Background check policy template: checks by role, FCRA notices, adjudication and records

A background check policy is the company document that says which checks apply to which roles, when they run (usually after a conditional offer), how candidates are told and asked under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, how results are judged against the job, who decides, whether current staff are rechecked, and how reports are stored and destroyed. Below is a copy-ready template with [bracketed] fields, the choices to make before adopting it, a table of the federal rules behind each clause as of October 2026, and links to the state pages that change it.

This page is the policy. For the step-by-step paperwork on one hire, see the FCRA background check process, and for the emails that go to candidates, see background check notification emails.

What do you need to decide before writing the policy?

The background check policy template

Copy it into your own document and replace everything in square brackets.

BACKGROUND CHECK POLICY
[Organization]     Version [x]     Effective [date]
Owner: [name, role]     Legal review: [date]     Next review: [date]

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
1.1 This policy sets out when [Organization] obtains background
    checks on applicants [, contractors] and employees, how they are
    told and asked, how results are assessed, and how records are kept.
1.2 It applies to positions in [states / countries]. Where a state or
    local law is stricter than this policy, that law applies
    (Appendix B).
1.3 It covers reports from a consumer reporting agency ("screening
    company"). Reference calls made by our own staff follow
    [the reference check procedure].

2. CHECKS BY ROLE FAMILY
2.1 Only the checks listed for the role family in Appendix A are
    ordered. No one may add a check for an individual candidate.
2.2 Every candidate for the same role receives the same checks.
2.3 [Credit reports are ordered only for the role families marked in
    Appendix A, and only where state and local law allows.]
2.4 [We do not order investigative consumer reports or social media
    screening.] OR [These are ordered only as listed in Appendix A.]

3. TIMING
3.1 Checks start only after a conditional offer of employment, and no
    earlier than the law where the job is located allows.
3.2 Recruiters and interviewers do not ask about criminal history
    before that point and do not search for it themselves.
3.3 The conditional offer states that it depends on [the background
    check / the checks listed] and names any other conditions.

4. DISCLOSURE AND AUTHORIZATION
4.1 Before a report is ordered, the candidate receives a clear written
    disclosure, in a document that consists only of that disclosure,
    that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes,
    and signs a written authorization.
4.2 [The disclosure states clearly that reports may also be obtained
    during employment.] (Delete if you will not recheck employees.)
4.3 State and local notices are provided as separate documents.
4.4 [HR / the screening company] keeps the signed authorization.

5. REVIEW AND ADJUDICATION
5.1 Reports go only to [adjudicator role]. Interviewers and the hiring
    manager see the outcome, not the report.
5.2 The adjudicator applies the criteria in Appendix C, considering
    the nature and gravity of the offense or conduct, the time since
    the offense, conduct or end of sentence, and the duties of the job.
5.3 An arrest that did not lead to a conviction is not used to
    exclude anyone. [Pending charges are considered only where the
    alleged conduct relates to the duties of the job.]
5.4 No one is excluded automatically for having a criminal record.

6. PRE-ADVERSE AND ADVERSE ACTION
6.1 Before any decision based in whole or in part on a report, the
    candidate receives a copy of the report, "A Summary of Your Rights
    Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act", any required state or local
    notice, and [at least 5 business days] to respond.
6.2 The adjudicator reviews any response, records an individualized
    assessment, and decides. [Decisions are approved by: role.]
6.3 If the decision stands, the candidate receives an adverse action
    notice naming the screening company, stating that it did not make
    the decision, and stating the right to a free copy of the report
    within 60 days and to dispute it with the screening company.
6.4 A withdrawal for a reason unrelated to the report is recorded as
    that reason, with no adverse action notice.

7. CURRENT EMPLOYEES
7.1 Employees in the role families marked in Appendix A are rechecked
    [every [x] months / on transfer into a covered role / at license
    renewal]. Rechecks follow sections 4 to 6.
7.2 [Employees in roles marked in Appendix A report [a conviction /
    loss of license] to [role] within [x] days.]

8. STAFFING AND CLIENT PLACEMENTS (agencies only)
8.1 Each client agreement states who orders the report, who
    adjudicates and who sends each notice.

9. CONFIDENTIALITY, RETENTION AND DISPOSAL
9.1 Reports are stored in [system], with access limited to [roles].
    They are not copied into ATS notes, chat or email.
9.2 Reports and notices are kept for [period, at least one year from
    the decision], and longer while a charge, claim or audit is open.
9.3 At the end of that period, paper is shredded and electronic copies
    deleted so they cannot be read or reconstructed.

10. TRAINING AND REVIEW
10.1 Adjudicators are trained on this policy and on fair chance rules
     before reviewing any report, and [yearly].
10.2 [Owner] reviews this policy every [12] months and whenever a law
     where we hire changes.

APPENDIX A: Role families, checks and rechecks
APPENDIX B: Jurisdiction rules (timing, notices, waiting periods)
APPENDIX C: Adjudication criteria by role family

Appendix A, filled in as an example

These rows are an example of the format, not a recommendation for your roles.

Which law does each clause answer to?

One example of how much a state can change: California's Fair Chance Act generally bars employers with five or more employees from asking about conviction history before a conditional offer and requires an individualized assessment and written notices before a final decision, according to the state Civil Rights Department. If you want a separate, candidate-facing statement of your approach to records, pair this policy with a fair chance hiring policy.

How do you use this template?

1. List your role families and, for each, the duties that create a real risk: driving, handling money, access to patients, children or customer homes. If no duty justifies a check, leave it out.
2. Fill in Appendix A from that list, then ask your screening company to set up one package per role family so a recruiter cannot order the wrong one.
3. Write Appendix C: for each role family, which kinds of conduct are relevant and for how long. "Theft-related convictions in the last [x] years are relevant to cash-handling roles" is a criterion; "any felony" is a blanket ban.
4. Fill in Appendix B for every state and city where you hire, from your counsel and your screening company's state forms.
5. Name one adjudicator and a backup, train them, and remove report access from everyone else.
6. Update the offer letter and the candidate emails so they match clauses 3.3 and 6.

How should adjudication work without becoming a blanket ban?

The EEOC's guidance draws the line between targeted screening and blanket exclusions. Its three factors, often called the Green factors, are the nature and gravity of the offense or conduct, the time that has passed since the offense, conduct or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job held or sought. Its recommended practices include eliminating policies that exclude people based on any criminal record, limiting inquiries to records where exclusion would be job related, keeping criminal record information confidential, and training the people who decide.

The individualized assessment in clause 6.2 is the practical safeguard. The candidate is told they may be excluded, gets a chance to show the exclusion should not apply (wrong person, dismissed charge, evidence of rehabilitation, time since the conduct), and the adjudicator writes down what they considered. That note is what you will rely on if the decision is questioned. Interviewers stay out of it: see ban-the-box interview questions for what they may and may not ask.

Can you recheck current employees?

Yes, with two conditions. The authorization has to cover it: the FTC and EEOC guidance says an authorization can last for the whole period of employment only if the disclosure says so clearly and conspicuously, which is why clause 4.2 exists. And every decision based on a new report goes through the same pre-adverse and adverse action steps as a hire. Keep rechecks to roles where the risk continues, and tell employees in advance which roles are rechecked and how often, so the recheck is a known part of the job rather than a surprise.

What mistakes make a background check policy fail?

• Checks that do not match the job. A credit report for a role with no access to money adds legal risk where state or city law restricts credit checks, and tells you nothing useful.
• Interviewers who see the report. Once a hiring manager has read it, you cannot show the decision was made on the criteria alone.
• Extra terms in the disclosure. Liability waivers and at-will statements do not belong in the stand-alone document.
• No written assessment. A decision without a record of what was weighed is hard to defend.
• Reports kept forever. Set the retention period, then destroy reports securely. See the candidate data retention policy for the wider schedule.

If you also test for drugs, keep that in its own document with its own consent: see the drug testing policy template. For UK hires, criminal record checks run through a different system; see DBS checks for employers.