Anyone who has watched a background check move through a screening platform has seen the status field change a few times before a final result appears. Applicants refresh the page wondering what “in progress” means for their start date, and employers open a dashboard full of unfamiliar labels like “consider” or “needs review” and are not sure what they are allowed to do next. The statuses are not arbitrary. Each one reflects a specific stage in how a consumer reporting agency orders, verifies, and compiles the searches that make up a background check, and one status in particular, usually labeled consider or needs review, triggers legal obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that an employer cannot skip.
This guide walks through the statuses most applicants and employers see on a screening platform, why some searches take longer to move than others, and what the FCRA actually requires when a report comes back with something that needs a closer look.
Common background check statuses explained
Screening platforms use their own labels, so wording varies by provider, but most statuses map to a small set of underlying stages. The table below groups the terms that show up most often.
| Status | What it generally means | Why it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Pending / In progress | The order has been placed and one or more searches are still running | Court, verification, or database queries have not all returned results yet |
| Needs review / Consider | A search returned information the employer has to look at individually before deciding anything | A criminal record, discrepancy, or other reportable item came back on the report |
| Clear / Complete | All ordered searches finished and returned nothing that requires further action | Every search resolved with no reportable records or no discrepancies |
| Cancelled | The order was stopped before it finished | The applicant withdrew, the employer closed the requisition, or the order was placed in error |
| Dispute | The applicant has formally challenged the accuracy of information in the report | The consumer reporting agency is reinvestigating under FCRA dispute procedures |
Pending and in progress
A background check is rarely a single lookup. A standard report can bundle an identity or Social Security number trace, one or more county or statewide criminal record searches, a search of national criminal record databases, employment and education verification, and sometimes a motor vehicle record or professional license check. Each of those is its own inquiry with its own turnaround, and the overall order stays in a pending or in progress state until every component search reports back.
Some of these searches are close to instant because they query electronic databases. Others depend on outside parties, county courthouses that process requests manually, former employers or schools that have to locate and confirm records, or state agencies that maintain licensing files. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance for employers on background checks explains that a background check can include reports from courts, licensing agencies, employers, and other sources, and that the amount of information available and how it is collected varies by jurisdiction and search type. That variation is the main reason a report might sit in progress even after most of its components have cleared.
Consider, needs review, and what the FCRA requires next
A status of consider or needs review means the consumer reporting agency found something, typically a criminal record, that the employer has to evaluate rather than act on automatically. This is where FCRA compliance becomes specific and sequential, and it is also where employers face the most risk if a step is skipped or rushed.
Under the FCRA, an employer that is thinking about taking an adverse action, not hiring, not promoting, or terminating someone, based wholly or partly on a consumer report must follow a two step notice process before the decision is final. The statute’s permissible purpose and disclosure provisions, codified at 15 U.S.C. 1681b, require that before taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on the report, the employer provide the applicant with a copy of the report and a description in writing of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA. This is commonly called the pre-adverse action notice, and it has to happen before the decision is finalized, not after.
After a waiting period that gives the applicant a real chance to respond, dispute inaccurate information, or provide context, the employer that still intends to move forward with the adverse action has separate duties under 15 U.S.C. 1681m, which covers notices required of users of consumer reports. That section requires the employer to notify the applicant that the action was taken, provide the name, address, and phone number of the reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain the reason for it, and tell the applicant they have the right to a free report from that agency and the right to dispute the accuracy of the information.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records adds a separate layer for criminal record findings. Under Title VII, an employer generally should not apply a blanket policy that automatically screens out anyone with any type of criminal record. The guidance directs employers toward an individualized assessment that looks at the nature and gravity of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job, before deciding whether the record is actually job related and consistent with business necessity. That assessment is exactly what a consider or needs review status is meant to trigger. It is a flag to slow down and evaluate, not a denial.
Clear, complete, cancelled, and dispute statuses
A clear or complete status means every search that was ordered has returned and nothing came back that requires the employer to take the FCRA notice steps described above. It does not mean the applicant has no history anywhere; it means the specific searches that were run did not surface a reportable issue within the scope of that order.
A cancelled status usually reflects something outside the report itself, an applicant who withdrew from the process, a position that was closed, or an order that was placed against the wrong requisition. A dispute status appears after an applicant contacts the consumer reporting agency to challenge something on the report as inaccurate or incomplete. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s model summary of consumer rights, published as Appendix K to Regulation V, describes this right directly: consumers may dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the reporting agency, and the agency generally must investigate unless the dispute is frivolous. While that reinvestigation is open, the order will typically sit in a dispute or pending status rather than closing with a final result.
Why searches like county court and employment verification add time
Two categories of searches are the most common reason a report stays in progress longer than others: county criminal record research and employment or education verification. County courts vary widely in how they make records available, some offer real time electronic access, others require an in person or mailed request, and staffing at the courthouse can affect how quickly a request is processed. Employment and education verification depends on a third party, a former employer’s human resources department or a school’s records office, actually responding to a request, which is outside the control of both the applicant and the screening platform. Neither of these delays reflects a problem with the applicant; they reflect how records are actually stored and released across different courts, schools, and employers nationwide.
What applicants can do while a check is pending or under review
Applicants have specific rights during this process, and they do not have to wait passively. Before a report is even ordered, the employer is required to provide a clear, standalone disclosure and get written authorization, so an applicant should already know a background check is happening and have agreed to it. If a status changes to consider or needs review, the applicant is entitled under the FCRA to receive a copy of the report and the summary of consumer rights before any final decision is made, and to use that window to point out errors or provide context. If something in the report looks wrong, the applicant can file a dispute directly with the consumer reporting agency that produced the report; the agency is required to reinvestigate and correct or remove information it cannot verify. Applicants should keep records of what they submitted and when, since a dispute can take time to resolve and having documentation helps if delays or errors continue.
For employers, the practical takeaway is that a status of consider is a compliance checkpoint, not a shortcut to a decision. Following the pre-adverse action, waiting period, and adverse action sequence correctly, and documenting the individualized assessment behind any decision tied to a criminal record, is what keeps a hiring process defensible. Employers building or refining that workflow can find the step by step notice requirements laid out in Reveal Background’s guide to the FCRA adverse action process, and a broader look at why some orders move faster than others in the guide to how long an employment background check takes.
Reveal Background’s screening platform is built around these same status categories so employers and applicants can see exactly where an order stands. You can learn more at revealbackground.com.
Frequently asked questions
Does a consider or needs review status mean I was not hired?
No. It means a search returned information that the employer has to evaluate individually before making any decision. Under the FCRA, the employer must send a pre-adverse action notice and give the applicant a chance to respond before finalizing anything.
Why is my background check still pending when other candidates already have results?
Different reports include different searches, and some searches depend on outside sources like county courts or former employers responding to a request. Two reports ordered the same day can finish at different points depending on which jurisdictions and verifications are involved.
What is the difference between a pending status and a cancelled status?
Pending means the order is still actively running searches. Cancelled means the order was stopped before completion, often because the applicant withdrew, the position closed, or the order was placed in error.
Can an employer deny me automatically because my status shows a criminal record?
Federal guidance from the EEOC advises against a blanket policy that screens out every applicant with any record. Employers are generally directed toward an individualized assessment of the offense, how much time has passed, and its relationship to the job before deciding whether to move forward with an adverse action.
What can I do if my report shows incorrect information?
You can dispute the information directly with the consumer reporting agency that issued the report. The agency is generally required to reinvestigate the disputed item and correct or remove anything it cannot verify.
Am I entitled to see my background check report?
Yes. If an employer is considering an adverse action based on the report, the FCRA requires the employer to give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before the decision is final.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers and applicants should consult qualified counsel about how the FCRA and related laws apply to a specific situation.
