You were charged with something. Maybe it was years ago. Maybe it was recently. Maybe the charge was dropped before you ever set foot in a courtroom.
Now there's a job offer on the table — and a background check standing between you and it.
Will a charge show up on a background check? The honest answer is: it depends — and that answer is not a cop-out. Whether a charge appears, how it is labeled, and what an employer can legally do with it hinges on the type of charge, the outcome of the case, the state where it was filed, and the kind of background check being run.
Getting this wrong — assuming something won't show up, or assuming something will disqualify you — can cost you the offer. So can being caught off guard without a plan.
This guide gives you the complete picture. What shows up, what doesn't, what the law allows, and exactly what to do about it.
Here is the short version before the full breakdown:
The type of outcome matters more than the charge itself. A DUI conviction looks very different from a dismissed DUI charge on a report — and both look different from a DUI that was expunged five years ago.
Here's what makes this complicated: the background check industry does not operate off a single national database. Employers and screening companies pull records from county courthouses, state repositories, federal systems, and commercial databases that are refreshed on different schedules and governed by different state laws. What shows up depends as much on where and how the check is run as it does on the nature of the charge.
Before diving into the rules, it helps to define what each term actually means — because a lot of people use these interchangeably when they mean very different things:
A charge is a formal accusation filed by a prosecutor in the court system. It is not an arrest. It is not a conviction. It is a legal proceeding that has been initiated.
A pending charge is a charge where the case has not yet reached a final resolution — no conviction, no acquittal, no dismissal. The case is open and active.
A dismissed charge is a charge where the court formally dropped the case before or during trial. No conviction occurred, but the record of the charge may still exist in public court databases.
A conviction is the final outcome of a case where the defendant was found guilty — either by trial, plea, or guilty plea arrangement.
An expunged or sealed record is one that has been legally removed or restricted from public access through a court process. The rules for eligibility and effect vary widely by state.
Each of these shows up differently on a background check — and triggers different legal obligations for employers. The video below breaks down what criminal background checks actually surface, from convictions to non-conviction records:
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the federal law that governs how third-party background check companies can report criminal history to employers. Understanding it is essential — both for job seekers trying to predict what will appear and for employers trying to stay compliant.
Under the FCRA, most non-conviction information — including arrest records, dismissed charges, and other adverse records that did not result in a conviction — can only be reported for 7 years from the date of the incident for positions paying under $75,000 annually.
Convictions, however, face no FCRA-imposed time limit at the federal level. A 15-year-old felony conviction can legally appear on an employment background check. The only caps on conviction reporting come from state law, not the FCRA itself.
What about pending charges? This is a nuance most guides miss. Pending charges are technically not closed non-conviction records — the case is still open. As a result, the FCRA's 7-year restriction on non-conviction records generally does not apply to them. A pending charge filed 4 years ago that is still unresolved can appear on a report regardless of the 7-year rule.
In 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion reinforcing that Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) should not report criminal records that have been expunged or sealed. If a charge has been legally expunged and it still appears on a background check report, that is a potential FCRA violation — and the candidate has the right to dispute it.
This is important because many commercial databases lag behind court updates. An expungement granted by a court may take weeks or months to propagate through every screening company's database.
This is the question most people search for — and the answer surprises them.
Yes, dismissed charges frequently appear on background checks. Because a charge represents a formal court filing, it enters the public court record the moment it is filed. That public record exists regardless of how the case eventually resolves. Unless the dismissed charge has been specifically expunged, sealed, or is restricted by state law, a background check that runs a county-level courthouse search will surface it.
According to BackgroundChecks.com, dismissed charges are still formal criminal indictments — and they will appear on most background checks across the United States except where state law specifically prohibits their inclusion.
What the report will typically show is the charge, the date filed, and the disposition — "dismissed," "nolle prosequi," or "case closed without conviction." The word dismissed is there. Whether an employer treats that differently from a conviction depends on their policy, the role, and the applicable law.
A common misconception is that a dismissed charge is wiped clean. It's not. Two things happen when a charge is dismissed:
Private background screening databases pull from these public records — but they don't always update in real time when a disposition is entered. This means a report run shortly after dismissal might still show the charge as open or pending, even if the court dismissed it weeks earlier.
If dismissed charges appear incorrectly on your report — showing as pending when they've been resolved, or showing after expungement — you have the right under the FCRA to dispute the record with the screening company. The company has 30 days to investigate and correct inaccurate information.
Yes. Both misdemeanor and felony convictions appear on background checks in virtually all states and in most types of background check searches. This is the category with the fewest legal ambiguities.
The differences between misdemeanors and felonies on a background check come down to:
Severity and employer weight. Felony convictions are weighted more heavily by most employers, particularly in regulated industries. A misdemeanor trespassing conviction from a decade ago carries very different weight than a felony fraud conviction from the same period.
State reporting limits. Several states cap how far back background checks can reach for convictions. California, Massachusetts, and Texas, among others, limit criminal conviction reporting to 7 years for most positions. Without these state caps, felony convictions can technically appear indefinitely under federal law.
Industry-specific restrictions. In healthcare, finance, and childcare, certain convictions — even older ones — may trigger mandatory regulatory bars to employment regardless of how much time has passed. These are separate from the background check itself and are enforced by licensing boards and regulatory agencies.
Even when a conviction does appear, employers cannot simply reject a candidate without further analysis. The EEOC requires employers to conduct an individualized assessment before taking adverse action based on criminal history. That assessment must consider:
Dollar General paid $6 million and BMW paid $1.6 million in settlements after the EEOC found that their blanket criminal history exclusion policies violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Blanket disqualification — rejecting anyone with a conviction, full stop — is not legally defensible.
This matters for job seekers because it means a conviction is not automatically the end of your candidacy. Context, time elapsed, and relevance to the role all factor in. How you handle the conversation often matters as much as what the report says.
This is where most people get a false sense of security — and where it can backfire.
Expungement generally removes or seals a record from public access. If successfully completed, a standard employment background check should not surface the expunged charge. The CFPB's 2024 guidance reinforces that CRAs must not report records that have been legally expunged or sealed.
But "generally" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Here's what can go wrong:
Database lag. Commercial background check databases are not live feeds from courthouses. When a court grants an expungement, it may take weeks or months for every database a screening company uses to reflect that update. During that window, the expunged record can still surface on a report.
FBI fingerprint checks. Standard employment background checks and FBI fingerprint-based background checks are two entirely different systems. FBI checks — used for government positions, security clearances, and some licensed professions — can surface records that have been expunged at the state level, because the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) may not receive expungement updates from all state agencies in real time.
Internet and news archives. Expungement clears official records, but it does not erase news articles, public arrest announcements, or court filings that were indexed online before the expungement. A determined employer who Googles your name might still find information that a background check would not show.
State-specific limitations. Not every type of charge is eligible for expungement. Many states exclude violent felonies, sex offenses, and multiple-conviction cases. Eligibility criteria and waiting periods vary significantly. Some states allow expungement of dismissed charges immediately; others require waiting periods of one year or more.
The attorney interview embedded below addresses whether expunged records appear on background checks — including the exceptions most people don't know about:
Not all background checks are built the same. The type of search an employer orders determines what they're likely to find — and how current that information is.
The most accurate and up-to-date source for any type of charge — pending, dismissed, or convicted. Researchers access courthouse records directly, which typically reflect the most current case status. County checks are the most likely to show a recently filed pending charge, a recently dismissed case, or a charge that has not yet propagated into statewide databases.
These pull from aggregated state-level repositories that compile records from multiple counties. They are faster and broader than county checks but may lag behind individual courthouse records by days or weeks. A charge filed last week may not appear in a statewide database search yet.
Commercial databases that compile records from across the country. Broad but the least current of the three. They work well for catching records across multiple states but should not be the sole search for positions where thoroughness matters. Pending charges or recently dismissed charges may not yet be reflected.
Cover crimes prosecuted at the federal level — fraud, drug trafficking across state lines, federal tax offenses, cybercrime. If a charge is a federal matter, it will appear here. Federal databases tend to be more consistently updated than some state systems.
Reserved for government employment, security clearances, and certain licensed professions. These are the most comprehensive checks available and surface records from multiple systems — including records that may have been expunged at the state level. If you are applying for a government position and had a charge expunged, consult an attorney about how it may be treated in a federal clearance context.
Source: S&F Background Checks | smartfastbackgroundchecks.com
Beyond the FCRA, state laws create dramatically different outcomes depending on where the charge was filed. A charge that appears on a background check in Texas may be legally blocked from a report in Illinois. An employer in California faces restrictions that do not apply to an employer in Florida.
California bans employers from considering arrests without convictions and from asking about criminal history before a conditional offer is made. The Fair Chance Act also requires an individualized written assessment before withdrawing an offer based on criminal history.
Illinois prohibits employers from using pending charges in hiring decisions. Consumer reporting agencies in Illinois cannot include pending charges on employment background check reports.
Nevada bars both reporting and employer use of pending charges on employment checks.
New York City extends the Fair Chance Act to prohibit considering arrests or pending charges, requiring a full individualized assessment and written determination before any adverse action based on criminal history.
Hawaii limits reportable criminal history to felony convictions within the last 7 years only. Pending charges and misdemeanors are effectively off the table.
Massachusetts allows only pending felony charges to be reported. Pending misdemeanors are excluded from employment background check reports.
As of 2026, more than 37 states and 150+ cities and counties have enacted some form of ban-the-box law — restricting when employers can ask about criminal history during the hiring process. The National Employment Law Project tracks these policies nationally.
Ban-the-box laws don't prevent charges from appearing on a background check. They regulate when in the hiring process an employer can ask about or act on criminal history — typically pushing that inquiry to after a conditional offer is made. In 15 states, these requirements now apply to private employers, not just government positions.
Knowing your state's rules before you apply — or before you make a hiring decision — is no longer optional. It is compliance.
Finding out a charge will appear on your background check is not the end of the road. How you handle it often matters as much as what the report says.
Before anyone else does, see what they'll see. S&F Background Checks offers personal background checks that show you exactly what a standard employment screening report will surface. Know before you apply. For a full breakdown of what standard reports include, see our guide on what shows up in a background check.
If you are in a state with pending charge restrictions or strong ban-the-box protections, you may have more protection than you realize. Understanding those rules before the interview stage puts you in a far stronger position.
In states where employers can consider the charge, be ready to address it directly. Keep it brief, factual, and forward-looking. What the charge was, what the outcome was, how long ago it occurred, and why it has no bearing on your ability to do this job. Two to three sentences is usually enough unless the employer wants more.
Understanding the full picture of how background check outcomes are interpreted also helps — particularly what it means when a report returns a "consider" flag instead of a clear result. Our guide on what "consider" means on a background check walks through this in full detail, including your rights and how to respond.
If a dismissed, expunged, or sealed charge is still appearing on your report, you have the right to dispute it. File a dispute directly with the background check company. Under the FCRA, they have 30 days to investigate and correct inaccurate information. Submit your dispute in writing and attach any court documentation — the dismissal order, the expungement decree, or the sealing order — that supports your claim.
If you have a pending felony, a conviction in a regulated industry, or a record that has been improperly reported despite expungement, speak with a criminal defense or employment attorney. The stakes are high enough that professional guidance is worth the cost.
For a broader understanding of how pending charges specifically show up on background checks — including a state-by-state breakdown — we've covered that in depth as well.
The video below from Washington State attorney Lance Fryrear is one of the most practical resources available on how to explain a criminal background check to an employer — applicable regardless of your state:
Will a charge show up on a background check if I was never convicted? Often yes. Dismissed charges, pending charges, and in some states, arrest records, can appear on standard background checks unless the record has been expunged, sealed, or is restricted by state law. The presence of a charge on a report does not mean an employer can use it against you — EEOC guidance places significant restrictions on how non-conviction records can factor into hiring decisions.
How long does a charge stay on a background check? Convictions can appear indefinitely under federal law, though many states impose 7-year caps. Dismissed charges and other non-conviction records are subject to the FCRA's 7-year rule for positions paying under $75,000. Pending charges remain on background reports as long as the case is open. Expunged or sealed records should not appear on standard employment background checks.
Does a misdemeanor charge show up differently than a felony? Both appear on background checks when they are convictions. The distinction matters more for employer weight and industry restrictions than for whether the record appears. Several states cap reporting for misdemeanor convictions at 7 years even when felony convictions can be reported further back.
If my charge was dropped, do I have to disclose it to employers? It depends on the state and the stage of the hiring process. In ban-the-box states, you generally cannot be asked about criminal history on an initial application. If asked directly after a conditional offer, the ethical and legally safe answer depends on whether the record was expunged and what state law requires. When in doubt, consult an attorney before answering.
What if an expunged charge still shows up on my report? File a dispute immediately with the background check company under the FCRA. Provide documentation of the expungement order. The company has 30 days to investigate and correct the record. If the employer has already received the incorrect report, notify HR that you are in the process of correcting a reporting error and provide the court documentation directly.
Can an employer reject me based on a dismissed charge? Technically, in many states, yes — but it is not straightforward. EEOC guidance strongly discourages using non-conviction records in hiring decisions, and blanket exclusion policies based on dismissed charges have resulted in significant litigation and settlements. The employer must conduct an individualized assessment and follow the FCRA adverse action process before making a final decision.
Does a charge from another state show up on a background check? Yes. National and multi-state criminal database searches pull records from across the country. The state-specific protections that limit reporting apply to what a CRA can include in a report for a given jurisdiction — but charges filed in other states can still appear on the report under those states' rules.
Will a charge show up on a background check?
In most cases — yes. The type of charge, the outcome, your state, and the depth of the search all shape what an employer actually sees. A conviction looks different from a dismissal. A dismissal looks different from an expunged record. And what an employer can do with each one is governed by a web of federal and state laws that most people don't know exists until they need it.
The candidates who navigate this successfully are the ones who know what's on their record before anyone else does, understand their rights under the law, and come to the conversation prepared — not caught off guard.
Knowledge is the only thing that turns a complicated background check situation into a manageable one.
Don't wait until a background check surprises you or costs you an offer. S&F Background Checks delivers fast, FCRA-compliant personal background checks so you know exactly what's in your report — criminal records, charges, dispositions, and all.
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