What shows up on a background check — and what doesn't
Last updated: May 2026
A background check isn't a single thing. Different employers, landlords, and licensing boards pull different reports from different sources, and what each one sees depends on federal law (the FCRA), your state's criminal-history rules, and whether your record has been sealed or expunged. This guide explains what actually appears, what doesn't, and what changes after you clear your record.
FCRA notice
The background-check services we link to are not consumer reporting agencies as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Reports generated by these services may not be used in whole or in part to make decisions about employment, tenant screening, insurance, credit, or any other purpose that requires FCRA compliance.
ExpungeReady earns a commission on some links on this page. We only recommend services we believe are useful for personal-records research. Always verify your own records directly with the state repository or the FBI before relying on any third-party report.
The three layers of any background check
Every background check pulls from one or more of three layers, and understanding which one is being run on you is the most important thing you can know before applying for a job, an apartment, or a license.
- The state criminal-history repository — operated by the state police or a state bureau of investigation. Holds the most complete record within that state. This is what a fingerprint-based background check pulls from.
- Local court records — county clerk and municipal-court databases. These are public and indexed by name, so they often show up in name-based searches even when the state repository has been sealed.
- Private consumer-reporting agencies — Sterling, Checkr, HireRight, etc. They aggregate court records and sell reports to employers. They are governed by the FCRA, which limits what they can report and how long.
The FCRA 7-year rule (and its exceptions)
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, private consumer-reporting agencies generally may not report arrests not leading to conviction that are more than 7 years old, civil suits and judgments more than 7 years old, or most other adverse information more than 7 years old.
But there is a major exception: convictions can be reported indefinitely, and the 7-year limit doesn't apply at all if the job pays $75,000 or more per year. Several states (California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Washington) impose stricter limits than the FCRA. The rest follow the federal rule.
How to see your own record before an employer does
The single most useful thing you can do before any job search or apartment application is to pull your own background check. Two paths:
- Pull your official state record. Every state lets you request your own criminal-history report. Fees range from $3 (Texas) to $43 (Florida fingerprint). Most accurate source but only covers in-state records.
- Pull a private personal-records report. Services like BeenVerified, Intelius, or PeopleFinders aggregate records nationwide and show you the same kind of data a private consumer-reporting agency would surface. These are not FCRA reports and can't be used for employment, tenant, or credit decisions.
State-by-state background-check rules
Each state's criminal-history repository, self-check process, and post-expungement rules are different. Pick your state below:
- Florida background check rules →
- North Carolina background check rules →
- Georgia background check rules →
- Michigan background check rules →
- Texas background check rules →
- Ohio background check rules →
- Washington background check rules →
- Arizona background check rules →
- Virginia background check rules →
After expungement: what changes
Whether your state calls it expungement, sealing, set-aside, vacating, or record restriction, the practical effect on a background check is similar: the record is removed (or hidden) from the public-facing criminal-history repository, and the petitioner gains the legal right to answer "no" on most employment and housing applications about whether they have been arrested or convicted of that specific offense.
What does not change:
- Law enforcement and the FBI can still see the record
- Certain licensed professions can still see and consider it
- Existing copies of the report already in private databases must be removed on request, but you may need to follow up if a third-party report keeps showing the old data
Want to see what factors an attorney will ask about? Use our consultation-prep worksheet .
Frequently asked questions
Does a dismissed case show on a background check?
Yes, until the case is expunged or sealed. A dismissal is not a conviction, but the arrest and case disposition still appear on most state criminal-history reports and private background-check databases.
How long does a misdemeanor stay on a background check?
A misdemeanor conviction stays on your record indefinitely unless you petition to have it sealed or expunged. Most states allow sealing 1–7 years after sentence completion for first-time misdemeanors.
How can I see my own background check?
Run a personal record check with your state's criminal-history repository. Fees range from $3 to $43. Private services aggregate the same data into a single report but are not FCRA-compliant and cannot be used for employment, tenant, or credit decisions.
Will a background check show out-of-state records?
A state-repository check only shows in-state records. A nationwide private background check pulls from court records in every state. The FBI NCIC database is restricted to law enforcement and certain authorized employers.