Employers in North Dakota who run background checks on applicants or employees are working under two layers of law. The first is the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which applies the same way in North Dakota as it does everywhere else. The second is a thin layer of state law that covers how the state’s own criminal history records are sealed, who can request a fingerprint based criminal history record check, and what a handful of licensing boards require. North Dakota has not passed a broad ban the box law, a statewide credit check restriction, or a comprehensive state fair chance act for private employers. Where the state has simply not legislated, this guide says so rather than guessing.
The federal baseline every North Dakota employer starts from
Any employer that orders a background check through a consumer reporting agency, including Reveal Background, is using a “consumer report” as defined by the FCRA. That triggers a specific sequence of duties under 15 U.S.C. 1681b, the permissible purpose and procedural section of the statute:
- A clear, standalone written disclosure to the applicant that a background check may be obtained, separate from the job application itself.
- Written authorization from the applicant before the report is requested.
- If the employer is thinking about not hiring, or about taking any other adverse action, based on the report, a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the report and a copy of the Summary of Rights, given before the decision is final.
- After the decision, a final adverse action notice that identifies the consumer reporting agency and tells the applicant how to dispute the report and get a free copy.
15 U.S.C. 1681c limits how far back a report can generally go. Nonconviction information such as arrests that did not lead to a conviction, civil suits, and most other adverse items generally cannot be reported past seven years. Convictions have no federal reporting time limit, although some states cap how far back a private employer may ask about convictions. North Dakota has not enacted its own lookback statute, so the federal seven year rule for nonconviction records is the operative limit for most reports here. 15 U.S.C. 1681k also requires that when a consumer reporting agency furnishes public record information for employment purposes, such as court records, it must either notify the applicant at the time or maintain procedures to ensure the information is complete and up to date.
A background check report “typically reports” what is in available public and consumer records at the time it is run. It does not show every record that exists in every state, and it is not a promise that nothing relevant is missing. Employers should treat every report as a snapshot, not a certified judicial record.
What makes North Dakota different: BCI, not the background check itself
North Dakota’s Attorney General draws a clean line between two different things that both get called a “background check,” and employers benefit from understanding the difference. A private employer’s background check, whether run in house or through a consumer reporting agency, is a search of public records such as court filings and sex offender registries, matched by name and date of birth. The North Dakota Attorney General’s page distinguishing background checks from criminal history record checks states plainly that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, or BCI, is prohibited from verifying information found in a private background check, and that only BCI can issue an official North Dakota Criminal History Record Check, which cross references fingerprints, social security number, and other identifiers against confidential law enforcement databases.
Access to that fingerprint based BCI check is not open to every employer. Under N.D.C.C. 12-60-24, the bureau provides statewide and nationwide fingerprint based criminal history results only to a defined list of requesters, including city and county governments for certain occupations, the education standards and practices board for teacher licensure, the North Dakota board of medicine, the private investigative and security board, and the department of health and human services for foster care and adoption matters. A general private sector employer, such as a retailer, manufacturer, or office employer, is generally not on that list and will instead rely on a consumer reporting agency’s name based search, subject to the FCRA process above, unless a specific licensing statute directs otherwise. Employers hiring for a role that is tied to a state license, such as nursing, teaching, or private security, should check that board’s own fingerprinting rule rather than assume the general FCRA process covers it.
Sealing of criminal records in North Dakota
North Dakota does allow people to petition a court to seal certain criminal records, but the process is narrower than a blanket expungement and it does not reach BCI’s own criminal history record. Under N.D.C.C. chapter 12-60.1, an individual may petition to seal a record if they pled guilty to or were found guilty of a misdemeanor and have not been convicted of a new crime for at least three years, or a felony with at least five years free of a new conviction, or if they received an unconditional pardon from the governor. The court weighs factors including the severity of the offense, the person’s rehabilitation, and the views of prosecutors, law enforcement, and victims before granting the petition, and certain violent felony offenses and offenses requiring sex offender registration under N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-15 are excluded.
Even when a court record is sealed, the Attorney General’s own guidance on expunging a criminal record is direct about the limits: court records and BCI criminal history records are maintained in two separate systems, and sealing or expunging the court file does not remove the conviction from the individual’s BCI criminal history record. A conviction generally continues to show on that record regardless of how much time has passed. Employers relying on a third party consumer report, rather than a BCI record, should still expect sealed records to be withheld from the report consistent with normal public record search practice, but they should not assume a sealed case is erased from every government database.
Ban the box, drug testing, and other employer questions in North Dakota
North Dakota has not adopted a statewide ban the box or fair chance hiring law that restricts when a private employer may ask about criminal history on a job application. Some cities and counties around the country have passed their own ordinances on this topic, so employers with multistate operations should still check local rules in every jurisdiction where they hire, but no such statewide statute exists on the books in North Dakota today.
North Dakota does regulate one piece of pre-employment medical and drug testing: under N.D.C.C. 34-01-15, when an employer requires an applicant or employee to take a medical examination, which the statute defines to include any test for the presence of drugs or alcohol, as a condition of getting or keeping the job, the employer must pay for that examination. An employer that requires the test but shifts the cost to the applicant is committing an infraction under state law. The statute does not set rules for when testing may occur or what substances may be screened, so those decisions, along with any medical review officer process for verifying a positive result against a valid prescription, are left to the employer’s own policy.
North Dakota professional licensing boards, such as those for nursing, real estate, insurance, and private security, generally set their own criminal history disclosure and fingerprinting requirements as a condition of licensure. Employers hiring into a licensed role should confirm the current rule with that specific board rather than assume the general employment background check rules above apply to the license itself.
ADA, EEOC guidance, and medical or disability information
Federal disability law also shapes what a North Dakota employer may ask and when. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers generally may not ask disability related questions or require a medical examination before making a conditional job offer, and may do so afterward only if the inquiry is job related for all entering employees in that position. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rescinded its 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records in late October 2026, and that document is no longer current agency guidance. Employers should not rely on it and should instead review the EEOC’s current Title VII materials. Title VII still generally prohibits an employer from using criminal history in a way that has a disproportionate effect on a protected class without a job related, business necessity justification, and the EEOC’s Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 page and its prohibited employment policies and practices page remain the agency’s current public statements on how race, national origin, and other protected categories interact with hiring screens. North Dakota employers that build criminal history screening into a hiring matrix should generally tie each exclusion to the specific duties of the job rather than apply a blanket rule, and should talk to counsel about how that matrix is documented.
North Dakota rules at a glance
| Topic | North Dakota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide ban the box for private employers | No statewide statute found; check any local ordinance separately | No N.D.C.C. provision identified |
| Lookback limit on nonconviction records | No separate state lookback statute; federal seven year FCRA limit applies | 15 U.S.C. 1681c |
| Sealing of criminal records | Court petition after 3 years clean (misdemeanor) or 5 years clean (felony), or gubernatorial pardon; does not remove the BCI criminal history record | N.D.C.C. ch. 12-60.1 |
| Fingerprint based BCI criminal history check | Available only to the specific agencies, officials, and licensing boards listed in statute, not general private employers | N.D.C.C. 12-60-24 |
| Drug and alcohol testing as a condition of employment | Employer must pay the cost of any required test; no statewide rule on timing or substances tested | N.D.C.C. 34-01-15 |
A practical compliance checklist
| Step | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Standalone disclosure | Separate document, not buried in the job application, telling the applicant a report may be obtained |
| Written authorization | Signed before the report is ordered |
| Know your data source | A consumer report is a name based public record search, not an official BCI fingerprint check, unless your role falls under a specific licensing statute |
| Pre-adverse action notice | Copy of the report and the Summary of Rights, sent before the decision is final |
| Individualized assessment | Tie any criminal history exclusion to the duties of the specific job rather than a blanket rule |
| Final adverse action notice | Identify the reporting agency and explain dispute and free copy rights |
Frequently asked questions
Can a North Dakota employer get a fingerprint based BCI criminal history check on any applicant?
Generally no. Under N.D.C.C. 12-60-24, BCI provides statewide and nationwide fingerprint based results only to the specific agencies, officials, and licensing boards named in the statute, such as certain city or county positions and specific professional boards. Most private employers use a name based consumer report through a reporting agency instead, and that process runs through the FCRA rather than through BCI directly.
Does North Dakota have a ban the box law for private employers?
North Dakota has not enacted a statewide ban the box or fair chance hiring statute covering private employers as of this writing. Employers should still check whether any city or county where they hire has adopted its own local ordinance.
If a North Dakota court seals someone’s record, will it still show on a background check?
It generally will not appear in the court record a public record search relies on once sealed under N.D.C.C. chapter 12-60.1, but sealing the court file does not remove the conviction from BCI’s separate criminal history record, according to the Attorney General’s own guidance. The two systems are maintained separately.
Who pays for a required drug test in North Dakota?
The employer does. N.D.C.C. 34-01-15 requires an employer that requires a medical examination, defined to include drug and alcohol testing, as a condition of employment to bear the cost. Shifting that cost to the applicant or employee is an infraction under state law.
Is the EEOC’s 2012 arrest and conviction guidance still something North Dakota employers should follow?
No. The EEOC rescinded that 2012 enforcement guidance in late October 2026. Employers should rely on the agency’s current Title VII materials rather than that withdrawn document, and should still avoid criminal history screens that disproportionately exclude a protected class without a job related justification.
How far back can a North Dakota background check go?
North Dakota has not set its own lookback period, so the federal FCRA limit controls for most nonconviction information, which generally cannot be reported past seven years. Convictions carry no federal time limit, though employers should still apply any exclusion in a way tied to the job rather than an automatic blanket rule.
North Dakota employers who want state specific guidance on sealing petitions, BCI access, or how a particular licensing board handles fingerprinting should speak with North Dakota counsel. Readers who want to understand how sealed and expunged records are treated more broadly can see Sealed vs Expunged Records: What Each Hides From a Background Check, and employers evaluating their own hiring timeline can see Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Laws: An Employer Guide. For FCRA compliant screening built for employers, visit Reveal Background.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers should consult qualified counsel about how these laws apply to their specific hiring practices.
