A background check can feel like : something that happens to an applicant rather than something they have any part in, but there are genuinely useful steps applicants can take beforehand to reduce delays, avoid unnecessary surprises, and make sure the process reflects an accurate picture of their history.
Important: Preparing for a background check is not about hiding anything, it’s about making sure accurate information is easy to verify quickly, which benefits both the applicant and the employer.
Understand What’s Likely Being Checked
Background checks vary by role, but many pre-employment screens include some combination of identity verification, criminal history, employment and education verification, and in some cases driving records or credit history. Knowing which of these categories are relevant to the specific position can help an applicant anticipate what information will need to be accurate and verifiable.
Gather Accurate Employment and Education Details
One of the most common sources of delay in employment verification is incomplete or slightly inaccurate information provided at the start. Helpful preparation includes:
- Confirming exact dates of employment for previous jobs, rather than estimating
- Using the correct legal name of former employers, particularly for anyone who worked through a staffing or temp agency, since the agency, not the client company, is typically the employer of record
- Confirming exact graduation dates and the correct name of any degree or certification earned
- Having contact information for a supervisor or HR contact on hand, where available
Gather License and Certification Details
Roles that require a professional license, from nursing and commercial driving to real estate and the skilled trades, usually include a license verification step. Having the license number, issuing state, and expiration date ready speeds that up considerably. It is also worth confirming with the issuing board that each credential is currently active and in good standing. A lapsed renewal is quick to resolve now and awkward to explain after a verification comes back unconfirmed.
Review Your Own Records in Advance
Applicants concerned about what might appear on a criminal background check can generally request their own record directly from courts in counties where they’ve lived, or in some states, through a state-level criminal record request process. This allows any inaccuracies, a mismatched record, an incorrect disposition, an outdated entry, to be identified and addressed before an employer’s background check surfaces the same issue during a hiring decision.
Court records are only half the picture. Applicants can also request their own file from the screening companies directly. The FCRA entitles consumers to 1 free file disclosure every 12 months from each nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency, a category that includes the larger employment screening companies. That file shows what an employer would actually receive, which is not always the same as what the underlying court records say.
Check Your Driving Record if the Job Involves Driving
For any role that involves driving, including delivery, sales positions with a company vehicle, and commercial driving, a motor vehicle report is likely part of the check. These come directly from the state motor vehicle agency rather than from court records, and they often reach back further than applicants expect. Ordering your own copy from the DMV is inexpensive and surfaces old suspensions, accumulated points, or citations that may have been forgotten.
Check Expungement or Sealing Eligibility
For applicants with an older conviction, particularly a misdemeanor, it may be worth checking whether that record is eligible for expungement or sealing under the laws of the state where it occurred. Eligibility rules, waiting periods, and the exact process vary significantly by state, but a successfully expunged or sealed record generally should not appear on a background check going forward.
Respond Promptly to Verification Requests
Some employment verifications, particularly ones routed through automated payroll platforms, involve direct outreach to the applicant asking them to confirm details or authorize release of records. These messages, often by text or email, are easy to overlook or mistake for spam, but ignoring them can bring an entire verification to a stop until the applicant responds. Applicants should check for and promptly respond to any such outreach during an active hiring process.
Understand the Disclosure and Authorization Process
Before a background check can be run, an employer must provide a standalone written disclosure and obtain signed authorization. Applicants should read this disclosure carefully rather than signing it as a formality, it confirms exactly what type of check is being authorized, and it’s the applicant’s opportunity to ask questions before the process begins.
Know What Happens If Something Is Inaccurate
If a background check contains inaccurate information, applicants have the right to dispute it directly with the consumer reporting agency that prepared the report, not the employer. Understanding this process in advance, and knowing that a pre-adverse action notice must generally be provided before a final negative decision is made, helps applicants recognize an opportunity to correct the record if something surfaces that shouldn’t be there.
Act Quickly on a Pre-Adverse Action Notice
If an employer decides not to move forward based on something in the report, federal law requires them to send a pre-adverse action notice first, along with a copy of the report and a summary of rights. That notice is not a rejection. It is a window, and it exists specifically so an applicant can correct an error or explain what is in the report before the decision becomes final. The FCRA does not set an exact length for that window, though many employers work to a 5 business day standard, so responding the same day matters. Waiting until the final notice arrives means the decision has already been made.
Be Prepared to Provide Context, If Relevant
For applicants with a criminal record relevant to the position, being prepared to briefly and honestly address it, if asked, or if given the opportunity during an
