How Many Years Does A Background Check Go Back?

April 4th, 2010 by Guest Author Leave a reply »

When the job interview goes great and you get a job offer you may be overjoyed. Suddenly, the interviewer says something that bursts your bubble. The offer is dependent upon your background check comes back clean. In there is a black mark, you may want to know about how many years does a background check go back?

The amount of time a background check goes back depends on what is being checked. If the check is for a credit check, most of the information is held by the credit reporting agencies for less than seven years. There are two exceptions, the bankruptcies and judgments. These may be reported by the credit reporting agencies for up to ten years. In addition, court actions are permanently recorded in the county court records so they could come up, although it is unlikely.

The amount of time criminal records are reported will vary according to the jurisdiction. Felony records are generally kept in the system longer than other criminal activity. Additionally, innocent charges are generally not reported. Crimes from which you have been pardoned should not be reported.

Some of the background check will be looking for such thing as social security scams. If this is a part of the background check, the information is looking for current reports. If the incident took place several years ago and there were no criminal charges filed, it is likely that the information will not be reported.

Most companies doing background checks do employment verification covering the past seven years. While employers may have records that date back much further, the typical check is only looking at the immediate seven year period.

Education background checks often are only to see if you have the degrees that you claim to have. This makes it very important that you tell the truth in applications and in your resume. If you do not have a degree, do not claim that you do have it.

If you have marks against you that are within the time included in how many years a background check goes back, the best policy is to be upfront with an employer about the situation. Let them know how you have learned your lesson and have turned over a new leaf. It is possible that you will still get the job you seek.

Want to find out more about online background checks, then visit Kinkada Pillosa’s site on how to choose the best background check search sites for your needs. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service


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