Note: To check the most up-to-date status of your report, log into the Candidate Portal. Unfortunately, our Candidate Experience Support team has no information beyond what is available in the Candidate Portal.
California and Massachusetts
There are two common reasons why your background check may be delayed in California and Massachusetts:
- The wait times can be longer in California and Massachusetts because the courts generally take longer than average to respond to our record requests. If your report is in PENDING status and we haven’t asked for any additional documents from you, then you’re likely in the final stages of the background check.
- As of September 2021, changes have been made that limit the public availability of record information in the state of California (including, but not limited to, Los Angeles County). Checkr, as well as other background check providers, are affected by this change. With less information publicly available, the background check process requires more time to complete, sometimes resulting in long delays.
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Michigan
Michigan recently enacted an expanded clean slate law, which creates a process for automatically expunging certain convictions. In order to become compliant with these new requirements and address existing records in the backlog, most of the courts across the state have either ceased furnishing background checks at this time, paused processing, or have significantly slowed down.
Until the Michigan courts resume processing, we're experiencing a delay in completing your background check due to these temporary closures and court slowdowns. We will continue working hard to complete your background check as soon as possible.
Below are frequently asked questions pertaining to Michigan background check delays.
How is the new clean slate law causing the delay in my report getting completed?
With the Michigan clean slate law going into effect, courts need to process all records to remove eligible charges. However, due to the length of lookback periods - how far back in time companies are requesting records - not all courts are able to provide the requested records yet.
When will my report be completed?
Different counties and their respective circuit and district courts are updating their records at different rates. Our ETAs are always being updated as we get more information from the courts, but they are dependent on the status being provided by the courts themselves, which are constantly changing.
When I call the court, why do they tell me that there are no delays?
There are two courts in each county, a circuit and a district, each containing different types of cases. To conduct a comprehensive search, Checkr must obtain requested records from both courts. A court can report they are not delayed, but this only applies to cases going back to a certain time. If the lookback period requested by the company you applied with is beyond this time, delays can still occur. Both of these reasons may result in delays to the completion of the background check, even if the court reports there are no delays.
Why is a search being requested from Michigan if I have never lived there?
Our research identifies potential addresses that are associated with your personal identifiable information (PII), not necessarily just addresses where you’ve lived. For example, it can include counties where you’ve applied for loans or received mail. The address history is used to determine which counties and other databases must be searched for potential public records. We obtain address histories from various sources, including credit and banking history. Although we may not locate any records from a particular county, we will research any potential matches.
Why was the report for one company completed, but the other company’s report remains pending?
Different companies have different requirements, including how far back in time to request records. If you have any questions about their lookback period, please contact the company you applied with.
Can I request a background check report from the Police Department?
Checkr is unable to accept results from ICHAT (Michigan State Police’s Internet Criminal History Access Tool). As stated on the website itself, reports obtained by this service may not be accepted by all organizations as it may miss critical records.
Can I obtain the information from the courts and provide it to you?
For compliance reasons, we are unable to accept search results/records directly from you, the candidate. Checkr, as well as other background check providers, are affected by the courts’ limitations. The researchers we work with are professional researchers or record providers utilized by Checkr.