What Is Included in a Background Check?

Evelyn Sanderson - November 5, 2025

Background checks are an important part of the pre-employment process for every firm. When applying for a job, it’s important for you to understand the information that a background check shows, how it’s interpreted, and why it’s a good idea to run a background check on yourself before an interview.

In this guide, we’ll explore what is included in a background check, including a standard check that almost all companies will perform, as well as specialized searches for more niche roles. We’ll also show you how you can see your own background check report so you’re prepared for any questions in the interview process.

What Is Included in a Background Check? The Fundamentals of a Background Check

Every background check, regardless of company or position, will go through three main areas of verification. Each of these is designed to confirm your profile on the surface using the information provided in your resume. Most background checks take a few minutes to complete, but some can take up to several weeks, depending on the depth and specialization. 

Verifying Your ID

The first part is making sure your identity lines up with what you’ve stated in your documentation. This is done primarily through a trace of your Social Security number (SSN). The trace shows employers where you’ve lived before and your identity.

Note that if you’ve had other names used as your identity before, these will be covered in the identity verification. It also covers your past residences in other cities or states, along with the periods of time you spent in those locations. 

All of these records are checked to make sure the company is legally compliant and has a complete understanding of your profile. Your employer may also view your linked social media accounts (if public) for any red flags.

Going Through Your Employment History

Next, the company will look at your employment history in detail. This check goes through the start and end dates of your engagements with past employers, along with the roles that you had while you were with them. Often, the hiring personnel will use this part of the check to contact your provided references for more information on your work ethic, accolades, and roles performed.

If you haven’t provided a reason for your separation with a certain firm on your resume, this may also be inquired about by the hiring staff from your references. Understanding why you left your previous jobs helps companies assess your eligibility and compatibility in the new firm.

Checking Your Educational Credentials

Lastly, the background check goes through your educational history. Here, it’ll confirm the type of degree, certificate, or diploma you’ve completed. The company may also get in contact with the institution that provided these credentials to check your attendance and graduation dates, making sure they align with what you’ve provided them.

Verifying your academic history is important for the company to ascertain whether you’re qualified for the job they’re offering. This is especially important if your future role requires a certain license or degree in order for you to perform it from a legal standpoint.

Safety Assessments in a Background Check

Safety assessments often include checking criminal records, which is one of the most important parts of a background check.

If your position involves interactions with the public, access to sensitive company assets or data, or responsibility for the workplace’s safety, this part is all the more important. The company needs to make sure that you have a verifiable history of good conduct and behavior. However, the safety assessment as a whole looks at more than just the criminal history.

Criminal History

Your criminal history search goes through a few different databases. To make sure they’re compliant, companies will search three main areas for matches. The first is the state and county court level, often considered the “gold standard” for criminal data. 

Since the company already knows (from the SSN trace) where you’ve lived, it can now search all relevant jurisdictions for those locations. Any felony or misdemeanor convictions matched to your ID will show up in this part of the search, along with any pending charges.

The screening also goes through the national criminal database on its search, which pulls information from a wide array of sources. These include sex offender registries, prison records, and some county data that might be difficult to access manually. 

Keep in mind that this data can be outdated, so firms never rely on it alone. If a match is found, it’ll be double-checked with another search to make sure it’s valid. The final area of search is in federal records (district courts). 

Though most crimes are at the state level, offenses like bank fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking across state lines, or ID theft are all prosecuted at the federal level. These records are kept separately in US District Courts, which means they won’t show up in state or county searches, so it’s important for firms to look for them manually.

Motor Vehicle Records

If your new job requires you to drive a company vehicle, drive clients, or use your personal vehicle for a significant amount of company business, the firm will run a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) check on you as well. This is mandatory for the roles described above and is designed to check for:

• A valid driver’s license that isn’t suspended or revoked.
• Details on speeding tickets, reckless driving, and accident history.
• Records of DUIs (driving under the influence) and other serious incidents.

Specialized Background Checks

Any job where you’re going to be responsible for a large amount of money, public health and safety, or sensitive corporate governance will require you to undergo a specialized background check. The depth of these checks is a lot higher than the ones we discussed above, owing to the nature of the work you’ll be doing.

Professional Licenses and Certifications

If the position in question requires you to have a specialized degree of knowledge (like in medicine, law, financial advising, etc.), the company has to verify your professional status before hiring you.

The hiring firm will reach out to the relevant state or national licensing boards (like the State Bar Association or the Medical Board) to check whether your license is current, active, and authorized for practice. They may also search the disciplinary history for any instances of misconduct, suspensions, or revocation. 

Credit Reports

When applying for a CFO, bank teller, or any executive role that handles large budgets, your credit history will be checked. Considering the large sums of money involved, the company has to make sure it’s protecting itself and its customers.

The report will look at your patterns of financial behavior. The key factor for success is stability, which shows you’re good with money and implies less risk of theft or fraud. Bankruptcies, outstanding tax liens, and collection accounts are all evaluated here.

Drug and Health Screening

A number of different roles require drug and health testing to be done before employment, largely to protect public safety as well as company assets (vehicles, equipment, etc.). You’ll see drug tests most commonly run in federal agencies like transportation, or in manufacturing, construction, and healthcare.

Health screenings are especially important for physically demanding jobs, such as firefighters, pilots, and heavy equipment operators. The test makes sure you’re physically able to perform the job safely. For employers, it’s important to make sure the screenings follow the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to be compliant.

Using a Background Check Tool on Yourself

One of the best ways to know what’s included in a background check is to try running one on yourself. This will help you make sure you only see information relevant to your profile, from which you can pick the areas that employers are most likely to ask you about.

To run the background check, you’ll need a reliable background search tool like Information.com. Visit our background check search tool and enter your name, address, or phone number to get an exact match. When you’re ready, hit “Search.”

The tool will pull up a list of matches. Your profile will likely be the first result in the list, along with a button that says “Open Report.” Click on this button, and you’ll see all publicly available information about yourself organized in a detailed report.

Browse through this report carefully, and make sure you spot any outdated information and update everything that you can from your end to prevent employers from seeing the same thing when they run their screening.

By running this check, you can best prepare yourself to respond to any questions the interviewers may have regarding your professional, educational, or criminal background (if applicable).

Now You Know What Is Included in a Background Check

Background checks can be quite intimidating, especially when applying for a job that requires a specialized check. The uncertainty regarding what exactly will show up for the employers can be unnerving. However, as we discussed, not every job requires in-depth background checks for employment.

Most checks are done purely to verify your profile and accolades, making sure you’re fit to perform the job you’re applying for. To be even more certain and prepare yourself for all possible interview questions, it’s also a good idea to run a background check on yourself using the steps we outlined earlier.