Not legal advice. A guide to running background checks on technicians who work in customers’ homes, current as of November 2026. Federal law, state ban-the-box laws, and city ordinances overlap, and some local rules are stricter than state law. Confirm your process with an employment attorney or your background check provider.
Quick answer
You can run background checks on techs. You just have to follow two separate sets of rules: the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for how you get and use the report, and state or local fair-chance laws for when you can ask about criminal history and how you decide.
- FCRA: a standalone disclosure, written authorization, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report, a waiting period, then a final adverse action notice.
- Ban-the-box: about 15 states plus many cities bar private employers from asking about criminal history on the application. California, Hawaii, Minnesota, D.C., NYC, Chicago, LA, and Philadelphia push it to after a conditional offer.
- California and LA County require a written individualized assessment and at least five business days for the candidate to respond. LA County requires the notices by mail.
- In-home work is a legitimate factor. Fair-chance laws don’t require hiring anyone; they require a job-related, individualized decision.
On this page
- Why trade shops check, and the negligent hiring risk
- The FCRA process, step by step
- Ban-the-box: when you can ask
- California and LA County: the strictest rules
- How to do an individualized assessment
- What can’t be reported or considered
- Driving records
- Drug testing and cannabis
- Licensed trades
- Checklist
- All 50 states
- FAQ
Your techs walk into people’s homes, often with nobody else around. Customers assume you’ve checked them, and some customers ask. At the same time, the trades are short on people, and plenty of good techs have a record from years ago. A compliant process lets you do both: check every tech, and still hire the ones who’ve earned a shot.
Why trade shops check, and the negligent hiring risk
Most states recognize negligent hiring claims: if an employee harms a customer, and you knew or should have known they were a risk for that kind of harm, the business can be liable. In-home service is the textbook setting. A background check is evidence you took reasonable care.
That doesn’t mean any record disqualifies someone. The question for both negligent hiring and fair-chance laws is the same: is this record relevant to this job? A 12-year-old marijuana possession conviction says nothing about whether a plumber is safe in a home. A recent burglary or assault conviction might.
The FCRA process, step by step
When you get a background report from a third-party screening company, it’s a “consumer report” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. That includes criminal history, driving records pulled through a screening company, and employment verification. The FCRA applies in every state.
| Step | What you do | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Disclosure | Give a clear written disclosure that you may get a report for employment purposes, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure | Burying it in the application, or adding a liability waiver. This is the most-litigated FCRA mistake. |
| 2. Authorization | Get the candidate’s written authorization (can be on the disclosure form) | Running the check first and asking later |
| 3. Certification | Certify to the screening company that you’ll follow the FCRA | Usually handled in your account setup |
| 4. Pre-adverse action | Before deciding not to hire based on the report, send a notice with a copy of the report and the CFPB’s Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA | Skipping straight to rejection |
| 5. Wait | Give the candidate a reasonable time to respond or dispute; five business days is the common practice | Rejecting the same day |
| 6. Adverse action | Send a final notice with the screening company’s contact information, a statement that it didn’t make the decision, and the candidate’s right to a free copy and to dispute | Not sending one at all |
Why it matters: willful FCRA violations carry statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per person, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees, and disclosure-form class actions are common. Ten techs a year for five years with a bad form is 50 class members.
Ban-the-box: when you can ask
Ban-the-box and fair-chance laws control when a private employer can ask about criminal history or run a check. Some go further and control how you decide. Grouped by timing, per Accurate’s November 2026 map:
| When you can ask | States | Cities and counties |
|---|---|---|
| After a conditional offer | California, Hawaii, Minnesota, D.C. | Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, Montgomery County MD, Philadelphia, Portland OR, New York City, Columbia MO, Waterloo IA, Gainesville FL, Austin TX |
| After the initial interview | Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island | Prince George’s County MD, Kansas City MO, St. Louis MO, Buffalo, Rochester, Suffolk County NY, Chester County PA, Spokane |
| After the application is submitted | Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico | Westchester County NY |
| After the applicant is deemed qualified | Illinois, Maine, Vermont, Washington | Seattle |
Source: Accurate Background ban-the-box map. Employer-size thresholds vary: Maryland and New Jersey apply to employers with 15+ employees, California to 5+. Austin’s private-employer ordinance may be affected by Texas’s 2023 preemption law; check its current status. Several laws add notice and assessment requirements on top of timing.
New York goes beyond NYC’s timing rule. State law (Correction Law Article 23-A) requires evaluating eight factors before denying a job based on a conviction, and the Clean Slate Act automatically seals many older convictions.
Not on the list: Texas, Florida, Georgia, and most of the South have no private-employer ban-the-box law at the state level. The FCRA and federal discrimination law still apply.
California and LA County: the strictest rules
California Fair Chance Act
Applies to employers with five or more employees. You can’t ask about conviction history, including on the application, until after a conditional offer. If you’re considering withdrawing the offer because of a conviction:
- Do an individualized assessment of the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job.
- Send a preliminary decision notice in writing, identifying the conviction, including a copy of the report, and explaining the candidate’s right to respond.
- Wait at least five business days for a response. If the candidate disputes the record and is getting evidence, allow at least five more business days.
- Consider the response, including evidence of rehabilitation.
- Send a final decision notice with any internal appeal process and their right to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department.
The Civil Rights Department publishes sample forms for each step.
LA County Fair Chance Ordinance
Since September 3, 2024, unincorporated LA County’s ordinance adds requirements for employers with five or more employees, covering workers who perform at least two hours of work there:
- Job postings must say qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered.
- Conditional offer letters must include a notice about the criminal history review and a list of the material job duties that a conviction could affect.
- You must give the candidate a written copy of your individualized assessment.
- The initial and final notices must be mailed, even if you also email them, and the five-business-day clock starts from mailing.
The City of Los Angeles and San Francisco have their own ordinances too.
How to do an individualized assessment
Whether or not your state requires one in writing, an individualized assessment is the best defense under federal discrimination law and against negligent hiring claims. Use the three factors from the EEOC’s long-standing approach, which California also uses:
| Factor | What to ask | Trade-shop example |
|---|---|---|
| Nature and gravity of the offense | What was it? Violence, theft, fraud, or something unrelated? | Residential burglary vs. a DUI vs. drug possession |
| Time elapsed | How long since the offense and since the sentence ended? | Two years ago vs. 15 years ago with a clean record since |
| Nature of the job | What does the job involve, and what access? | Unsupervised in occupied homes, handling payments, driving a company van, access to lockout or alarm codes |
Then consider the person: work history since, training and certifications, references, rehabilitation, and anything they tell you. Write it down. A short memo per candidate, saying what you looked at and why you decided, is what holds up later.
Match the job to the record. A recent DUI is directly relevant to a job driving a company van; a decade-old theft conviction may matter more for a locksmith than for a warehouse helper. A blanket “no felonies” rule is the opposite of an individualized assessment and is the policy most likely to draw a disparate-impact claim.
What can’t be reported or considered
- Federal seven-year rule: under the FCRA, arrests that didn’t lead to conviction and other adverse non-conviction items older than seven years generally can’t be reported for jobs paying under $75,000. Convictions have no federal time limit.
- State limits: several states, including California, limit reporting of convictions older than seven years.
- California: employers can’t consider arrests that didn’t lead to conviction, diversion programs, or convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, or expunged.
- Clean Slate laws: a growing number of states, including New York, automatically seal older convictions. A sealed record shouldn’t appear on a compliant report, and in most of those states you can’t ask about it.
Driving records
If techs drive company vans, a motor vehicle record (MVR) check is usually the most job-related check you run. If you get it through a screening company, the FCRA process applies. Your commercial auto insurer may require MVRs and have its own disqualifying standards, like a recent DUI or a certain number of moving violations, which gives you a documented, job-related reason. Many employers re-run MVRs annually with authorization. If any vehicle requires a CDL, DOT drug and alcohol testing and driver qualification rules apply too.
Drug testing and cannabis
Drug testing rules vary sharply by state. A growing number of states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and others, restrict acting on positive cannabis tests or off-duty use. California’s law, effective 2024, bars discrimination based on off-duty cannabis use or tests that detect non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites, but it exempts employees in the building and construction trades. Whether a given service role counts is worth asking your attorney. Federal DOT testing for CDL drivers still applies everywhere.
Licensed trades
Some trades have background requirements built into licensing. Locksmiths in states like California and Texas, and alarm installers in many states, need state licenses or registrations that include fingerprint-based checks. Fair-chance laws generally make room for checks required by law. That doesn’t replace your own FCRA process for the screening you order yourself.
Checklist
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Background Check Rules in All 50 States (+ DC)
Every state and D.C.: when you can ask about criminal history, plus the city ordinances that apply inside states without a statewide law.
Jump to your state
Alabama No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Alaska No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Arizona No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Arkansas No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
California After Offer
California Fair Chance Act (employers with 5 or more employees): no conviction history questions until after a conditional offer.
Before withdrawing an offer: an individualized assessment, a written preliminary notice with the report, at least five business days to respond (five more if disputing), and a final notice.
Can’t consider arrests without conviction, diversion, or sealed, dismissed, or expunged convictions; convictions older than seven years generally can’t be reported.
LA County (unincorporated, since Sept. 3, 2024) adds posting language, a list of material job duties in the offer letter, a written copy of the assessment, and mailed notices. Los Angeles and San Francisco have their own ordinances.
Colorado After Application
When you can ask: after the initial application is submitted.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Connecticut After Application
When you can ask: after the initial application is submitted.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Delaware No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
District of Columbia After Offer
When you can ask: after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Florida City Law
No statewide private-employer law. Gainesville waits until after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies everywhere.
Georgia No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Hawaii After Offer
When you can ask: after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Idaho No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Illinois After Qualified
When you can ask: after the applicant is deemed qualified and notified of selection for an interview, or after a conditional offer if there’s no interview.
Chicago requires waiting until after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Indiana No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Iowa City Law
No statewide private-employer law. Waterloo waits until after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies everywhere.
Kansas No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Kentucky No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Louisiana No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Maine After Qualified
When you can ask: during an interview or after the applicant has been determined qualified.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Maryland After Interview
When you can ask: after the initial interview (employers with 15 or more employees).
Baltimore and Montgomery County require waiting until after a conditional offer; Prince George’s County until after the first interview.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Massachusetts After Interview
When you can ask: after the initial interview.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Michigan No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Michigan’s Clean Slate law automatically seals certain older convictions.
Minnesota After Offer
When you can ask: after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Mississippi No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Missouri City Laws
No statewide private-employer law. Kansas City and St. Louis wait until after the initial interview; Columbia after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies everywhere.
Montana No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Nebraska No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Nevada No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
New Hampshire No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
New Jersey After Interview
When you can ask: after the initial interview (employers with 15 or more employees).
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
New Mexico After Application
When you can ask: after the initial application is submitted.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
New York Article 23-A
Correction Law Article 23-A: before denying a job based on a conviction, evaluate eight factors, including the relationship between the offense and the job, time elapsed, and rehabilitation.
The Clean Slate Act automatically seals many older convictions.
New York City waits until after a conditional offer; Westchester County after the application; Buffalo, Rochester, and Suffolk County after the initial interview.
North Carolina No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
North Dakota No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Ohio No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Oklahoma No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Oregon After Interview
When you can ask: after the initial interview.
Portland requires waiting until after a conditional offer.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Pennsylvania City Laws
No statewide private-employer law. Philadelphia waits until after a conditional offer; Chester County after the initial interview.
Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law automatically seals certain older records. The FCRA process applies everywhere.
Rhode Island After Interview
When you can ask: after the initial interview.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
South Carolina No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
South Dakota No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Tennessee No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Texas City Law (Check)
No statewide private-employer law. Austin’s fair chance ordinance (private employers with 15 or more) may be affected by Texas’s 2023 preemption law; check its current status.
Texas Business and Commerce Code 20.05 generally limits reporting of older criminal records for jobs paying under $75,000. The FCRA process applies everywhere.
Utah No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Vermont After Qualified
When you can ask: during the initial interview or once the applicant is deemed otherwise qualified.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
Virginia No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Washington After Qualified
When you can ask: after the applicant is deemed otherwise qualified.
Seattle requires an initial screening first; Spokane waits until after the initial interview.
The FCRA process applies on top of the state rule.
West Virginia No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Wisconsin No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Wyoming No Private Law
No statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The federal FCRA process still applies to every background check you order through a screening company: standalone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse action notice with the report, a waiting period, and a final notice.
Sources: Accurate Background ban-the-box map; California Civil Rights Department; Checkr (LA County). Checked November 2026. City rules apply to jobs performed in those cities; confirm thresholds and current status.
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