Written by Background Check Repair
Background Checks | May 31, 2024
Table of Contents
When conducting a background check, Florida has codified the laws that can help an individual or company navigate Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement and Division of Criminal Justice Information Services databases to find key information on a person’s criminal history.16 Criminal history record checks and searches that are done as part of a background check in Florida are supported by Florida’s legislature, and the actions that should (and may) be taken are clearly outlined.
There are multiple levels of background checks for use in the state, each employing different initial information and utilizing different databases. Notably, different jurisdictions within Florida may have their own advisories for how to use background and criminal checks, but they are all covered within this official 2023 guide.
Florida and federal laws dictate how information gleaned from a background check may be used. This includes how background check data is applied to employment, credit issuance, educational accreditation, leasing an apartment, foster parenting and adoption, and more. Not all background or criminal information gathered in a background check can be used in the same way.
Understanding Florida’s background check and criminal background check laws can greatly benefit employers, individuals, and others who require a deeper look into a person’s character and history.
Florida is the only state to have codified level 1 and level 2 records checks and is among 20 states that describe how criminal background checks may be used. This official 2023 guide will walk you through the process step by step.
(Image: Tara Winstead25)
There are a few types of background checks an employer or individual can conduct in Florida, and as per current law, background checks can go back 5 to 7 years to determine employment, or to check for a potential renter’s ability to lease.
Different laws suggest how a background check Florida style can be conducted. For instance, one statute may permit certain data to be used for making an employment decision in Miami-Dade County, but not in Tallahassee, Florida.
State laws may conflict with county or smaller jurisdiction guidance, so it’s good to understand both the county levels and state-level laws in full.
Public records play a key role in a background check in Florida.19 It is important to know what types of background checks exist, and what they can legally be used for under current Florida legislation.
In Florida, background checks conducted by employers for potential hires can be conducted at any time, however, the results can only be applied if certain “exclusions” show up on the final background check. There are also restrictions on how background check data can be used.
The state of Florida also encourages companies to run background checks since doing so ostensibly protects them legally from a negligent hiring lawsuit because red flags would likely be uncovered, preventing the hire of someone who perhaps shouldn’t be hired at all. It is estimated that many financial fraud cases are stopped thanks to background checks prior to employment.1
Florida state law says that someone cannot be prevented from taking a public employee (government) job because of a conviction, except for felonies and first-degree misdemeanors that specifically relate to the job. People who have drug offenses on their public record must undergo rehabilitation prior to employment but cannot be eliminated for job consideration because of a drug-related offense.
(Image: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission23)
Additionally, all records of an applicant’s criminal background investigation must be kept private and confidential by the potential employer. A decision for or against employment cannot be made based solely on an applicant’s criminal record according to Equal Employment Opportunity laws.23
People often get confused because criminal background checks and background checks are two terms used synonymously by employers when they desire to know more about a potential employee or contractor. However, these terms are not synonymous.
From the point of view of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a background check is a criminal history inquiry to find out if someone has been arrested or convicted of a crime. A check can include information from:
The data collected from a sample background check using name and fingerprints might contain:
Criminal background checks can only be used in certain ways by employers. There are specific laws governing how this information can be used in Florida.
Public and privately held companies and Florida employers can legally look into arrest records and use them to determine employment. However, most level 1 and even some level 2 background checks don’t include comprehensive criminal histories. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) outlines what is included in different levels of background checks.17
(Image: Federal Trade Commission17)
Public companies can only disqualify a potential candidate for felony or first-degree convictions and only if the crime pertains to the job that a candidate must do. Private employers can consider any conviction but should be careful about disqualifying candidates with criminal records offhandedly since they can be sued for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) details in full.24
All sealed or expunged records will not show up on a background check, and aren’t used as a disqualifying factor should they be uncovered (like in the case of tax liens, for example).
“Ban the box” legislation prohibits criminal background checks from employers to ask about an employee’s history of illegal activity on applications for certain jobs in certain states, localities, or jurisdictions.
(Image: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission24)
While there is no “ban the box” legislation for the state of Florida, there are many local jurisdictions that limit an employer’s ability to ask about a criminal past.
A landlord can legally run a background check to include a name, employment history, and credit standing with or without a lessee’s permission, although consent is generally given.
Florida State is notoriously friendly to landlords. It doesn’t require them to do a background check on a potential renter, but they are within their rights if they do. Although it is rarely done, a potential lessee can also conduct a background check on a landlord.5
Background checks on potential adoptive parents can be conducted through Florida State statute 39.0138 provided by the Florida State Senate,22 which includes fingerprints, criminal history records, FBI records, and criminal checks with local and state law enforcement agencies. These background checks also often include a search of Florida’s automated abuse information system for incidences of:
These criminal checks can go back five years according to the state-by-state laws listed at the Adoption Network.6
The following are the different levels of background checks available in Florida that can be used for determining employment, leasing an apartment, adopting a child, and more.
Level one background checks in any state are usually based on a name check and employment history check, based on information provided by the person who is conducting the background check or the person on whom the check is being conducted.
Level two background checks utilize a national fingerprint database to look for disqualifying offenses that are enumerated further in this official 2021 guide to Florida background laws.
Both checks can end up showing police reports, but a level 1 search will only include local law enforcement criminal history.
Level 1 and 2 background checks each have their own specifications.
A level 1 background check in Florida includes a name-only check within the state’s databases. It does not include national or federal databases other than the sex offender registry. The information that can turn up includes:
This information is provided for a $25 fee. A free background check in Florida is available using some online sites, but they aren’t certified results, can often have missing information, and sometimes don’t include much more than what is found easily using a Google and social media search. Additional background checks of criminal databases can be accessed for fees ranging from $8 to $29 from the FDLE’s Criminal Record Check Fee Schedule.5,18
A level 2 background check utilizes fingerprints and a complete FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) background inquiry. If specific offenses show up on a level 2 background check, they are allowable by law for an employer to reject someone’s employment. Then, you’ll know how far back a records check goes.
Those interested in conducting a free background check Florida may do so, but these are usually name-only searches utilizing databases available to the public, and many don’t give clear results or comprehensive background information. Every state has its own public records available, and Florida is included. The FDLE has their own website dedicated to fielding “free” background check inquiries but they aren’t actually free (the only way this is possible is through using a no-cost records check provider offering a trial).20 They can be ordered for a small fee.
It is important to note that a level 2 screening can go back to any point in a person’s history. There are only a few exceptions which include drug abuse prevention and controlled substances offenses which can only be used as a disqualifying factor going back five years. Title XXXI, Chapter 435 offers specific screening instructions and how background check data can be applied via Florida’s state legislature site.21
Are warrants displayed during background checks? This is a question many people have when they are subject to a background check. A warrant typically does not show up on a criminal background check unless an arrest record is placed in a data system and the individual is arrested for charges named in the warrant.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) prohibits employers from going back more than seven years in a criminal background check and cannot use information found that is older than seven years to make employment decisions. If the salary of a job is over $75,000 however, the following information may be used:
There was a limitation on using criminal convictions more than seven years old, but this is lifted by the FCRA, so any of this information can be used to determine employment.
Many people ask why criminal background checks for any purpose tend to go back seven years. In some states the laws allow a deeper dive, going back ten years, in other states, fewer, allowing only five. However, it is estimated that someone lives in 2.3 counties within a state on average over the span of seven years. When address history is matched with a social security number, then seven years is usually a sufficient span of time to look for criminal history in multiple jurisdictions where a crime is possibly perpetrated. Within a seven-year history, often ten years of resident information is realized. At this point, county-level records are searched for applicable criminal history information.6
Employers must follow screening rules when checking the background of potential employees but can disqualify them for many reasons if they are either a public or private company. It also depends on the type of employment that a person seeks.
(Image: cottonbro studio26)
The FDLE states that both state-level and national-level criminal history information is available to government agencies for licensing and employment screenings under Florida Law. There may be additional requirements if someone is looking to work at a school or needs a concealed weapon permit. A potential employee should contact the local school district for background check information, and those looking to carry a concealed weapon can contact the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services licensing division.7
Disqualifying offenses include the following and can be cited as a reason for not hiring a potential candidate for employment without the employer worrying about Title VII ramifications:
There are many other disqualifying offenses, all of which can be found within Title XXXI, of the Florida State Employment Screening of Chapter 435.8,21
There are many data points that are revealed on a criminal background check conducted in Florida, including:
A level 3 background check is similar to those conducted in other states. It looks into criminal history, education (including certifications, degrees, dates of graduation, etc.), residences, employment history, criminal history, and personal reference checks. A level 3 background check is often accompanied by pre-employment drug testing if needed. Many more databases are used in a level 3 background check, and may include:
There are several databases available to the public to search for criminal history, employment history, residence history, and other information within the state of Florida, including marriage and divorce records.
Florida divorces and marriages are public information as long as they happen within a family court and are not expunged or removed from court records. These records are often used to verify name and association with another person. In some cases, they are used to determine character.
Marriage licenses can be difficult to look up, even though they are public records since the searcher needs to know the county and court in which the marriage is filed. Some background checks will show marriage information by default simply through name changes that show up in a database for a single party (usually the woman who changes her name and takes her husband’s surname.)9
Employers and others seeking background checks can no longer submit an email request to Florida, but must now utilize criminal history information via online data repositories according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE):
In an effort to keep Florida’s laws as transparent as possible within this official guide on Florida background and criminal background checks, the following are questions that both those running criminal background checks and those subjected to them, ask.
Florida state laws allow extensive views into criminal records, employment, creditworthiness, residency, and other information held on public record. The only instance where it is ill-advised to not hire someone due to something that shows up on a criminal background check is if it should not be on the record, it is incorrect (not verified with cross-referenced data from national and state databases), is on record when the potential employee was a minor and the crime is committed when someone is under 18, or if the data suggests a misdemeanor that doesn’t currently interfere with someone’s ability to perform.
In that case, should they be turned down for employment, the potential employee might have cause to start litigation under the Civil Rights Act. If any of the offenses are in the list provided by the FDLE, then an employer is completely within their right to refuse employment and is protected from legal action.
Florida state does not have ban the box laws, but jurisdictions within the state prevent some employers from searching criminal databases or even asking to. These include Clearwater, Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Miami-Dade, Orlando, Pompano Beach, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Tallahassee for public jobs.
Sometimes FDLE’s databases return empty fields, or “no record” if someone has a criminal background. This only indicates that no files were found in their search. There could be criminal activity listed in national databases or nearby state databases that don’t register in Florida’s database. For this reason, it may be important to conduct both state and national criminal background checks for C-Suite level positions, jobs that require someone to interact with children or the elderly, or others who might be vulnerable.
If you need to know ways to get a felony record taken out of a background check, it will depend on when the offense happened, how long it’s been on your record, and if it’s expunged. For erroneous reporting, contact the agency that is reporting the data in error in writing. They have 30 days to rectify the problem.
Every state has its own laws regarding background checks. For instance, Texas is similar to Florida in that most background checks go back 7 years. However, if someone is applying for a job that pays more than $75,000 then it is admissible to go all the way back to the age of eighteen.
New York has newly passed laws that provide certain protections for those applying for employment who have criminal records via the Fair Chance Act. Under this law, an employer must offer employment prior to conducting a background check for certain jobs.11
Yes, employers are required by law to get your permission to run a background check. However, it’s important to note this may not always be verbally communicated and may instead be included as part of the application process itself.
In other words, your completion and submission of the job application may be deemed consent, especially for jobs in Florida that require background checks conducted, by law, such as healthcare workers.
A single “bad” hire can cause financial and interpersonal damage at a company. Some estimate that 6% of hires result in occupational fraud and 45% of job applicants may not tell the whole truth on their job applications. For this reason, 95% of employers do background checks to ensure that they know exactly who they’re hiring for a position.12
Although Florida law does encourage the use of criminal history checks in order to provide employers with a defense from negligent hiring practices, they are not required, unless specifically stated in the statutes, such as for positions that require contact with children.
A level 1 background check that uses name and employment history only is a common background check that employers seek when they want to look at general, local information about a potential employee. A level 2 background check is more likely to pull criminal history since it uses fingerprints.
The type of job may dictate, by law, a level 1, level 2, or even level 3 or 4 check if someone is entrusted with company finances, hiring and firing decisions, proprietary information, they are working with children or the elderly, or their influence in the company is significant.
National databases, including the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) hold information on anyone who has applied for a firearm. It’s open 17 hours a day, available by phone, and includes information from 30 states, five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. An additional 13 states also perform checks individually, with their own data systems through NICS.
NICS performs a background check on an arm’s buyer, and with over 300 million checks completed, 1.5 million result in denials, This is a much more extensive database for turning up criminal records than a state-by-state criminal background check.13
Companies can also determine if there is free information from county courthouses and state data based on the address history that an applicant provides. If something questionable shows up in a municipal court or state data system, then a national criminal background check can be conducted to gather more information.
Erroneous records do occur. Often they’re due to a mismatched or similar name or data entry errors. You can contact the data reporting agency that has the criminal incident listed in writing and prove that you’re not the person they claim that you are by showing your birth certificate, your social security card, or other forms of identification that would distinguish you from the person on record.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act protects you if you are subject to identity fraud or if there are erroneous records listed in your name.
Yes. All background checks conducted by a third party are regulated by the FCRA. The Federal Trade Commission has made provisions for fair, accurate, and confidential reporting of your personal information. This means that:
You can contact one of the following agencies if you find erroneous information on a credit or background check:
| Agency | Address |
| Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | 1700 G Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20552 |
| Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center | 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20580 (877) 382-4357 |
| Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Customer Assistance Group | 1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010-9050 |
| Federal Reserve Consumer Help Center | P.O. Box 1200 Minneapolis, MN 55480 |
| FDIC Consumer Response Center | 1100 Walnut Street, Box #11 Kansas City, MO 64106 |
| National Credit Union Administration Office of Consumer Financial Protection (OCFP) Division of Consumer Compliance Policy and Outreach | 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 2231414 |
If you are uncertain of which agency to submit your request to, call one of the numbers listed, briefly explain your situation, and they can usually direct you to the correct agency to report errors. You may also contact the local jurisdiction that is responsible for the incorrect information. Many of these records are entered manually, and human error can occur. So, it can be wise to conduct a background check on yourself before applying for housing, adoption or a job to ensure that there aren’t any errors that could disqualify you.
If you do find errors, but don’t have the time or are worried about correcting the information yourself, you can contact an attorney who specializes in criminal court records. A lawyer will often be able to expedite the correction.
Florida’s background check and criminal background inquiry laws are extensive and detailed, with multiple databases available to check public records for name-only or social security-based inquiries. Multi-state and federal background inquiries are always more revealing when it comes to a person’s history, though, so in addition to a Florida state background check, an employer, landlord, or other party may desire to conduct searches in every state that a person resides in over a ten year period to uncover the most comprehensive information. For more in-depth criminal background information the FBI’s databases can also be tapped using a person’s fingerprints, which often provides a much more accurate history search.
Both those conducting background checks and those people subjected to background checks have rights and responsibilities concerning how the information is used. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, protects personal information, as well as erroneous data reported to any agency. People who find erroneous data on their background checks have legal recourse to remove it.
A background check Florida style can help protect potential employers, landlords and lessees, adoptive parents, and anyone who needs to examine comprehensive data on a person’s qualities, character, and past history.
Background checks come in many forms, but they are used to gather information collected by various credit agencies, law enforcement agencies, employers, and other reporting agencies to paint a picture about someone’s financial habits, employment history, and criminal history. In more extensive background checks a person’s social interactions and social media may be analyzed to determine character or trustworthiness.
In most instances, individuals under the age of 18 cannot have any record used to deny them credit, employment, or rental status. However, a background check may be conducted on family members of an adoptive parent all the way to the age of 12. Expunged or sealed records are still not admissible.
Anyone can run a background check on another person, for any cause. Public data is available at the FDLE for a small fee.
No.
Consult your company’s legal team for clarification, but if the criminal data that shows up on the results is verifiable and is either a felony or misdemeanor charge, it may be cause for eliminating someone from a job position, depending on a number of factors.
While there are many companies that provide name-only, as well as state checks, most “free” services don’t verify social security numbers, search limited databases, and don’t give a comprehensive look into someone’s history.
According to the law, a background check is any third party inquiry into someone’s character, general reputation, general characteristics, employment history, resident history, or “mode of living” of a person that can allow or disallow credit, insurance, government benefits, employment, or licensing that’s initiated by an individual. This means that “background checks” are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and there must be reasonable procedures in place to guarantee the accuracy of third-party reports.
1Marcum LLP. (2017, December 4). Background checks: The first line of defense in fraud prevention. Marcum LLP.Web. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from <https://www.marcumllp.com/insights/background-checks-first-line-defense-fraud-prevention>
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7Florida State Legislature. (2021). Criminal History Documents Fee Chart. Florida State Legislature. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from <http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Criminal-History-Records/Documents/Criminal-History-Fee-Chart_January2019.aspx>
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11Florida State Records. (2021). Florida Vital Records. StateRecords.org. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from <https://florida.staterecords.org/vital.php>
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14I Prospect Check. (2021). New York State background check: A complete guide [2021]. I Prospect Check. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from <https://iprospectcheck.com/new-york-background-check/>
15Edge Information. (2021). What’s the Difference Between a Level 1 and Level 2 Background Check. Edge Information. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from <https://edgeinformation.com/2016/01/what-is-the-difference-between-level-1-and-level-2-background-screening/>
16Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024). Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS). FBI.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from <https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis>
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25Photo by Tara Winstead. Cropped, Resized, Changed Format. Pexels. Retrieved May 31, 2024, from <https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-red-book-with-a-label-8850751/>
26Photo by cottonbro studio. Cropped, Resized, Changed Format. Pexels. Retrieved May 31, 2024, from <https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-in-white-long-sleeve-shirt-holding-a-clipboard-with-resume-5989933/>
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