Yes, an arrest can show up on an employment background check, but federal law limits how old that arrest record can be before a consumer reporting agency has to leave it off. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a record of arrest generally cannot be reported if it is more than seven years old, or older than the statute of limitations for the offense, whichever period is longer, unless the position pays $75,000 or more a year. Convictions work differently: federal law puts no time limit on reporting a conviction, though some states set their own shorter limits. Pending charges and dismissed cases are treated as arrest records, not convictions, and none of these on their own can lawfully decide a hiring outcome without an individualized look at the facts.
Search interest in “do arrests show up on background checks” usually comes from two directions: an applicant who was arrested but never convicted and wants to know what a future employer will see, or an employer trying to figure out what a criminal background check can legally return. Both audiences run into the same four categories: convictions, arrests, dismissed or non-conviction cases, and pending charges. Each is treated differently under the FCRA, and this guide covers the distinction category by category, verified against the statute text.
Four categories, four different rules
Employers and applicants often use “arrest” and “conviction” interchangeably, but the FCRA does not. A conviction means a court found the person guilty or the person pleaded guilty or no contest. An arrest, by itself, means law enforcement took someone into custody, with no finding of guilt attached. A dismissed charge means an arrest was made but the case was closed without a conviction. A pending charge means the case has not yet been resolved. The reporting rules below track those categories, not the loose way the terms get used in everyday conversation.
The FCRA seven-year rule for arrest records
The FCRA’s core restriction on older information is at 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2), which excludes from a consumer report “civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that, from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.” Two things about that wording matter for employers and applicants alike. First, it is a floor of seven years, not a flat seven years in every case; if the statute of limitations for the underlying offense runs longer than seven years, the arrest record can still be reportable until that longer period passes. Second, this limit applies to “records of arrest,” a category the statute treats separately from convictions.
That seven-year (or longer) limit is not absolute. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)(3), the restrictions in subsection (a) do not apply when the consumer report will be used for “the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more.” For a position that clears that salary threshold, an arrest record outside the normal window can still appear on the report.
Why conviction records are different
Convictions are carved out of the FCRA’s general seven-year limit on adverse information. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5), the restriction on reporting “any other adverse item of information” older than seven years applies to everything except “records of convictions of crimes.” In plain terms, federal law does not put a maximum age on how far back a conviction can be reported. An employment background check can surface a decades-old conviction and still be within FCRA bounds at the federal level.
State law is where that federal position gets narrower. A number of states impose their own limits on how far back a conviction can be reported, separate from the federal rule. California is a useful example: under the state’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, Civil Code 1786.18, records of conviction generally cannot be reported if they are more than seven years old, measured “from the date of disposition, release, or parole.” That is a meaningfully different standard than the federal no-limit rule for convictions, and it is state law, not the FCRA, that creates it. Because state rules vary this much, and change over time, our companion post on the background check seven year rule by state is the place to check a specific state’s lookback period rather than relying on the federal baseline alone.
Do dismissed charges show up on a background check?
A charge that was dismissed, resulted in an acquittal, or otherwise did not end in a conviction is not a “record of conviction.” Under the FCRA’s own categories, it falls back into the arrest and adverse-information rules at 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2), meaning it is generally subject to the same seven-year-or-statute-of-limitations limit as any other arrest record rather than being reportable without a time limit the way a conviction is. Several states go further than the federal floor and place additional restrictions on reporting arrests or charges that did not lead to a conviction, regardless of how old the record is, which is another reason to confirm the specific state rule rather than assume the federal minimum is the only limit in play.
Do pending charges show up on a background check?
A pending charge is a case that has been filed but not yet resolved. There is no separate FCRA category for “pending”; a pending charge is, by definition, not yet a conviction, so it is treated as a record of arrest under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2) and is subject to the same reporting limits as any other arrest. A pending charge appearing on a report is not evidence of guilt, and it should be treated by the employer with the same individualized care described below rather than as a settled fact about the applicant.
Arrest, conviction, dismissed, and pending: a quick comparison
| Record type | Reportable under federal law | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Conviction | Yes, generally with no federal age limit; state limits may apply | 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5) |
| Arrest, no conviction yet | Yes, but generally not once it is more than 7 years old or the statute of limitations has expired, whichever is longer, unless the salary exception applies | 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2), 1681c(b)(3) |
| Dismissed charge or arrest with no conviction | Treated as an arrest record under the same 7-year or statute-of-limitations rule; some states restrict further | 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2); state law varies |
| Pending charge | Treated as an arrest record since no conviction has been entered yet | 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2) |
| Position paying $75,000+ annually | Salary exception removes the age restrictions above | 15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)(3) |
An arrest or charge alone does not decide the outcome
Being legally allowed to report a record is not the same as being allowed to act on it without further thought. The EEOC’s enforcement guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions is direct on this point: “the fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred.” An employer that screens for arrest-related conduct is expected to look past the bare fact of the arrest and consider the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job, then give the individual a chance for an individualized assessment before finalizing a decision. That standard applies with even more force to a pending charge, where no court has reached a conclusion at all.
This is why criminal history results from a national criminal search or a county-level search are reported as information for human review, not as an automatic disqualifier. Reveal’s screening reports are built to give hiring teams the underlying record, not a pass or fail verdict, because the decision about what a record means for a specific job has to be made by the employer, individually, for that candidate.
How the adverse action process protects applicants
When an arrest, conviction, or pending charge on a report leads an employer toward a negative decision, the FCRA requires a specific sequence before that decision becomes final. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681b(b)(3), before taking adverse action based on a consumer report, the employer must provide the applicant with a copy of the report and a written description of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA, commonly delivered as the Summary of Rights. Employers then allow a reasonable period of time before sending a final adverse action notice, which gives the applicant an opportunity to review the report, flag an error, or provide context before the decision is finalized. Our full walkthrough of the FCRA adverse action process steps for employers covers each stage of that sequence in more detail, including what the pre-adverse and final notices need to contain.
For applicants, this process is the practical protection against a report being misread. A pending charge, a dismissed case, or an old arrest record showing up on a check is not the end of the conversation; it is the point where the individualized review and, if needed, the dispute process are supposed to begin. Employers building a compliant program around this sequence can review Reveal’s pricing page to see how screening packages are structured to support that workflow from initial report through adverse action.
Frequently asked questions
Do arrests show up on background checks?
Arrests can show up on an employment background check, but the FCRA limits how old an arrest record can be before a consumer reporting agency must stop including it. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2), a record of arrest cannot be reported if it is more than seven years old, or older than the statute of limitations for the underlying offense, whichever period is longer, unless the job pays $75,000 or more a year or the report is used for another exempted purpose listed in the statute.
Do convictions expire on background checks the way arrests do?
No. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(5), the FCRA’s seven-year limit on adverse items of information specifically excludes records of convictions, so federal law places no time limit on how far back a conviction can be reported. Some states set their own, shorter limits on conviction reporting; California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, for example, generally limits reportable conviction information to seven years from the date of disposition, release, or parole. Our guide to the background check seven year rule by state has the full state-by-state picture.
Does a dismissed charge show up on a background check?
A charge that was dismissed or did not result in a conviction is treated as a record of arrest, not a conviction, under federal law, so it falls under the same seven-year-or-statute-of-limitations rule in 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2) rather than being reportable without a time limit the way a conviction is. Several states impose additional restrictions on reporting arrests that did not lead to a conviction, regardless of age.
Do pending charges show up on a background check?
A pending charge, meaning an arrest that has not yet resulted in a conviction, is generally treated as a record of arrest under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2) and is subject to the same reporting limits as any other arrest record. A pending charge is not a finding of guilt, and EEOC guidance is clear that an arrest alone does not establish that criminal conduct occurred.
Can an employer reject a candidate just because of an arrest record?
An arrest record alone should not be treated as proof of misconduct. EEOC guidance states that the fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred, and recommends that employers who screen for conduct related to an arrest consider the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job, and give the individual an opportunity for an individualized assessment before making a final decision.
What happens before an employer can act on a background check finding?
Before taking adverse action based on a background check, an employer must provide the applicant with a copy of the consumer report and a written description of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA, then allow a reasonable period of time before sending a final adverse action notice, under 15 U.S.C. 1681b(b)(3). Our step-by-step guide to the FCRA adverse action process walks through each part of that sequence.
Related Reading
This article is general information, not legal advice. FCRA reporting rules and state law limits on arrest and conviction records vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your own counsel before making a hiring decision based on a background check.
