A background check verifies that what you told them is true. Employment dates and titles, degrees, criminal records where the law allows, sometimes credit, sometimes a licence or a driving record. A third party runs it after the offer, it takes three days to two weeks, and it fails on a lie far more often than on a record. The thing to know before the check is what it compares against: the dates and titles you typed into the form. The thing to know after is that a failed check comes with legal rights, and the first of them is the chance to explain.
Key points
- Run after the offer, with your written consent, by a third party, for three days to two weeks.
- It verifies employment dates and titles, education, and records where the law allows.
- A date or a title that does not match what you typed is the common failure. Not a record.
- Tell them first. Anything the check will find is better coming from you, before it runs.
- A failed check comes with notice, a copy of the report, and time to dispute it.
What they check
| Item | Checked against | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Employment dates and titles | The former employer's HR, or a payroll database | A rounded date, an inflated title |
| Education | The institution or a clearinghouse | A degree not completed, listed as complete |
| Criminal records | Public court records, within the law's limits | A record you did not disclose when asked |
| Credit | A credit bureau, only for finance and some senior roles, restricted in many places | Rare, and only where allowed |
| Driving record | The licensing authority, for driving roles | Points, suspensions |
| Licences and certifications | The issuing body | An expired one listed as current |
| Identity and right to work | Documents, government systems | A name mismatch between documents |
| References | A call | A reference who was not warned |
The check compares the form to the record. Make the form the record.
The dates and the titles
The form fields are what the check compares. Not the resume, the form. If the resume says "2019 to 2022" and the HR record says March 2019 to January 2022, that is fine, because the form asked for months and you typed the months. If the form says "Senior engineer" and HR says "Engineer II", that is a discrepancy the checker flags. The guide on changing a job title has where the line is, and the rule is that the form carries the official title.
Rounding is the common failure. "2020 to 2023" for a job that ran November 2020 to February 2023 is fine on a resume and wrong in a month field. Type the real months.
Tell them first
If the check will find something, the hiring manager or recruiter hears it from you before it runs. A conviction, a dismissal, a degree you did not finish, a gap you filled with something you would rather not name. One sentence, calm, with what has changed since. The guide on explaining a layoff or a firing has the sentence for a dismissal.
A thing found after you were asked and said nothing is a lie. The same thing said first is a fact, and most of the time it is a fact that does not matter.
Where the law limits it
In the US, the Fair Credit Reporting Act covers checks run by a third party: written consent before, a copy of the report and a notice before an adverse decision, and time to dispute. Many states and cities ban the criminal history question before a conditional offer, under "ban the box" laws, and some limit how far back a check can look. In the EU and the UK, data protection law restricts what can be checked and for how long it can be kept, and criminal record checks are limited to roles that need them. The rules differ by place, and the privacy notice attached to the consent form says which apply.
When it fails
A discrepancy produces a call, or a letter under the US law, before any decision. That is the moment to explain, with documents when you have them: the offer letter with the title, the payslip with the date, the transcript. Most discrepancies are a former employer's record being wrong or incomplete, and a document settles them. A check that fails on a lie is not settled by a document, which is the reason to tell them first.
How long
Three days for a simple check with responsive former employers. Two weeks when a former employer is slow, closed, or overseas. Longer for government clearances, which are a different process. The start date in the offer letter is usually conditional on the check clearing, so a slow check moves the date.
Questions
Can they check without asking?
Not through a third party in the US, where consent is required by law. Calling a reference you listed is not a background check and needs no separate consent.
My former employer no longer exists.
Payroll records, tax documents, an old offer letter. The checker accepts documents when the employer cannot answer.
Will a gap fail the check?
No. A gap is not a discrepancy. A job placed in the gap that did not exist is.
Do they check social media?
Some do, by hand, and it is not part of the formal check. The formal check is records. The hand search is whatever is public.
Can I see the report?
In the US, yes, by law, and you get it before an adverse decision. Elsewhere, data protection law gives you a right to a copy of data held about you, and the report is that data.