Background check notification email templates, written to fit the FCRA
On this page
A background check notification email tells the candidate a check is the next step, what it will cover, who will run it and how long it usually takes, and points them to the separate disclosure and authorization form. The email is not the FCRA disclosure: that must be a stand-alone document the candidate signs before you order the report. Keep the email plain and factual, send the same one to everyone at the same stage, and say whether it is safe to resign yet. The templates below cover each message from "a check is next" to "all clear", plus agency versions.
This page is about the everyday emails around a check. The legal steps themselves, including the disclosure form, pre-adverse action notice and adverse action notice, are in the FCRA background check process for recruiters.
Not legal advice. This summarizes the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act as explained by the FTC and CFPB on the linked pages, as of September 2026. States and cities add their own rules on background checks, credit checks and criminal history. Use counsel-approved forms, usually supplied by your screening company.
What the law expects around these emails
The FTC's guide Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know sets out the federal rules for checks prepared by a screening company. Three of them shape how you write the notification emails:
- Stand-alone notice. The FTC says the notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format, and cannot be in an employment application. Your email can introduce the notice; it should not be the notice, and it should never carry the notice alongside other terms such as a liability waiver.
- Written permission. You need the candidate's written authorization before you order the report. The authorization can be part of the notice document.
- Before any adverse decision. If anything in the report might lead you not to hire, you must send a copy of the report and the summary of rights before you decide. The CFPB publishes the current model forms, including the Summary of Your Rights; your screening company usually supplies it.
One more rule applies to who gets the email. The joint EEOC and FTC publication Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know says that checking the background of candidates because of race, national origin, sex, religion, disability, genetic information or age is illegal, and gives the example of asking only people of a certain race about financial or criminal histories. Decide which checks each role needs, then send the same notification to everyone at that stage.
Timing is often set by state and city fair chance laws, many of which require you to wait until after a conditional offer before asking about criminal history. The ban-the-box page covers where that applies.
Telling the candidate a check is next
1. The check is the next step
Subject: [Role]: next step, background check
Hi [First name],
As part of your [conditional offer / final stage] for [Role], the
next step is a background check. We run the same check for everyone
offered this role.
What it covers: [e.g. employment and education verification,
criminal records, professional licence check].
Who runs it: [screening company name].
How long it usually takes: about [n] business days.
You'll receive a separate email from [screening company] with a
disclosure and an authorization form. Nothing is ordered until you
sign it.
If you have any questions about the process, or anything you'd like
us to know, call me on [phone].
[Your name]"Anything you'd like us to know" gives candidates a chance to raise a record that will appear, which they often want to explain early. Do not ask directly about arrests or convictions in this email; where and when you may ask is set by state and local law.
2. Cover email when you send the disclosure yourself
Subject: Background check disclosure and authorization: [Role]
Hi [First name],
Attached [or: at this secure link] is the background check
disclosure and authorization form for [Role]. Please read the
disclosure and, if you agree, sign the authorization by [date].
We won't order the check until we have your signed authorization.
[Your name]Keep this email to the two or three lines above. Do not paste the disclosure into the body, add an at-will statement, or attach the offer letter and the disclosure as one combined document.
3. Reminder to complete the authorization
Subject: Reminder: background check authorization for [Role]
Hi [First name],
A quick reminder that we're waiting for your background check
authorization from [screening company]. It was sent to [email
address] on [date]; the subject line is "[subject]".
If you haven't received it, can't find it, or have questions about
it, reply here and I'll resend it.
We can't move forward until it's complete, so if you're able to
finish it by [date], we can keep your start date of [date].
[Your name]While the check runs
4. The check is taking longer than expected
Subject: [Role]: background check update
Hi [First name],
A quick update: your background check is still in progress. [The
screening company is waiting on (a court record / confirmation from
a previous employer / a school).] This is common and isn't a sign of
a problem.
I now expect it to be complete by [date], and I'll update you then.
Your start date [is unchanged / may move to (date); I'll confirm].
Please keep holding off on resigning until I confirm it's complete.
[Your name]Say "this is common" only when it is. If the delay is because something needs review, you are in pre-adverse action territory, and template 6 applies instead.
5. The check is complete
Subject: [Role]: background check complete
Hi [First name],
Good news: your background check is complete, and [everything is in
order / all conditions of your offer have now been met].
You can now give notice to your current employer. Your start date is
[date], and [name] will be in touch by [date] about your first day.
[Your name]This is the email candidates wait for, because it tells them it is safe to resign. Send it the day the result arrives.
6. Cover email for a pre-adverse action notice
Subject: Your background report: please read before [date]
Hi [First name],
I'm writing about your background check for [Role]. We've received
information in the report that we need to discuss with you before
any decision is made.
Attached is a formal notice with a copy of the report and a summary
of your rights. No decision has been made. If anything in the report
is wrong or incomplete, or there's anything you'd like us to consider,
please contact [name] at [email / phone] by [date].
[Your name]The attached notice does the legal work; its wording is in the FCRA process page. In the cover email, do not describe what the report found, and never write "unfortunately we have to withdraw" before the candidate has had time to respond.
Agency and internal versions
7. Agency: the client's background check
Subject: [Client] offer: background check next
Hi [First name],
[Client]'s offer is conditional on a background check, which is run
by [screening company] on [Client]'s behalf.
You'll receive a disclosure and authorization form directly from
[screening company or Client]. Once you've signed it, the check
usually takes [n] business days.
I'll keep in touch with [Client] and update you as soon as it's
complete. Until then, please don't resign.
[Your name]Be clear who is ordering the check. Whether the agency or the client is the user of the report affects who sends each notice, which the FCRA process page covers under agency and client roles.
8. Internal: updating the hiring manager
Chat or email:
Hi [Hiring manager], an update on [candidate name]'s background
check: [in progress, expected (date) / complete, start date
confirmed as (date) / under review, which may take up to (n) more
business days]. I'll let you know when it's final.
[Your name]Hiring managers need the status, not the contents. Share report details only with the people who make the decision under your process, and keep the report out of the interview file.
Wording to leave out
- "It's just a formality." It is not, and the candidate will remember you said it if the result causes a problem.
- "Is there anything we'll find?" An open question about criminal history may breach local fair chance rules at this stage. Invite the candidate to share anything they want you to know, and let them decide.
- Waivers and releases. Nothing about releasing the company from liability belongs in the notification or the disclosure.
- Report details in a subject line. Subject lines show in notifications and shared inboxes. Keep them to the role and the step.
Records to keep
- The date each notification, the disclosure and the signed authorization were sent and received.
- The dates of any pre-adverse action notice, the response window and the final notice.
- Which checks were run for the role, so you can show the same checks applied to every candidate at that stage.
- The report itself, stored with restricted access and separately from interview notes, for as long as your retention policy requires.
For the wider list of emails between offer and start, see the job offer email templates and the candidate status update emails.
Questions people ask
Can the background check disclosure be included in the body of an email?
The FTC says the notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format, and cannot be part of an employment application. The safest approach is to send the disclosure and authorization as their own document or screen, usually through the screening company, and to use your email only to explain that it is coming and why.
Do I have to tell a candidate before running a background check?
Yes, if a background screening company prepares the report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you must give a clear written disclosure and get the candidate's written authorization before you order the report. Checks you do entirely yourself, such as calling a former manager, generally fall outside the FCRA, although state laws and anti-discrimination rules still apply.
What should I send if the background check turns up something?
Before making a final decision based on the report, send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the CFPB's 'A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act', then give the candidate time to respond. Only after that, if the decision stands, send the adverse action notice. The FCRA background check process page has wording for both.
Should I run background checks only on some candidates?
Apply the same checks to everyone in the same role at the same stage. The joint EEOC and FTC guidance on background checks says that checking only people of a certain race about their financial or criminal histories is evidence of discrimination.