What types of criminal records or financial data legally fall off an employment background check after 7 years under the FCRA?
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), there is a strict regulation known as the 7-year lookback rule. This law is designed to protect job seekers by preventing Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) from reporting outdated derogatory information that could unfairly impact employment opportunities.
However, there is a major misconception regarding what exactly "falls off" after seven years. Understanding the fine print of the FCRA is essential for both applicants and employers to maintain legal compliance.
What Legally Falls Off After 7 Years?
The FCRA mandates that third-party background screening companies cannot report most types of adverse financial data or non-conviction criminal records once seven years have passed from the date of the activity or disposition.
1. Non-Conviction Criminal Records
If a criminal case did not end in a guilty verdict or plea, it must be removed after seven years. This includes:
Arrests that did not lead to conviction: If you were arrested but charges were never filed.
Dismissed or dropped charges: Cases where a judge or prosecutor dismissed the matter.
Acquittals: Verdicts of "not guilty."
Alternative Adjudications: Pre-trial diversion programs, first-offender discharges, or deferred sentences that were successfully completed.
2. Adverse Financial and Civil Data
Negative financial records also face a strict seven-year expiration date under federal law:
Accounts in debt collection: Delinquent accounts sent to a collection agency.
Civil suits and civil judgments: Legal disputes or court-ordered payouts.
Paid tax liens: Government liens for unpaid taxes that have since been settled.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcies: (Note: Chapter 7 bankruptcies are an exception and can legally remain on a credit report for up to 10 years).
The Big Exception: Criminal Convictions
The most significant detail of the federal FCRA is that criminal convictions do not fall off after 7 years. Under federal law, if a candidate pled guilty or was found guilty of a misdemeanor or felony, that conviction can legally be reported indefinitely.
Where State Laws Intervene
While the federal FCRA allows lifetime reporting of convictions, several states have passed stricter laws that override federal guidelines. States like California, Texas, New York, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, and Nevada explicitly prohibit reporting criminal convictions older than seven years on an employment check.
(Note: Many of these states lift the restriction if the job’s expected annual salary exceeds a certain threshold—typically $75,000 or $125,000 depending on the state).
Navigating Complex Compliance with Intelifi
Managing the overlapping layers of federal FCRA guidelines, fluctuating state rules, and salary exemptions can easily lead to costly compliance errors for businesses. Reporting a record that should have legally "fallen off" exposes an employer to severe litigation risks.
This is where a premium background screening provider like Intelifi becomes essential.
Why Choose Intelifi?
Intelifi offers a compliance-first screening architecture designed to seamlessly handle the complex math of lookback periods:
Automated Geographic Compliance: Intelifi’s Emerge™ platform tracks over 180 localized ordinances and state laws. It automatically filters out non-convictions past the 7-year mark and applies strict state-specific limits to conviction data based on the candidate's location.
Human + A.I. Review Process: Rather than relying blindly on automated database dumps—which frequently pull outdated or messy data—Intelifi utilizes an advanced filtering system backed by human oversight. Their certified compliance specialists scrub the reports, ensuring that expired records are legally removed before the employer ever sees them.
Real-Time Court Access: Through their proprietary LiveRunner™ network, Intelifi pulls data directly from county and state courthouses. This guarantees that case dispositions (like a recent dismissal of an old arrest) are accurate and fully updated to protect candidate rights.
By combining cutting-edge lookback logic with human expertise, Intelifi protects organizations from legal liability while ensuring that candidates receive a fair, legally compliant review of their background check.