Pre-Employment Background Check
A pre-employment background check is the single clearest example of a check the law treats as special, and getting the framing right protects both you and the applicant. The moment a background check is used to decide whether to hire someone, it is a consumer report under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that triggers a specific set of obligations: it must be performed by a regulated consumer reporting agency, the applicant must receive a clear, standalone disclosure and give written authorization before it is run, and if anything in the report might lead you to not hire, the FCRA’s adverse-action process – a pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report and the summary of rights, a reasonable wait, then a final notice – has to be followed. State and local “ban-the-box” and fair-chance laws often add more on top. None of that is optional, and it is exactly why an employer cannot simply pull records on a candidate and call it a background check. We want to be direct about who we are: People Locator Skip Tracing is a skip-tracing and public-records research firm, we are NOT a consumer reporting agency, and we do not perform pre-employment screening. If you are hiring, the right move is to use an FCRA-compliant CRA built for employment screening, and we will tell you so rather than take work we are not the lawful provider for. Where we do fit is the separate, non-FCRA lane – litigation support, due diligence, fraud investigation, and confirming who you are dealing with in a business context – and for those lawful purposes a sourced first read typically comes back within 24 hours. This page explains how pre-employment checks work, the rules that govern them, and the line we hold. It is general information, not legal advice.
The Short Version
A pre-employment background check is a consumer report under the FCRA. Because it decides whether to hire, the law requires it to come from a regulated CRA, with a standalone disclosure and written authorization before it runs, and the full adverse-action process – pre-adverse notice with the report and a summary of rights, a reasonable wait, then a final notice – if anything in it might cost the applicant the job. State and local fair-chance laws often add more. We are a public-records research firm, not a CRA, and we do not perform pre-employment screening – if you’re hiring, we’ll point you to an FCRA-compliant CRA built for it. Where we fit is the non-FCRA lane: litigation, due diligence, fraud, confirming a business counterparty – and there a sourced first read typically comes back within 24 hours. General information, not legal advice.
Watch: The Rules That Govern Hiring Checks
Why a hire is a consumer report.
Watch Overview
A Hiring Check Is a Consumer Report; The FCRA Governs It
The rules, and why a CRA has to run it.
What makes a pre-employment background check different from any other records search is its use. Because the result decides whether someone is hired, federal law classifies it as a consumer report and routes it through a regulated consumer reporting agency, with a chain of steps designed to protect the applicant. Before the check runs, the employer must give a clear, standalone disclosure that a report will be obtained and get the applicant’s written authorization. The report itself comes from the CRA, which has its own accuracy obligations. And if something in it might lead to a no-hire, the adverse-action process applies: a pre-adverse-action notice that includes a copy of the report and the summary of consumer rights, a reasonable period for the applicant to respond or dispute, and then a final adverse-action notice. The specifics of those steps are the heart of FCRA compliance for background checks, and skipping them is where employers get into legal trouble. State and local fair-chance and ban-the-box laws frequently add timing and disclosure rules on top.
This is why we are direct about our lane. We are not a consumer reporting agency, so we do not and cannot lawfully provide a pre-employment screening – that work belongs with an FCRA-compliant CRA built for it, and we will point you there. There is, however, a related and legitimate piece that often gets confused with screening: confirming the factual claims on a resume, like dates of employment or a title, which is the subject of employment verification. And the broader map of what different checks cover and which are regulated is laid out in our overview of background check types. Where we fit is the non-FCRA lane: lawful research for litigation, due diligence, fraud, and confirming a business counterparty – not deciding whether to hire a candidate.
A Hiring Screen vs. What We Do
Two different lanes, kept separate.
| The element | Pre-employment screen | Our non-FCRA research |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | A consumer report under the FCRA. | Investigative public-records research. |
| Who provides it | A regulated CRA. | A skip-tracing and records firm. |
| Required steps | Disclosure, consent, adverse action. | Permissible purpose, identity confirmed. |
| The purpose | Deciding whether to hire. | Litigation, due diligence, fraud. |
| If you’re hiring | Use an FCRA-compliant CRA. We redirect | Not our lane. |
The two lanes do not overlap, and confusing them is the costly mistake. A hiring decision is a consumer report and belongs with a CRA that runs the FCRA’s disclosure, consent, and adverse-action steps. Our lawful research serves different, non-FCRA purposes. We will not blur the line, and we will tell you plainly when a CRA is who you need.
Where Employers Get Into Trouble
The mistakes the rules are meant to prevent.
No Standalone Disclosure
Burying it in the application packet.
No Written Authorization
Running it without the applicant’s consent.
Skipping Adverse Action
Rejecting without the required notices.
Using Self-Pulled Records
Treating a DIY search as a screen.
Ignoring Fair-Chance Law
Missing state and local timing rules.
The Wrong-Person Match
A namesake’s record, never confirmed.
How a Compliant Hiring Check Flows
The steps a CRA-run screen follows.
Disclosure
A clear, standalone notice to the applicant.
Authorization
Written consent before the report runs.
The CRA Report
Produced by a regulated agency.
Adverse Action
Pre-notice, wait, then final notice.
Our Role: Not a CRA – and Honest About It
The lane we work, and the one we don’t.
We will say it plainly: if you are screening an applicant to make a hiring decision, we are not your provider. That is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it must come from a regulated consumer reporting agency that handles disclosure, authorization, accuracy, and the adverse-action process, and People Locator Skip Tracing is a skip-tracing and public-records research firm, not a CRA. We do not perform pre-employment screening, and rather than stretch our service to take that work, we will direct you to an FCRA-compliant CRA built for employment background checks. Holding that line protects you from a compliance problem and protects the applicant’s rights, and we hold it every time.
Where we do contribute is the separate, non-FCRA lane. For lawful purposes that are not hiring decisions – litigation support, business due diligence, fraud investigation, and confirming who you are dealing with in a transaction – we scope the request, confirm the right person’s identity, research the correct lawful sources, and report findings with their source and an honest confidence note. For a workable request with a confirmed permissible purpose, a first read typically comes back within 24 hours; deeper or multi-jurisdiction work takes longer. We work under a permissible purpose, use only lawful sources, never pretext or impersonate, respect sealed and restricted records, and report facts in context rather than a verdict on anyone’s character. If your need is to vet a business partner or support a case, that is our work; if it is to decide on a hire, the CRA is who you need, and we will tell you so. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Who This Helps
Understanding the rules and the lanes.
Employers
Knowing a CRA must run it
HR Teams
The disclosure and consent steps
Attorneys
Non-hiring research, done right
Due-Diligence Teams
Vetting a business counterparty
Fraud Examiners
A documented starting point
Individuals
A lawful, legitimate need
Whoever you are, the key is knowing which lane your need falls in. A hiring decision is a consumer report that belongs with an FCRA-compliant CRA; a lawful non-FCRA inquiry is our work, and a sourced first read typically comes back within 24 hours.
Our Commitment
We are not a consumer reporting agency, we do not perform pre-employment screening, and we will tell you plainly that a hiring decision is a consumer report that must come from an FCRA-compliant CRA running disclosure, authorization, and adverse-action steps. For a lawful, non-FCRA purpose – litigation, due diligence, fraud, confirming a business counterparty – we confirm a permissible purpose, confirm identity before reporting, use only lawful sources, and document each finding with its source and an honest confidence note, typically a first read within 24 hours. We never pretext, never surface sealed or expunged records, and never report a verdict on character. Lawful research since 2004 – we keep the lanes separate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you run pre-employment background checks?
No. A pre-employment background check is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and it must come from a regulated consumer reporting agency that handles disclosure, authorization, accuracy, and the adverse-action process. We are a skip-tracing and public-records research firm, not a CRA, so we do not perform employment screening. If you are hiring, we will direct you to an FCRA-compliant CRA built for it. Our work is lawful research for non-FCRA purposes like litigation and due diligence.
Why is a hiring check treated as a consumer report?
Because of how the result is used. When a background check informs a decision about employment, the FCRA classifies it as a consumer report and imposes consumer-protection obligations meant to ensure accuracy and give the applicant rights. That is what triggers the disclosure, written authorization, and adverse-action requirements, and what requires a regulated CRA to produce it. The classification follows the purpose – hiring – not the label on the search, which is exactly why an employer cannot self-pull records and treat it as a screen.
What does the employer have to do before running one?
Two things at minimum: provide a clear, standalone disclosure that a consumer report will be obtained for employment purposes – not buried inside the job application – and get the applicant’s written authorization before the check runs. Many state and local fair-chance and ban-the-box laws add further requirements about timing and what can be asked. The CRA produces the report; the employer is responsible for the disclosure, consent, and the later adverse-action steps. Your employment counsel can confirm what applies to you.
What is the adverse-action process?
It is the set of steps an employer must follow if something in a consumer report might lead to not hiring the applicant. First a pre-adverse-action notice, which includes a copy of the report and the summary of consumer rights; then a reasonable period for the applicant to review and dispute; then, if the decision stands, a final adverse-action notice. The point is to give the applicant a chance to correct an error before it costs them the job. A compliant CRA-run screen builds this in; skipping it is a common and costly mistake.
Can I just pull court records myself to vet a candidate?
Not for a hiring decision. Using self-pulled records to decide whether to employ someone does not satisfy the FCRA’s requirement that an employment background check be a consumer report from a regulated CRA, and it skips the disclosure, consent, and adverse-action protections the applicant is owed. It also risks the wrong-person problem, where a namesake’s record gets attached to your candidate. If the purpose is hiring, use a compliant CRA. We will not provide records for that use.
Is employment verification the same as a background check?
Not exactly. Employment verification is confirming factual claims a person made – dates of employment, job title, sometimes eligibility for rehire – against the record. It is a narrower, factual confirmation rather than a full screening report, though when it is used as part of an employment decision it still falls under the same consumer-report framework and the CRA lane. We are happy to explain how verification works, but the employment-decision use belongs with an FCRA-compliant provider, not with us.
What can you lawfully help with, then?
Plenty – just not hiring decisions. For lawful non-FCRA purposes, we research and document things like a business counterparty’s litigation and corporate footprint, assets and liens relevant to a judgment, or the facts behind a suspected fraud, and we locate people for legitimate purposes. We confirm identity, work lawful sources, and report findings with their source. Those uses are not consumer reports and are exactly what a skip-tracing and public-records research firm is for. A sourced first read typically comes back within 24 hours.
How do I know which lane my situation falls in?
Ask what the result will decide. If it will be used to hire, promote, retain, or otherwise make an employment decision – or a tenant, credit, or insurance decision – it is a consumer report and belongs with a regulated CRA. If it supports litigation, business due diligence, fraud investigation, or confirming a counterparty, it is non-FCRA research and is our work. When you are unsure, your counsel can confirm whether your use is FCRA-covered. Either way, we will tell you honestly if a CRA is who you need.
Hiring? Use a CRA. Otherwise, Talk to Us
A pre-employment background check is a consumer report under the FCRA, and it has to come from a compliant CRA that runs the disclosure, authorization, and adverse-action steps – we are not a CRA and we will tell you so rather than take work we are not the lawful provider for. But if your need is the other lane – litigation support, due diligence, fraud investigation, or confirming a business counterparty – tell us what needs establishing and your lawful, permissible purpose, and we’ll scope it, confirm identity, and deliver a sourced first read, typically within 24 hours. Contact us to get started.
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