Criminal Records

Overview

A criminal record is the court file for a criminal case. There is no single national index of these files that private employers can search, so a background check is assembled by searching several separate sources and combining what they return.

What appears on that check, and how far back it reaches, depends on 3 things: where the case was filed, how the case ended, and which state’s rules apply. This page covers all 3, along with how to read the record once you have it.

Throughout this page, “screening company” refers to the outside firm an employer hires to run the check. In the law it is called a consumer reporting agency, or CRA.

Why Employers Run Criminal Records Searches

A criminal search produces one piece of information about a candidate, not a conclusion about them. Used consistently, it helps an employer:

• Identify risks that relate to the specific duties of the position
• Apply the same standard to every candidate for the same role
• Demonstrate diligence in jobs involving safety, money, or vulnerable populations
• Satisfy screening requirements set by regulators, licensing boards, or clients

What a criminal search cannot answer is whether a particular record should disqualify a particular person. That is a separate question, addressed further down.

Types of Criminal Records Searches

Each type of search covers different ground, and none of them covers everything. Most background checks combine several.

County Criminal Searches

County searches go directly to the trial courts where felony and misdemeanor cases are filed and resolved. This is the original record, which makes it the most accurate and most current source available for that jurisdiction.

It is also the slowest. Some courts still require a researcher to review files in person at the courthouse. Turnaround extends when a court is backlogged, closed for a holiday, or migrating to a new case management system.

Statewide Repository Searches

Most states maintain a central repository of case records, typically administered by the state police or the state court system. It covers far more ground than any single county search.

The limitation is that a repository is only as complete as the counties reporting into it. Some states have near total coverage. In others, county reporting is voluntary and significant gaps exist. A statewide search is broader than one county, but it is not proof that the entire state was covered.

Federal Criminal Searches

Federal district courts handle a distinct category of offenses, including fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion, interstate drug trafficking, and crimes against federal agencies.

These are entirely separate court systems from the state courts. A federal case will not appear in a county search, and a county case will not appear in a federal search. Searching one does nothing to cover the other.

National Criminal Database Searches

Commercial databases compile records from thousands of sources into a single index that can be searched instantly. They are valuable for identifying jurisdictions worth searching directly. They are not a substitute for the court record itself.

Sex Offender Registry Searches

Like the commercial databases above, a sex offender registry is a searchable index rather than a court file. Every state and the District of Columbia maintains one under the laws commonly known as Megan’s Law, and the federal government operates a site that queries all of them at once. A listing typically shows the person’s name, photograph, address, and the offense requiring registration.

The registry is a separate source from the courts. A conviction for a sex offense appears in the court file like any other conviction. The registry entry is an additional public record created by the registration requirement itself.

That distinction carries legal weight, because several states restrict what employers may do with registry information even though the registry is public. California is the most restrictive. Its law prohibits using registry information for employment decisions unless an exception applies, such as protecting a person at risk of victimization or where another statute authorizes the check. An employer who violates it can face 3 times the applicant’s actual damages, attorney’s fees, and a civil penalty of up to $25,000. Many other states impose no restriction at all.

The practical point is that locating someone on a registry does not by itself permit an employer to act. The underlying conviction, obtained from court records, is generally the sounder basis.

Corrections, Incarceration, and Probation Records

These records originate with the agencies that supervise people after sentencing rather than with the courts.

• Corrections and incarceration records come from a state department of corrections or, in federal cases, the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Most states operate a public inmate locator. These records generally show custody status, the offense being served, the sentence imposed, and the release date.
• Parole and probation records document court ordered supervision. Parole is supervision following release from prison. Probation is supervision served in the community, typically imposed instead of incarceration. Public availability varies widely by state, and in many jurisdictions these are considerably harder to obtain than court records.

Their main value is filling in dates. A court file frequently records the conviction and the sentence but not the actual release date, and as the next sections explain, the release date is often what determines whether a record remains reportable.

How Search Locations Are Chosen

Because criminal searches are conducted jurisdiction by jurisdiction, a background check is only as complete as the list of jurisdictions searched.

Most screening companies begin with a Social Security number trace, which returns the addresses associated with an individual over time along with any alternate names. That address history determines which counties and states get searched.

This is why a case filed somewhere the applicant never lived, and never disclosed, can be missed entirely. An accurate address history contributes more to the completeness of a report than purchasing additional searches.

Understanding Dispositions

The disposition is how a case concluded. It matters more than the charge, because a charge records only what someone was accused of. Misreading a disposition is one of the most frequent errors in this area.

Deferred adjudication, diversion, and probation before judgment generate the most confusion. Completing the program normally prevents a conviction from being entered, but it does not seal the case automatically. The court file typically remains public, still showing the original charge, until a separate petition to seal or expunge the record is filed and granted.

Understanding the Dates on a Record

A single criminal case carries several distinct dates, and they can be separated by years. Knowing which is which matters, because reporting limits count from different ones.

Here is why the distinction matters. Federal law counts its 7 year limit on arrests from the file date. Most state limits count their 7 years from the disposition, the release, or the end of parole, whichever came last.

Consider someone convicted in 2010 who served a long sentence and was released in 2022. Under a state rule counting from release, the 7 year clock began in 2022 and that conviction remains reportable into 2029. Under a rule counting from disposition, the clock began in 2010 and expired years ago. Identical case, identical person, opposite results.

When a record appears to have outlasted its limit, the date being counted from is almost always the explanation.

What Can Be Reported and For How Long

Federal law establishes the floor. It restricts what a screening company may include based on the age of the record, and it treats convictions differently from everything else.

Convictions Have No Federal Time Limit

A conviction may be reported regardless of age. There is no federal cutoff (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5)).

This surprises many people, because federal law did cap convictions at 7 years until 1998, when that provision was repealed. some states have since adopted caps of their own, listed in the next section.

Arrests Without a Conviction Have a 7 Year Limit, With a Catch

An arrest that did not result in a conviction generally drops off a report after 7 years (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2)). Two details are routinely stated incorrectly elsewhere:

• The clock starts on the file date, not the arrest date.
• 7 years is a floor, not a ceiling. Where the statute of limitations for the offense runs longer than 7 years, federal law permits the longer window. It never shortens it.

The $75,000 Exception

These age restrictions disappear entirely for positions paying $75,000 a year or more (15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)). 3 points are worth understanding:

• The test is what the position is reasonably expected to pay, not what it ultimately pays.
• The $75,000 threshold was set in 1996 and has never been adjusted for inflation, so it now reaches far more positions than it was written to cover.
• The statute describes the exception as applying to a credit report. A criminal only search is generally not a credit report, and on that basis some screening companies decline to apply the exception at all.

Because providers take differing positions on that last point, employers should ask their screening company directly which approach it follows.

State Lookback Limits

Most states defer to federal law. 10 of the 51 jurisdictions we cover impose their own limit, and those limits are stricter, because they reach convictions, which federal law does not restrict at all.

The salary exception is where employers are most often caught out. It is not a single national standard. 4 of these states provide no salary exception, so the limit applies to every position regardless of pay. 3 more set the threshold far below $75,000.

Note how these are measured. Nearly all count from the disposition, the release, or the end of parole, while the federal rule for arrests counts from the file date. A record can easily fall outside one clock while remaining inside the other.

Separately, 12 jurisdictions restrict or prohibit reporting cases that did not result in a conviction: California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, and Pennsylvania. You can confirm the current rule for any state on our state background check law pages.

What Criminal Records May Not Show

No combination of searches captures everything. A clear report is not evidence of a clear history:

• Sealed and expunged records, which have been removed from public access
• Juvenile records, which are confidential in most states
• Cases in counties or states that were not among the jurisdictions searched
• Recent filings not yet entered into court systems
• Records in a county that reports poorly to its statewide repository
• Conduct that was never charged, and charges that were never filed

The Rules Employers Must Follow

Three rules govern how criminal records may be used in hiring. Each has its own page on this site, so this is the summary.

Obtain Written Permission First

An employer must notify the applicant in writing, in a standalone document, and obtain written authorization before running a check. See our FCRA overview.

Evaluate Each Record Individually

A blanket policy rejecting every applicant with a record can be unlawful, even absent any intent to discriminate. Weigh the seriousness of the offense, the time elapsed, and its relationship to the position. Some states require this by statute. See what is an individualized assessment.

Follow the Required Steps Before Rejecting an Applicant

An employer cannot simply issue a rejection. It must first send a preliminary notice with a copy of the report, allow time for the applicant to respond or correct an error, and only then issue the final decision. See the adverse action process.

For Applicants

If you are the person being screened, you hold specific rights.

• Nothing runs without your written authorization. An employer using a screening company must disclose it in writing and obtain your signature first.
• You receive the report before you are rejected. If something in it may cost you the position, the employer must send you a copy along with a summary of your rights. That interval exists so you can respond.
• You can dispute anything inaccurate. File with the screening company. It generally has 30 days to reinvestigate and must delete anything it cannot verify. Include court documentation if you have it, and keep copies.
• You are entitled to a free copy. If you were rejected because of a report, the screening company must provide a free copy on request within 60 days.
• Mixed files are common. If the case belongs to someone with a similar name, or the date of birth does not match yours, that is a strong basis for a dispute.

If a record is accurate but old or resolved, the most useful documentation you can supply is court paperwork showing how the case actually concluded, along with evidence of what has changed since. Our guide to disputing a background check covers the process step by step.

Best Practices

• Document which positions require a criminal search and why, tied to actual job duties
• Use a screening company that confirms database hits at the court before reporting them
• Apply an identical standard to every applicant for the same position, and record how it was applied
• Evaluate each record against its seriousness, the time elapsed, and its relevance to the work
• Do not reject an applicant based on an arrest that never resulted in a conviction
• Give applicants a genuine opportunity to respond before the decision becomes final
• Check the rules for the state where the work is performed, not where the company is headquartered
• Review your disclosure and authorization forms annually and keep the disclosure standalone

Frequently Asked Questions