent in with fingerprints. You can ask for your own copy to review it or to prove you have no record.

Law: 28 CFR 16.30-16.34

Getting ready for a background check

Get a copy of your own state record first, so nothing on a report surprises you.
Check every entry: the dates, the charges and how each case ended.
If a record was cleared, keep a copy of the court order. It is the best proof you have.
Read your state page's section on what you may say after relief before you answer a question about your record.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a record can be cleared depends on the whole record and the state's law; the court decides. A legal aid office can check your case for free, and each state page lists free help.

What you may say afterwards, by state

State	After relief
Alabama	After expungement the proceedings are deemed never to have occurred, and you do not have to disclose the record on applications for employment, credit or other applications.
Alaska	A set aside or pardon does not erase the record. Only information sealed for mistaken identity or false accusation may be denied: you may deny the existence of that information and of the arrest, charge, conviction or sentence it shows.
Arizona	After sealing, you may say you were never arrested, charged or convicted for that crime, including on job, housing, financial aid and loan applications, with exceptions: fingerprint clearance card applications; jobs with police, prosecutors, courts, probation, child welfare or corrections; certain jobs related to the type of offense (for example driving jobs after a DUI, money-handling jobs after fraud, in-home service jobs after burglary or theft, child or elder care jobs after abuse); background checks for placing a foster child with you; Medicare/Medicaid program rules; and when state or federal law requires disclosure.
Arkansas	After the order to seal, your underlying conduct is deemed never to have occurred, and you may state that it did not occur and that a sealed record does not exist.
California	After a dismissal or automatic relief, most employers may not ask about or consider the conviction. You must still disclose it if asked on applications for public office, state or local licenses, peace officer jobs, or California State Lottery contracts.
Colorado	After sealing you may reply that no public criminal records exist and may say you have not been criminally convicted; employers, landlords, government agencies and others may not require you to disclose sealed records in applications or interviews, and may not deny an application only because you refuse to disclose them.
Connecticut	After erasure you are deemed never to have been arrested for those proceedings and may so swear under oath. Erasure does not end sex offender or deadly weapon registration duties, standing criminal protective orders or unpaid fines, and the DMV can keep the record on your driving history.
Delaware	After expungement you do not have to disclose, and should not be asked to disclose, that you were arrested, charged or convicted, for any purpose. Exceptions: police investigating a crime, law-enforcement job applications, concealed-weapon licensing, eligibility for diversion or probation before judgment, and sentencing or pardon review if you are convicted again.
District of Columbia	After sealing or expungement you cannot be charged with perjury or giving a false statement for not disclosing the sealed or expunged arrest, charge or conviction 'in response to any inquiry made of them for any purpose.' Sealed records remain available to courts, prosecutors, police, corrections, licensing agencies (for disqualifying offenses), schools and child-care facilities, and some senior government employers.
Florida	After sealing or expunction you may lawfully deny or not acknowledge the arrest, and cannot be charged with perjury for doing so. Exceptions: you must disclose it when applying to a criminal justice agency, as a criminal defendant, when applying to The Florida Bar, for jobs or licenses with agencies serving children, the elderly or the disabled (DCF, AHCA, Health, Education, schools, child care), insurance agent licensing, guardianship, and screening through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.
Georgia	Restricted records are not given out for employment or licensing checks through GCIC, but police, prosecutors and courts can still see them, and private companies may still have old copies.
Hawaii	With an expungement certificate you may say, under oath or not, that you have no record of that arrest, and you cannot be punished for perjury, sued or fired for saying so.
Idaho	After shielding, the case is treated as never having happened and you may lawfully answer inquiries accordingly, except in court proceedings and peace officer licensing; police and prosecutors keep full access, and shielding does not restore firearm or civil rights under I.C. §§ 18-310 and 18-3316.
Illinois	Once records are expunged or sealed, the court, the State Police and agencies answer inquiries from unauthorized people as if no record exists, and it is a civil rights violation for most employers to ask about or use an expunged, sealed or impounded record.
Indiana	After expungement you are treated as if you had never been convicted, and your civil rights (vote, office, jury service, firearms except for domestic violence) are restored.
Iowa	An expunged record becomes confidential and exempt from public access under Iowa Code 22.7. After a misdemeanor expungement, the conviction is removed from the Department of Public Safety criminal history files.
Kansas	After expungement you are treated as not having been arrested, convicted or diverted, and on most job, license and other applications you may say you were never arrested, convicted or diverted of that crime.
Kentucky	After expungement the proceedings are deemed never to have occurred; courts and agencies remove the records from official state background checks and reply that no record exists, and you do not have to disclose the record on applications for employment, credit or other purposes.
Louisiana	An expunged record is confidential and not a public record. You do not have to tell anyone (other than law enforcement and the agencies listed in the law) that you were arrested or convicted or that the record was expunged.
Maine	Once sealed, the conviction is confidential and criminal justice agencies may not give it to the public. You may decline to disclose the sealed conviction to anyone except criminal justice agencies and the entities allowed to see it, without penalty under Maine law.
Maryland	Employers, schools and state licensing agencies may not require you to disclose expunged charges, and refusing to disclose them cannot be the sole reason to refuse to hire you or deny a license; a violation is a misdemeanor.
Massachusetts	With a sealed record you may answer 'no record' to questions about prior arrests, court appearances or convictions on applications for employment, housing, or an occupational or professional license; the Commissioner reports 'no record' to most inquirers, but police, courts and certain agencies or employers allowed by law can still see it, and it can be used for sentencing in a later case.
Michigan	After a set-aside you are considered not previously convicted for most purposes, and anyone (other than you or a victim) who knowingly shares or uses information about it can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Minnesota	An expunged record is sealed, and its existence may not be disclosed or opened except by court order or law. It can still be used by criminal-justice agencies for investigation, prosecution and sentencing, for hiring by criminal-justice agencies, and for Human Services and teacher-licensing background studies unless the order specifically covers those agencies.
Mississippi	After expunction you are restored to the status you had before the arrest and cannot be charged with perjury or false statement for not mentioning the arrest, indictment or conviction — except in later proceedings checking whether you are a first offender.
Missouri	After expungement your civil rights are fully restored, and you may answer 'no' when an employer asks if you were ever arrested, charged or convicted, if you have no other public record.
Nebraska	After a record is sealed, you cannot be asked about it on applications for jobs, bonding, licenses or education, or as a witness; if asked, you may answer as if the offense never occurred.
Nevada	After sealing, the proceedings are deemed never to have occurred and you may answer any inquiry, including a job application, as if they did not happen; your rights to vote, hold office and serve on a jury are restored, but not the right to own a gun unless a pardon restores it.
New Jersey	After an expungement, the arrest, conviction and related proceedings are deemed not to have occurred, and you may answer questions about them accordingly.
New Mexico	After an expungement order, the proceedings are treated as if they never occurred, and you and officials may reply to an inquiry that no record exists; you must still disclose expunged arrests or convictions when asked about qualifying for work in, or association with, a financial institution regulated by FINRA or the SEC.
New York	After a case is sealed, employers, landlords, lenders, insurers and licensing agencies may not ask about it or hold it against you, and you may answer as if the arrest or conviction did not happen.
North Carolina	After expunction you are not guilty of perjury or a false statement if you do not mention the expunged arrest, charge or conviction, and employers and schools may not require you to disclose it.
North Dakota	Once sealed, the court and prosecutor may not disclose the existence or contents of the record without a court order. The court releases sealed information when an agency has a legal duty to run a criminal background check, and licensing rules in N.D.C.C. 12.1-33-02.1 still apply.
Ohio	After a conviction is sealed or expunged, you may be asked on job, license and other applications only about convictions that are not sealed, unless the question bears a direct and substantial relationship to the job.
Oklahoma	After sealing, the case is treated as never having happened: you and criminal justice agencies may say no such action occurred. Employers, schools and government agencies may not require you to disclose sealed records, and you may state that no such action occurred.
Oregon	After a set-aside you are treated by law as never having been convicted, arrested, cited or charged, and you may answer questions about it accordingly. Exceptions: in a civil case where truth is an issue, a court can order the records disclosed; a prosecutor or defendant can ask the court to reopen sealed records for an investigation; and a set-aside conviction still counts when deciding eligibility for later set-asides.
Pennsylvania	You may not be required or asked to disclose an expunged or limited-access record, and you may answer as if the offense did not occur, except for criminal justice agencies, employers who must check under federal law, and other uses required by law.
Rhode Island	After expungement you may state that you have never been convicted of the crime on job, license and other applications, except when applying to a law enforcement agency, the bar, for a teaching or coaching certificate, or to run or work at an early childhood education facility.
South Carolina	Employers other than criminal justice agencies may not use expunged information against an employee. For PTI, conditional discharge and juvenile expungements, the law restores you to your status before the arrest, and you cannot be charged with perjury or false statement for not mentioning it.
South Dakota	After expungement, SIS sealing or a pardon, the law treats you as if the arrest had not happened, and you cannot be charged with perjury or false statement for not mentioning it in answer to any inquiry.
Tennessee	After expunction, the charge is removed from your public record and deleted from TBI's record; clerks must keep expunged records confidential, and releasing them except to law enforcement is a Class A misdemeanor.
Texas	After expunction you may deny the arrest and the expunction order, except when asked under oath in a criminal case, where you may say only that the matter was expunged.
Utah	After the expungement order, you may answer any question as though the arrest, investigation, detention, prosecution or conviction did not occur, unless another law or a court says otherwise.
Vermont	After sealing or expungement you are treated as if you had never been arrested, convicted or sentenced. On job, license and other applications you may be asked only about records that have not been sealed or expunged, and state agencies must tell you of your right not to disclose them.
Virginia	After sealing you may deny or not disclose the arrest, charge or conviction to any state or local agency or private employer in Virginia, and you cannot be charged with perjury for it.
Washington	After a vacation, you may state that you have never been convicted of that crime, including on job and housing applications, and you are released from penalties and disabilities from the offense.
West Virginia	After expungement the proceedings are considered never to have occurred; courts and agencies answer that no record exists, and you do not have to disclose it on applications for jobs, credit or other applications, and cannot be charged with perjury for not mentioning it.
Wisconsin	After expungement, the court seals the case file and a search of the public court website (WCCA) will not show the case. The conviction is not vacated: it stays in the DOJ criminal history repository, which anyone can search for a fee, and in records of police, prosecutors, the DOT and other agencies.
Wyoming	After expungement of an arrest or dismissed charge, you may answer any inquiry as though the arrest or charges did not occur, unless a law says otherwise (W.S. 7-13-1401(f)).