How far back a background check can go is one of the most common questions applicants have, and the honest answer is that it depends on 3 things: the type of record, what the job pays, and which state you are in. Federal law sets a floor, many states go further, and the two do not always line up the way people expect. For a breakdown of the components themselves, see what shows up on a background check.
Important: These limits apply to consumer reporting agencies, the companies an employer hires to run a background check. They do not restrict an employer who looks up public court records on their own.
Criminal Convictions Have No Federal Time Limit
Under the FCRA, a criminal conviction can be reported no matter how old it is. There is no federal cutoff, which surprises most people who have heard about a “7 year rule.”
It was not always this way. Until 1998, convictions were subject to the same 7 year limit as everything else. The Consumer Reporting Employment Clarification Act removed that restriction, and convictions have been reportable without limitation ever since. A conviction from 1994 can legally appear on a report run today.
Any limit on how far back convictions can be reported comes from state law, not federal law.
The 7 Year Rule and What It Actually Covers
The FCRA does place a 7 year limit on a specific list of items:
- Civil suits and civil judgments: 7 years from the date of entry, or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever period is longer
- Records of arrest: 7 years from the date of entry, under the same provision
- Paid tax liens: 7 years from the date of payment, not the date the lien was filed
- Accounts placed for collection or charged off: 7 years
- Any other adverse item of information: 7 years, with convictions specifically carved out
Note what the clock runs from. For arrests and civil matters it is the date of entry, meaning when the record was created. It is not the date you were released, and it is not the date the case concluded. That distinction was written into the statute in 1998 and it moves the cutoff earlier than most people assume.
Bankruptcies Get 10 Years, Every Chapter
Bankruptcy has its own rule: 10 years from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication.
That 10 year limit applies to every chapter. Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 are all treated identically by the statute. You will often read that a Chapter 13 falls off after 7 years, and on a credit report it usually does, but that is a voluntary policy the national credit bureaus adopted because a Chapter 13 involves repaying part of the debt. It is not the law. An employment screening company often pulls bankruptcy records directly from federal court records rather than from a credit bureau file, so a Chapter 13 that has already disappeared from your credit report can still appear on an employment background check for the full 10 years.
The $75,000 Exception
Here is the part that undoes the 7 year rule for a large share of jobs. Those reporting limits do not apply when the report is being used for employment at an annual salary that equals, or may reasonably be expected to equal, $75,000 or more.
That threshold was written into the statute decades ago and has never been adjusted for inflation. What was once a high salary now covers a great many ordinary professional positions, which means the 7 year and 10 year limits simply do not apply to those roles.
2 things soften this in practice. Many screening companies apply the 7 year limit to every report as a matter of internal policy regardless of salary. And several states impose their own limits that do not include a salary exception, or set the threshold somewhere else entirely.
Arrests and Other Non-Conviction Records
An arrest that never led to a conviction is subject to the 7 year limit, so a recent arrest can appear even though you were never convicted. Older ones should not.
When an arrest does appear, it should show the current disposition. A case that was dismissed but is reported as open or pending is an error, and it is one of the more common ones. The EEOC’s position is that an arrest by itself does not establish that a person engaged in any conduct, and employers are expected to treat it accordingly.
Several states go considerably further and restrict or prohibit the reporting of non-conviction records entirely.
Expunged and Sealed Records
Once a court seals or expunges a record, it is removed from the public databases that screening companies search, and reporting it anyway conflicts with the FCRA requirement that agencies follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy.
In practice, errors still happen. A screening company may be working from a database copy that has not caught up to the court’s action, and the gap can run weeks. If an expunged record appears on your report, that is grounds for a dispute. Certain government, law enforcement, and national security positions can still access sealed records through channels that fall outside the FCRA.
Where State Law Changes the Answer
State law is often the more important of the two, and it moves in a few recognizable patterns:
- Conviction lookback caps: Some states limit how far back convictions can be reported, closing the gap federal law leaves open
- Their own salary thresholds: Some states lift their limits above a set salary, sometimes higher than $75,000 and sometimes lower
- Non-conviction bans: Some states bar the reporting of arrests and dismissals outright
- Credit report restrictions: Many states limit employment credit checks to jobs with financial responsibility
Because these vary so widely, the only reliable answer is your own state’s rules. Our state law guides cover all 50 states and Washington D.C., including lookback periods, reporting restrictions, and local ordinances.
What These Limits Do Not Reach
The FCRA governs consumer reporting agencies. It does not govern everything an employer might learn about you:
- An employer’s own research: If a hiring manager searches county court records directly, no FCRA reporting limit applies
- Information you provide: Anything disclosed on an application or in an interview
- The employer’s own records: Your file from a previous stint at the same company
- Driving records: These come from your state motor vehicle agency, and traffic convictions are convictions, so no federal time limit applies
Common Misunderstandings
“Everything falls off after 7 years.” Convictions do not, under federal law. Bankruptcies run 10 years. And for jobs paying $75,000 or more, the limits do not apply at all.
“The 7 year clock starts when I got out.” For arrests and civil matters it runs from the date of entry, meaning when the record was created. Before 1998 the statute did run from disposition or release, which is likely where this belief comes from.
“A Chapter 13 always disappears after 7 years.” That is credit bureau policy, not law. The statute allows 10 years for every chapter.
“An expunged record can never show up.” It should not, but database lag means it sometimes does. Reviewing your own report before you apply is the only way to catch it early.
The Bottom Line
Federal law caps most negative information at 7 years and bankruptcies at 10, but it leaves criminal convictions uncapped and waives the limits entirely for jobs paying $75,000 or more. State law is where the real protection usually lives, and it varies greatly. If you want to know what can actually be reported about you, start with your state’s rules, then review your own report and see what is there. If something on it is wrong, you have the right to dispute it.
