The average background check takes between three and five business days to complete. When a delay happens, Checkr emails the candidate and shows the delay in the Checkr Dashboard.
Candidates
Are you applying for a job or undergoing a background check? If so, visit our Candidate FAQs for answers to common questions or get help with your background check. This article is for organizations that use Checkr.
Court closures or delays
Checkr lists known court closures and delays on the pages below that you can subscribe to:
Courts might also be slow to respond to Checkr's requests for information because a court clerk must search for physical county records. Neither you nor Checkr can expedite this process.
Additional research time
Certain situations require additional research to ensure that potential records match the candidate:
- The candidate has a common name.
- The court limits public access to the record or certain information in the record.
Neither you nor Checkr can expedite this process.
Insufficient candidate information
Incomplete or incorrect candidate-provided information delays the background check process. Mistyped drivers' license numbers or misspelled names commonly delay background checks.
Checkr contacts candidates daily for seven days, asking them to provide information necessary to continue the background check. Example requests include the ones below:
- Address in country
- Current address
- Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) record release (Only the candidate can authorize the DMV to release their record.)
- Photo of an item below:
- Government-issued ID
- Previous driver’s license or driver abstract
- Social Security card
- Valid driver's license
- Place of birth
- Mother’s maiden name
- Social Security number confirmation
Checkr reviews document submissions within 24 hours.
How you can help
To help your candidate resolve a delay, use the tips below:
- Encourage your candidate to check their report progress in the Candidate Portal. Requests to provide more information appear when the candidate first logs in.
- Send your candidate the link to provide more information from the Checkr Dashboard. Ask the candidate to follow the instructions.
- Select the link on the report, and enter the requested information on your candidate's behalf.
After the candidate provides the information, the check continues.
If the candidate doesn’t provide the information after seven days, the check suspends.
After 30 days, the Suspended status automatically changes to Complete or Canceled.