Background Check Errors: What to Do When a Report Costs You a Job

A background check error is a mistake on the consumer report an employer, landlord or bank buys about you — a criminal record that belongs to someone else, a conviction that was expunged years ago, a job you did hold reported as one you did not, or a record duplicated so that one offense looks like three.

You usually find out at the point it costs you something. The offer is withdrawn, the apartment goes to someone else, and nobody explains why.

The most important thing to know first

If an employer is going to reject you because of a background check, federal law requires them to tell you before they do it. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act they must send you a copy of the report and a written summary of your rights, and then wait a reasonable period before making the decision final. The statute does not fix a number of days; five business days is commonly treated as reasonable.

That waiting period exists for one reason: so you can point out that the report is wrong before the job is gone. It is the single most useful window you will get, and most people spend it waiting rather than disputing. If you have received a letter enclosing a background report, act that week.

How often do background check errors happen?

In the twelve months to 30 June 2026, consumers filed 20,331 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about reports in the category the agency uses for consumer reports other than ordinary credit files — background screening, employment screening and tenant screening. Pennsylvania accounted for 1,739 of them and New Jersey for 1,117.

Half of those complaints, 10,182, said the information was simply incorrect. A further 5,159 concerned improper use of the report, and 4,452 concerned the investigation that was supposed to fix it.

What happened next is the part worth knowing. Around 26 percent ended with the entry corrected or removed. Roughly 71 percent ended with an explanation and nothing else. Twenty-nine ended with money changing hands.

Which companies the complaints name

The three nationwide credit bureaus appear first, because they also sell non-credit consumer reports: TransUnion with 4,918 complaints, Experian with 4,329 and Equifax with 3,837. Below them sit the screening companies most people have never heard of until one of them costs them a job.

• LexisNexis — 1,269
• Fidelity National Information Services — 771
• Early Warning Services — 590
• Checkr — 486
• First Advantage — 399
• Contemporary Information Corp — 150
• National Credit Systems — 144
• HireRight — 119

If you know which company produced your report, start there. We maintain pages on the individual screening companies and how to dispute with each of them, including First Advantage and a fuller list of background check companies.

The errors that come up most

• Someone else’s record. Common surnames, a shared date of birth, or a match made on name alone.
• Expunged or sealed records still showing. The court cleared it; the screening company never refreshed its copy.
• One offense reported several times. The same charge picked up from the county, the state and a private database, and counted three times.
• Charges reported as convictions. An arrest that went nowhere, presented as though it did.
• Wrong employment or education history, usually from a verification vendor rather than the employer.

What to do

Ask the employer which company produced the report and get a copy — you are entitled to one. Dispute directly with the screening company in writing, and be specific: name the entry, say why it is wrong, and enclose whatever proves it, such as a court disposition or an expungement order.

Tell the employer in writing at the same time that the report is disputed. That does two things: it may keep the position open, and it creates a record of when they knew.

Keep every letter and envelope. Expect the screening company to take up to 30 days.

When the dispute does not fix it

Seven complaints in ten in this category end with an explanation rather than a correction. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a reasonable investigation, and it requires screening companies to follow reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy in the first place. Where those duties are ignored, the Act provides for actual damages, and for statutory and punitive damages where the failure is willful. It also allows recovery of attorney’s fees, which is why these cases are generally taken on contingency.

If you disputed a background report and it was not corrected, or you lost a job over a record that is not yours, our background check error attorneys can look at what happened.

Common questions

How far back can a background check go?

The FCRA generally bars reporting most non-conviction items older than seven years. Convictions may be reported without a time limit under federal law, though several states impose their own limits.

The job is already gone. Is it too late?

No. A claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not depend on getting the job back, and correcting the report matters for the next application regardless.

Can I sue the employer or only the screening company?

Both have obligations. The screening company must report accurately; the employer must give you the report and a summary of your rights before taking adverse action. Either may be liable depending on what went wrong.

How much does it cost to get legal help?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act shifts attorney’s fees to the losing defendant, so these cases are usually handled on contingency.

Related research: we analyzed every credit reporting complaint filed with the CFPB in the year to June 2026 — 5,867,288 complaints, and what happened to them.

The Kim Law Firm represents consumers in credit reporting and background check matters under the FCRA. Admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; available to appear pro hac vice in other federal courts.