DIY background check for employers: What You Can Do In-House
TL;DR: Running your own DIY background check for employers requires careful attention to FCRA compliance, state fair-chance laws, and proper documentation. This guide walks you through the essential components you can handle internally while identifying where professional screening services deliver better risk management.
Most HR teams assume background screening must be fully outsourced or completely internal. The reality is more nuanced. You can conduct certain verification activities in-house while leveraging professional services for criminal records, credit reports, and other regulated searches that require specialized compliance infrastructure.
Understanding which screening components you can manage internally—and which require professional providers—helps you build a cost-effective program that meets your risk tolerance and regulatory requirements.
Before You Begin
Prerequisites and Legal Foundation
Before launching any DIY background check for employers, ensure your organization has established the proper legal and operational foundation. You’ll need current FCRA authorization forms, clear adverse action procedures, and documented screening policies that align with EEOC guidance on arrest and conviction records.
Review your state’s fair-chance legislation requirements. States like California, New York, and Illinois have specific timing restrictions on when you can conduct background checks and how you must handle conviction records. Your DIY approach must incorporate these state-specific requirements from the start.
Essential Stakeholders
Involve your legal team early to review authorization language, adverse action templates, and documentation procedures. Your HRIS administrator needs to understand how background check results will be recorded and stored to maintain audit trails. Brief hiring managers on what they can and cannot ask candidates during the process.
Consider appointing a single point person to manage DIY screening activities. This centralization helps ensure consistent application of your procedures and reduces compliance gaps that emerge when multiple team members handle verification activities differently.
Information and Access Requirements
Gather the candidate information you’ll need: full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and addresses for the past seven years. You’ll also need access to verification databases, court records systems, and professional licensing boards relevant to your positions.
Set up secure document storage for background check records. FCRA requires you to maintain these records separately from personnel files, with specific retention periods that vary by state.
Step-by-Step DIY Background Check Process
Step 1: Obtain Written Authorization
Start with a compliant FCRA authorization form that clearly explains what you’ll be checking and how the information will be used. The authorization must be a standalone document—not buried in your job application. Include state-specific disclosure language if required in your jurisdiction.
Sample authorization language: “I authorize [Company Name] to obtain consumer reports and investigative consumer reports about me from consumer reporting agencies. These reports may include information about my character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and criminal history.”
Document when and how you obtained authorization. Many HR teams scan signed forms directly into their HRIS to maintain clear audit trails.
Step 2: Verify Identity and Employment History
Contact previous employers directly to verify employment dates, job titles, and eligibility for rehire. Focus on factual information rather than subjective performance evaluations to reduce legal risk.
Most employers will only confirm basic information due to their own liability concerns. Prepare a standard verification script that requests: employment dates, job title, final salary (if legally permitted in your state), and rehire eligibility status.
Common mistake: Don’t rely solely on automated verification services like The Work Number. While convenient, these databases often contain incomplete information that could cause you to miss important verification gaps.
Step 3: Education Verification
Contact registrar offices directly or use National Student Clearinghouse for degree verification. Focus on confirming the highest degree claimed and any professional certifications relevant to the position.
Many universities charge small fees for official transcripts or verification letters. Budget for these costs when calculating your DIY program expenses.
Step 4: Professional License Verification
Check relevant state licensing boards for positions requiring professional credentials. Most licensing boards maintain online databases where you can verify current license status, expiration dates, and disciplinary actions.
Document your verification steps carefully. Print screenshots of license verification pages and save them with timestamps, as online databases can change or become temporarily unavailable.
Step 5: Reference Checks
Conduct structured reference interviews using consistent questions across all candidates. Focus on job-related competencies and avoid questions that could elicit protected class information.
Effective reference questions:
- “How would you describe [candidate’s] attention to detail?”
- “Can you provide an example of how they handled a challenging deadline?”
- “Would you rehire this person if the opportunity arose?”
Step 6: Documentation and Decision Making
Create a standardized evaluation form that documents your findings from each verification step. Include space for notes on any discrepancies and how they were resolved.
Establish clear decision criteria before you begin screening. Define which discrepancies constitute automatic disqualification versus those requiring individual assessment under your organization’s policies.
What You Cannot Do In-House
Criminal background checks require access to specialized databases and court records that are typically not available to employers directly. Professional screening companies maintain relationships with county courts, state repositories, and federal databases that provide more comprehensive coverage than DIY searches.
Credit reports can only be obtained through FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agencies. You cannot pull credit reports directly from credit bureaus without proper certification and compliance infrastructure.
Drug testing requires certified laboratories and proper chain of custody procedures that are impractical for most employers to manage internally.
Pro Tips from Experienced HR Teams
Streamline Your Verification Process
Create templates for employment verification requests and education confirmation letters. Many HR teams report saving 30-40% of their time by standardizing these communications rather than writing custom requests for each candidate.
Establish relationships with frequently contacted employers and schools. Some large companies offer dedicated employment verification hotlines that provide faster responses than general HR numbers.
Technology Integration
Use your ATS to track verification status and store documentation. Configure automated reminders for pending verifications to prevent candidates from falling through the cracks during busy hiring periods.
Consider tools like DocuSign for authorization forms to speed up the process while maintaining compliant documentation.
Vendor Relationships for Hybrid Approaches
Many organizations use a hybrid model: handling employment and education verification internally while outsourcing criminal checks and drug testing to professional providers. This approach can reduce costs while maintaining compliance for the most regulated screening components.
When evaluating professional screening partners for criminal checks, prioritize vendors that offer real-time ATS integration and transparent pricing over those requiring long-term contracts.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Inconsistent Application of Screening Procedures
The mistake: Conducting different levels of screening based on the hiring manager’s preferences or the candidate’s perceived suitability.
The fix: Document your screening matrix clearly, specifying exactly which positions require which verification steps. Train hiring managers that background screening procedures cannot vary based on their personal judgment about candidates.
Inadequate Record Keeping
The mistake: Storing background check documentation in personnel files or failing to maintain proper retention schedules.
The fix: Establish separate filing systems for background check records with automated retention management. Many HRIS platforms offer background screening modules specifically designed for FCRA compliance.
Delayed Adverse Action Procedures
The mistake: Moving too quickly to disqualify candidates without following proper FCRA adverse action procedures.
The fix: Build waiting periods into your screening workflow. Candidates must receive pre-adverse action notices and have time to dispute findings before you can make final decisions.
Overlooking State Fair-Chance Laws
The mistake: Conducting criminal background checks before conditional offers or failing to provide individualized assessments of conviction records.
The fix: Map your screening procedures to the most restrictive fair-chance law in any state where you hire. This ensures compliance across all locations.
Insufficient Training for Verification Activities
The mistake: Allowing untrained staff to conduct reference checks or employment verification without understanding legal boundaries.
The fix: Develop clear scripts and training materials that specify what questions can be asked during verification activities. Regular training sessions help prevent well-meaning staff from inadvertently violating fair hiring practices.
FAQ
Can I conduct criminal background checks myself through online databases?
Most public record databases available to employers provide incomplete information and lack the comprehensive coverage required for thorough screening. Professional screening companies access multiple databases and conduct direct court searches that significantly improve accuracy. While some states provide online criminal record access, building a compliant criminal screening program requires expertise in interpreting records, managing disputes, and following fair-chance legislation requirements.
How long can the DIY background check process take?
Employment and education verification typically take 3-5 business days when handled efficiently. Reference checks can be completed within 2-3 days if you reach contacts promptly. However, delays often occur when previous employers have slow verification processes or when educational institutions require formal transcript requests. Plan for 5-7 business days total for comprehensive DIY verification activities.
What happens if I find discrepancies during verification?
Contact the candidate immediately to discuss any discrepancies and provide opportunity for explanation. Many apparent discrepancies result from simple errors—incorrect dates, name changes, or misunderstandings about job titles. Document the candidate’s response and any additional verification steps you take. Only proceed with adverse action if discrepancies remain unresolved after giving candidates reasonable opportunity to clarify.
Do I need different authorization forms for each type of verification?
A single, comprehensive FCRA authorization form can cover all verification activities you plan to conduct. However, some states require specific disclosure language for certain types of checks. Review your state’s requirements and consider separate authorizations if you’re conducting significantly different types of screening (like credit checks) that require additional disclosures.
How should I handle candidates who refuse to provide verification information?
You can withdraw job offers for candidates who refuse to complete required screening steps, provided your policy clearly states that background verification is conditional for employment. Document the refusal and ensure your decision is consistent with how you’ve handled similar situations. Some candidates may have legitimate concerns about providing certain information, so consider whether alternative verification methods might be appropriate.
Conclusion
A well-structured DIY background check for employers can effectively handle employment verification, education confirmation, and reference checks while maintaining FCRA compliance. The key is understanding your limitations and partnering with professional services for criminal records, credit checks, and other regulated screening components that require specialized infrastructure.
Your hybrid approach should prioritize compliance over cost savings. While DIY verification can reduce screening expenses, the potential legal and reputational costs of compliance failures far outweigh any savings from cutting corners on professional services where they’re truly needed.
BackgroundChecker.com helps HR teams run FCRA-compliant background checks with fast turnaround, ATS integration, and transparent per-check pricing. Whether you’re screening 10 hires or 10,000, our platform scales with your program while handling the complex compliance requirements that make DIY criminal screening impractical for most organizations. Request a demo to see how professional screening services can complement your in-house verification activities.
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This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel for compliance guidance specific to your organization.
