Hiring the wrong person can be a costly and risky business, so it’s important to do your due diligence when screening potential employees. A background check is the process of examining an applicant’s education, criminal history, and other aspects of their personal life.

Whether you’re hiring someone for your business or for an online dating site, a background check can help give you peace of mind that you’re making a wise decision. The right background check can reveal information that may be critical to your business, such as an ex-con’s ability to handle financial transactions or a convicted drug dealer’s willingness to be a good neighbor.

There are many types of background checks that can be performed, including criminal history, credit, and employment verification. The best type of background check for your specific needs will depend on the position you’re filling and your company’s policies.

Criminal background check are the most common and typically include a candidate’s complete history of convictions for felony and misdemeanor offenses. These searches typically cover the last seven years.

State and local laws governing this type of background check vary from state to state, so it’s important to consult with your legal counsel before starting this screening process.

Searches of county and federal civil court records can reveal non-criminal actions, such as restraining orders, breach of contract suits, violations of privacy, and bankruptcies. This type of background check is often used to screen out candidates who have had previous disciplinary action against them, and is important for positions with managerial responsibility or access to confidential information.

Credit checks can show a candidate’s full credit history, including payment history, civil judgements, tax liens, and bankruptcies. These can be a major concern for jobs in which management, accounting, or other financial tasks are required.

If you’re considering performing a credit check, be sure to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This requires you to clearly disclose the purpose of the background check and provide the candidate with a copy of their results.

The FCRA also requires that you notify candidates of any adverse action taken, and allow them to contact the agency that conducted the investigation. This allows them to request a free copy of the report and to challenge any negative findings.

It’s also vital to keep in mind that a criminal record is just one part of an individual’s background and that it can be expunged or sealed at any time. For example, as marijuana legalization trends have increased nationwide, many former marijuana users have had their arrests and convictions erased by the courts, so those records should never show up on a criminal background check.

Some states have limits on the amount of time that a criminal record can be searched for, and more are moving toward these restrictions to make it less likely that businesses will run into this issue.

Despite these restrictions, there are still cases of individuals with significant issues appearing in background checks, and it’s important to take this into account when conducting your own screenings. A number of factors can cause this to happen, such as investigators faking results, employers ignoring negative findings, insiders deleting criminal records, and third-party screening companies that do not follow the law.