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Employment background check laws by state
What each state adds to the federal FCRA when an employer runs a background check: fair-chance hiring, how far back a report can go, credit checks and city rules. Pick your state; every line links to the law.
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to every employer that buys a background check from a screening company: a written disclosure, the person's signed consent, and a pre-adverse action notice and waiting period before a final decision based on the report. Many states and cities add their own rules on top.
The most common are fair-chance (ban-the-box) laws that move criminal history questions until after a conditional offer, limits on how far back a report may go, and limits on using credit reports. Health care and care employers often have their own state check rules too. Each state page lists them, with the statute for every line and a link to the official source. It is a summary, not legal advice.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
This page summarizes state law in plain words, with links to the law itself. It is not legal advice, and laws change: check the linked source, and talk to a lawyer about your own policy. Federal DOT testing rules are separate and override state limits for DOT-covered jobs. Checked October 2026.