CANDIDATES: Are you applying for a job or undergoing a background check? If so, please visit our Candidate FAQs to see answers to our most common questions or get help with your background check. This article is for employers who use Checkr.
Industry-wide, the average background check takes 3-5 days.
Checkr ETA provides an estimate of when your report should be complete. Actual delivery time is dependent on the circumstances of the specific counties that must be searched.
Some background checks take longer than expected. The most common reasons are:
- The background check is pending a county check. In many cases, Checkr must verify records at the county court level. County Criminal Records Checks may take several weeks if we are checking for criminal records in a county that lacks electronic resources. Some counties are understaffed and overburdened by thousands of search requests each day. Because criminal records are public information, Checkr's court researchers must wait in line with other parties requesting information.
Most county checks take 2-3 days to complete, but checks of 3+ weeks do occur in a minority of cases. No further information or action is required. For more information on the county check process, please see County Criminal Records Check in the Checkr Help Center.
- The candidate has not responded to our request for additional information. In certain cases, Checkr requires additional documentation such as a photo of an ID, driver's license, or SSN card to complete a background check.
When these exceptions arise, Checkr emails the candidate automatically to collect more information.