Suspended and pending background checks

Identify the type of report delay

While the average background check takes three to five business days to complete, sometimes delays occur. How you resolve the delay depends on the type of delay.

There are two statuses that indicate a background check has stopped processing:

• Pending: The report is processing.
• Suspended: The report stopped processing because of missing information or incomplete searches.

When a delay happens, Checkr emails the candidate and shows the delay in the Checkr Dashboard.

Pending reports

Why is my candidate's report pending?

Research is in progress: Some searches take significantly longer than others, usually because the county manually processes search requests. Additional research may be required if: 

• 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. 

Court closures or delays: Checkr lists known court closures and delays on the pages below that you can subscribe to:

• Checkr US Data Status
• Checkr Global Data Status

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. 

Suspended reports

Why is my candidate's report suspended?

Insufficient candidate information: Incomplete or incorrect candidate information can cause delays. Common issues include:

• Mistyped driver's licenses
• Incorrect Social Security numbers
• Misspelled names

How do I resolve a Suspended report?

When a report suspends, Checkr contacts the candidate to request the necessary information. Once the correct information is provided and verified, the background check continues. If the required information is not provided within seven days, the check is suspended. After 30 days, the status changes to either Complete or Canceled.

You'll use the same link in the candidate's report to both update information on their behalf and resend the link for them to upload their documentation: 

Update information on behalf of a candidate

To submit or update information on behalf of a candidate:

1. Open the candidate's report.
2. Locate the yellow Exceptions section. 
3. Select the "View verification request sent to the candidate" link.
4. Enter the requested information.
   

Send the information request link to your candidate

To send your candidate the link to provide more information from the Checkr Dashboard:

1. Open the candidate's report.
2. Locate the yellow Exceptions section.
3. Copy the "View verification request sent to the candidate" link and share it with the candidate.

Checkr reviews candidate-provided documents and updates the report within 24 hours of uploading.

Please note that Checkr doesn't accept emailed candidate documents. 

Encourage your candidate to submit information

Candidates can log in to the Candidate Portal anytime to provide documents. Encourage candidates to:

• Check their report progress in the Candidate Portal.
  • Candidates will see requests to provide more information upon login.
• Respond to information requests that appear upon logging in.

If the provided information does not match the records found by Checkr, contact Checkr for a new link. You or the candidate must use this link to provide a photo of the candidate's ID or Social Security card.

My candidate resubmitted their Social Security information or ID, but the report is still suspended. What do I do?

• Social Security number verification: If your candidate re-entered their Social Security number for verification and the report is still suspended, you’ll need to contact Checkr for next steps.
• Identity (ID) verification: If your candidate re-submitted their ID for verification, please allow 1-2 business days for the ID to be reviewed and verified. Once verification is complete, the report will resume.
• Social Security card image upload: If your candidate uploaded an image of their Social Security card, please allow Checkr support 1-2 business days to review and verify the information. If your candidate uploaded the image more than 2 business days ago, contact Checkr.

Automatic report completion and billing

Checkr automatically completes SSN trace reports that require additional information from the candidate. SSN trace reports that require additional information will change to a Suspended status if no response from the candidate is received within 7 days. After 30 days, the Suspended status will shift to Complete, and all other searches within the report will be canceled. Billing will include the packages and searches you order. After the search process begins, Checkr doesn’t give refunds for incomplete or canceled searches. Your invoice will show package prices and passthrough fees for canceled searches.

For more information, refer to FAQs about Checkr invoices.