A criminal record does not stop at the arrest or the charge. Every case that moves through a court eventually reaches an outcome, and that outcome, called the disposition, is what a background check is actually built around. Two people can be arrested for the exact same offense and end up with completely different results on a background check report, one convicted, one with the charge dismissed, simply because the disposition was different. Understanding what each disposition term means, and why courts and consumer reporting agencies treat them so differently, is central to reading a background check correctly.
This guide walks through the most common disposition terms, why the disposition rather than the charge determines what can legally be reported, how consumer reporting agencies confirm dispositions at the county level, and what typically goes wrong when a disposition is missing or outdated.
What “disposition” means on a criminal record
A disposition is the final resolution of a specific charge, not the case as a whole and not the arrest. A single arrest can lead to multiple charges, and each charge can carry its own disposition. Courts and state repositories use disposition codes to record that resolution, and the table below covers the terms that show up most often on a background check report.
| Disposition | What it generally means | Typical relevance to a background check |
|---|---|---|
| Convicted / guilty | The court found the person guilty, or the person pleaded guilty | Generally reportable, and federal law does not put convictions under the same reporting time limit that applies to non conviction records |
| Nolo contendere (no contest) | The person did not admit guilt but accepted the conviction and its penalties | Usually treated the same as a conviction for reporting purposes |
| Acquitted / not guilty | The court or jury found the person not guilty | A final disposition showing the charge did not result in conviction |
| Dismissed | The court ended the case, often for insufficient evidence or a procedural issue | A non conviction outcome, though it may still appear as part of the case history |
| Nolle prosequi | The prosecutor formally chose not to pursue the charge | A non conviction outcome initiated by the prosecution rather than the court |
| Deferred adjudication / diversion | Judgment is postponed while the person completes conditions such as probation or classes | Not a conviction while active; can result in dismissal or, if conditions are not met, a conviction |
| Adjudication withheld | A term used in some states, notably Florida, where the court accepts a plea but withholds formally entering a judgment of guilt | Treated as a non conviction under state law in the jurisdictions that use it, though it can still be reportable |
| Sealed | The record is restricted from most public and commercial access by court order | Generally should not appear on a standard background check once sealed |
| Expunged | The record is treated as legally erased or destroyed under state law | Generally should not appear once the expungement order is final and processed |
| Pending / warrant outstanding | The case has not reached a final resolution, or an active warrant exists | Not a final disposition; reporting rules for unresolved cases vary by state |
Two of the most misunderstood dispositions get their own detailed treatment elsewhere. If a charge in your case never went further than a filing, see Reveal Background’s guide on whether dismissed charges show up on a background check. If a case involved probation or conditions before any judgment was entered, see the guide on how deferred adjudication reports on a background check.
Why the disposition, not just the charge, determines what can be reported
Federal law treats convictions and non conviction records differently, and the distinction runs through the disposition. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, at 15 U.S.C. 1681c, generally bars a consumer reporting agency from including civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that are more than seven years old, measured from the date of entry, unless the applicable statute of limitations has not yet run. That same section carves out an exception for records of convictions of crimes, which are not subject to that seven year exclusion under federal law. In practice, this means an arrest that never led to a conviction generally drops off a background check report under the federal rule once it passes that window, while a conviction generally does not have that same federal cutoff. State law can set its own, sometimes shorter, reporting limits on top of the federal floor, so the disposition attached to a charge, not just the charge itself, determines which rule applies. Anyone comparing what should or should not appear on a specific report should check the primary statute in the relevant state rather than assume a single national rule.
This is also why an incomplete or missing disposition causes problems. A charge with no disposition on file is neither clearly a conviction nor clearly resolved in the person’s favor, and consumer reporting agencies and employers are left trying to determine which reporting rule should apply.
EEOC guidance: an arrest without a conviction is not the same as guilt
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records makes a point that lines up directly with disposition codes: an arrest, by itself, is not evidence that the underlying conduct occurred, because the person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The guidance also notes that arrest records may not reflect the final disposition of the arrest at all, meaning a report can show an arrest without ever showing whether it ended in a conviction, a dismissal, or an acquittal. Employers relying on an arrest entry that lacks a disposition are working with an incomplete picture, and the guidance directs employers away from blanket exclusions based on arrests or criminal history generally and toward an individualized assessment that looks at the nature of the offense, the time that has passed, and the relevance to the job before any decision that could disproportionately affect people in a protected group under Title VII. Employers evaluating a record with an unclear disposition may want to treat that gap as a reason to seek clarification rather than a reason to assume the worst, and should generally consult counsel on how Title VII and any applicable state fair chance law apply to a specific case.
How consumer reporting agencies verify a disposition at the county level
Most criminal case dispositions live where the case was actually filed and resolved, at the county or local courthouse, not in a single centralized national database. State repositories and the FBI’s Interstate Identification Index aggregate information reported to them by local agencies, but that reporting depends on each court and law enforcement agency sending updates promptly and accurately. A consumer reporting agency conducting a criminal record search generally has to go back to the originating court, or a source that reflects that court’s own record, to confirm the current disposition of a specific charge rather than relying only on an arrest entry from a database. This is one reason two searches run on the same person, one through a database and one through a direct court search, can show different levels of detail. It is also why disposition information can lag behind the actual outcome of a case, since the update has to move from the courtroom to the record system before it shows up anywhere else.
Common data errors: missing dispositions and FBI record gaps
Missing or outdated disposition information is one of the most consistent data quality problems in criminal history reporting. The EEOC’s enforcement guidance specifically flags that state and federal criminal history databases may be missing updated dispositions such as convictions, sealing or expungement orders, or orders sending a case into a diversion program, because the agency that took the original action did not report the update back to the repository. The same guidance also notes that records may continue to appear even after a court has ordered them sealed or expunged, because private systems do not always purge that information on the same timeline as the court order.
The FBI’s own Identity History Summary, sometimes requested by individuals to check their own record on file with the FBI, draws on the same state and local reporting chain described in the EEOC guidance above, and it can likewise contain an arrest with no final disposition attached if the reporting agency never sent an update. When that happens, the correction has to come from the same place the error did, the court or agency that holds the current disposition, with certified documentation submitted through the record challenge process the FBI makes available to the person the record concerns.
How to dispute a missing or incorrect disposition
Consumers have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, implemented through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation V, to dispute information in a background check report that they believe is inaccurate or incomplete, including a missing or wrong disposition. The consumer reporting agency that issued the report is generally required to reinvestigate a timely dispute and to correct or remove information it cannot verify. The most effective way to resolve a disposition dispute is usually to obtain a certified copy of the case disposition directly from the clerk of the court that handled it and provide that documentation to the consumer reporting agency, since the agency is verifying against the same court record. For a record that appears specifically on an FBI Identity History Summary, a separate correction request submitted to the FBI applies in addition to, not instead of, the FCRA dispute right against the consumer reporting agency.
Employers should never treat an unresolved dispute, or a record with a missing disposition, as equivalent to a conviction. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance for employers using consumer reports reminds employers that they generally must follow the notice steps built into the FCRA, including giving the applicant a chance to respond, before taking an adverse action based on anything in a report, and that a report is only one part of a fuller, individualized hiring decision.
Reading a disposition correctly, rather than reacting to a bare charge or an outdated database entry, is what keeps both applicants and employers on solid ground. Reveal Background’s screening reports are built to reflect the most current disposition information available from the originating court. Learn more at revealbackground.com.
Frequently asked questions
What does “disposition” mean on a background check?
Disposition refers to the final outcome of a specific charge, such as a conviction, dismissal, acquittal, or deferred adjudication. It is separate from the arrest itself and determines how a charge is generally treated for reporting purposes.
What is the difference between dismissed and nolle prosequi?
Both are non conviction outcomes. A dismissal is generally entered by the court, often for insufficient evidence or a procedural problem, while a nolle prosequi is the prosecutor’s own decision not to pursue the charge further. Court terminology and procedure for each can vary by state.
Does deferred adjudication count as a conviction on a background check?
While the conditions are active, deferred adjudication generally is not treated as a conviction, since judgment has not been entered. If the person completes the required conditions the case is typically dismissed, and if not, a conviction can follow. How it appears on a specific report can vary by state and by the source consulted.
Can an arrest with no conviction still appear on a background check?
It can, particularly if the arrest is recent, since federal law generally allows reporting of arrest records for up to seven years from the date of entry. The EEOC has noted that arrest records may not show the final disposition at all, which is why an arrest with no listed outcome should not be treated as proof of guilt.
What should I do if my background check shows an incorrect or missing disposition?
You can dispute the information directly with the consumer reporting agency that issued the report, and it is generally required to reinvestigate. Obtaining a certified disposition record from the court clerk that handled the case is usually the most direct way to resolve the dispute. For a record on an FBI Identity History Summary specifically, a separate correction process is available through the FBI’s own review system.
Why do some disposition errors happen in the first place?
Disposition updates have to travel from the court or agency that resolved the case to the state repository and, in some cases, to the FBI. If that update is never sent, delayed, or incomplete, a record can continue to show an arrest or an earlier status without reflecting a later dismissal, sealing, or expungement.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers and applicants should consult qualified counsel about how the FCRA, Title VII, and applicable state laws apply to a specific record or hiring decision.
