Background check authorization and disclosure forms are documents that provide legal consent from an individual to perform a background check and disclose the nature of the check. Using a template offers significant benefits, including ensuring compliance with legal requirements and regulations. Additionally, it streamlines the background check process, reducing the risk of legal issues and saving time for employers or organizations.
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A background check authorization and disclosure form is an official document issued to an individual, known as a releasor, to attain their consent to run a credit and criminal history check on them. Once signed, the requesting party or a third party can perform a background check on the releasor without the fear or risk of litigation for data privacy violations.
By conducting the background check, the requestor can verify if the information presented to them by the releasor is accurate. Consequently, it can be used in many instances where an individual’s background must be ascertained before acceptance. This form is typically used during job screening, tenant vetting, and loan applications. This form is needed as it is a requirement of state and federal laws such as the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) for parties to have written consent before conducting background checks on other parties.
We have provided background check authorization and disclosure forms suited for different contexts, including job applications, pre-employment investigations, tenant screening, and FBI Criminal background checks. These templates contain all the sections needed to obtain legal consent for background checks and any applicable disclosure. While each varies based on its specific use, some consistent sections include personal information, disclosure of criminal history, authorization, and employer details. The forms are meant to streamline the collection of authorizations and disclosure in the respective contexts.
The requestor must have a valid reason for requesting to run a background check. These reasons will vary from case to case. Therefore, even though the objective of the forms would be similar, each may differ depending on the specific circumstances. Here are the different authorization and disclosure forms we have provided.
This form has been subdivided into four (4) sections – personal information, disclosure of criminal history, authorization, and employer use, respectively. In the first section, the releasor is supposed to provide their details for identification and data retrieval from government and third-party archives and repositories. Such details include legal name, aliases, DOB (date of birth), SSN (social security number), driver’s license or state ID number, phone numbers, and mailing address.
In section 2, the releaser is needed to reveal any criminal history they have. The form allows the person to disclose the nature of the crime, the date and location it occurred, the sentence or outcome, and pending charges.
Section 3 presents an authorization statement that grants the releaser explicit consent to run a background check for specific purposes. It defines the scope of the investigations before prompting the releaser to input their name, signature, and signing date to confirm that they agree to the authorization. The form has an entry for parents/guardians to sign on behalf of minors.
Section 4 is meant for the employer or requestor’s use. They should indicate the position the releaser is applying for and the department before attaching their signature and indicating the signing date.
This form is needed to obtain a certificate of their criminal history before applying for different jobs, such as federal government work or qualifying for adoption. You can access the form from their official site (https://forms.fbi.gov/identity-history-summary-checks-review). However, we have retrieved it on your behalf and reformatted it to make it easier for you to complete. It collects comprehensive personal details, such as legal name, DOB, place of birth, US residency status, citizenship, prisoner number (if applicable), and SSN. It also gathers demographic information such as race and sex. This is followed by contact details starting with C/O (care of), which indicates any third party that can receive mail on the requestor’s behalf, and ATTN (attention), which specifies who should ultimately receive any mail concerning the background check. These are followed by placeholders for contact information, including mailing address, inclusive of city, state, ZIP code, and country, followed by phone number and email.
You can request a copy of the FBI criminal history background check report at a fee of $18. For this purpose, the form has the ‘payment enclosed’ section where you can checkmark the payment method and provide your signature and signing date. It also shares the appropriate mailing address for sending this request form – FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306. At the end, the form has a privacy statement to specify the requestor’s rights when sharing their personal information and a paperwork reduction act statement.
Employers run background checks on prospective employees. They can use this form to obtain the prospect’s consent and criminal history disclosure. It has 6 sections – applicant information, self-disclosure, list of crime and pending charges, certification and authorization, employer use section, and appendix.
The applicant’s information collected includes legal name, DOB, phone number, email address, SSN, driver’s license number, residence state, and other addresses the applicant has lived in for the last three years. In the self-disclosure section, the applicant is expected to declare if they have ever been convicted, the existence of pending charges, and offer a list of 4 crimes that they must select if they have been charged with. It also prompts the applicant to disclose if they have been denied, terminated, or revoked by any government agencies or been subject to the listed court orders.
Section 3 lets the releasor declare the nature, degree, state, and conviction date if they have been convicted or charged with any crime.
Section 4 prompts the releaser to sign the authorization form and indicate the signing date as an affirmation of the background check.
Section 5 requires the employer to supply their name, signature, and date and clarify the position the applicant applied for. Lastly, in the appendix, the requestor can add detailed instructions for filing the form and include a privacy statement to inform the applicant of their data rights under state and federal laws.
Tenants are typically subjected to background checks to determine their financial capabilities and criminal history before they are approved for tenancy. This form is designed for this purpose; it ensures landlords obtain explicit consent before running background checks on prospects. It has seven (7) sections: applicant information, residency information, occupant information, employment and income, references, authorization, and landlord use.
The first three sections collect the applicant’s personal details, including identification information, contact information, residency history, and the relationship with occupants. The residency history obtains the information that establishes the prospect’s tenancy behaviors by determining their reason for leaving and financial capacity by revealing their rent amount, tenancy duration, and security deposit.
Section 4 establishes the applicant’s employment status, employer identity, salary, and other sources of income. Section 5 identifies the applicant references – individuals who verify that the information provided in the form is accurate to the best of their knowledge.
Section 6 declares that the applicant understands the scope of the investigations and issues the consent for the entire tenancy duration unless revoked. They should supply their signature, date of signing, and name in the entries provided as an attestation of their consent.
Lastly, section 7 has entries to record the application fee charged, the receipt number, the recipient, and the receipt date. The form ends with brief instructions for the applicant on how to fill it appropriately.
Each variation of the background check authorization and disclosure form has been provided in MS Word, Google Docs, Word template, and OpenDocument Text. You can use any format suited to your documentation needs and preferences. While the forms incorporate all the fundamental sections, you can modify them to collect more information needed for more specialized background checks and disclosures.
You should ensure that the form or any clauses included use legally-suited language to explicitly communicate the purpose of the investigations. This prevents disputes and litigations for inappropriate or unlawful use of private information.
Always review your jurisdiction’s guidelines on preparing and using background check authorization and disclosure forms. Different states will have specific guidelines. For example, forms in Oklahoma, California, and Minnesota must include a checkbox allowing releasers to receive a copy of their report. This ensures compliance and enforceability.
While not mandatory, it is highly advisable to include a statement of the releasor’s rights, such as a privacy statement. You can mention any applicable laws in this section.
