Restriction types
Convictions
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a background check can report criminal convictions of any age.
Certain states limit the reporting of convictions to only the last seven years. Some of those states provide an exception allowing background checks to report convictions older than seven years. These exceptions specify that the position's salary must exceed a specific amount.
Nonconvictions
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a background check can report nonconvictions up to seven years old.
Nonconvictions include the case outcomes below:
- Alternative adjudication
- Dismissed cases
- Formal abandonment of prosecution, called nolle prosequi
- Not-guilty verdicts
Data sources report various dates, so seven years might start from a context date below:
- Disposition
- Incarceration release
- Parole