Background Check

New driver here.

Not going to mention any company names, but is it "normal" for a company to go back 30+ years in a background check?

Seems a bit excessive in my opinion . . . .

Thanks in advance.

It all depends. If it is a felony you are talking about then yes that is absolutely acceptable. I may be wrong and I probably am but I believe on criminal history they can go back your entire lifetime. Different companies do different things.

Well, since it's their company, their equipment, their risks, their insurance costs, their reputation, and they have the most to lose....

A background check will bring up your entire history, whether it's 5 or 50 years ago. A company can't just look back x years.

A criminal history is attached to a SS number. Punch in that number, and the whole history comes up on the screen.

A background check will bring up your entire history, whether it's 5 or 50 years ago. A company can't just look back x years.

A criminal history is attached to a SS number. Punch in that number, and the whole history comes up on the screen.

^^^^ This.

Name - DOB - SSN - will pull up the entire thing. If you've EVER been fingerprinted, it's in the FBI NCIC database, and it's there FOREVER.

Now - depending on the seriousness of the crime, most companies are looking for the last 7 years - but if they ask have you EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF A FELONY - they will find it. Even if it's eventually SEALED - if you were ARRESTED, they WILL FIND IT.

A lot of people get sent home for LYING ON AN APPLICATION. Read the question CAREFULLY - but ONLY ANSWER WHAT IS ASKED. You may have to explain something later - like an arrest that didn't result in a conviction, but if the app asks for convictions and you weren't, it's safe to answer no.

Rick

Thanks all. Makes sense that the background is attached to SSN/DOB/Name then pulls up a list. Don't have anything to worry about, as I didn't lie about anything, just seemed odd that it went back so far.

Safe driving.

Thanks all. Makes sense that the background is attached to SSN/DOB/Name then pulls up a list. Don't have anything to worry about, as I didn't lie about anything, just seemed odd that it went back so far.

Safe driving.

Some weird stuff tends to come up. I had a speeding ticket in '99, that wasn't a criminal offense (and I hired a lawyer and got it no points/no conviction), I wasn't arrested or anything - just a ticket on the florida turnpike for 73 in a 65. Came up on my CRIMINAL BACKGROUND. Most of these BI companies get their data from multiple sources - so a lot of stuff is really old, may even be in error - and there's no way of getting corrected (unlike a credit report). And some stuff that doesn't pop up in the past, comes up later, as jurisdictions computerize their old records and sell the databases to "data miners".

Rick

Okay Rick, what's a data miner?