The first thought on many peoples minds when they find out they are going to have a background check is how many years a background check goes back. This is because they may have done something not so great when they were much younger that they think might come back to haunt them. In fact, it is pretty common for people who are now responsible adults to have something on their background check to be worried about. Thankfully, most people can rest easy and know that things you did as a crazy teenager probably wont harm you as an adult.

In response to how many years a background check goes back, most employers only go back typically about five to seven years, although in some cases depending on the job, they can go back further. So, if you are in your 30s or 40s things that you did as a young adult probably wont hinder your employment with a company, as long as they werent major felonies or something that would affect the job performance now. However, if you have something that happened in the past five to seven years then it can affect whether or not you are employed.

In some cases, such as if you were applying for a job with the IRS or any federal or state agency, many times background checks can go back as far as twelve years, or even more. It is in direct relation to how important or how classified the job is. So, if you are trying to get a job at a restaurant as a server, the time difference in how far the background checks go back are going to be considerably different than if you are applying for a job as a teacher with young children. Every position and every company has different feelings on what is considered acceptable and what is not. That is usually defined by the job at hand and what your direct responsibilities are going to be.

So whenever you fill out the job application and you see that they perform a background check, the first thing on most people’s minds is how far does one go back. Something that you did in the past may come back to haunt you. You can be rest assured though, that unless you committed a major felony, you probably will pass with flying colors.

It depends on the employer how far a background check will go. Most of the time it is five to seven years, but as mentioned earlier, it can be much longer depending on wha tkinnd of job you are applying for. If you have had nothing serious happen in the past five to seven years, chances are you have nothing to worry about.

In conclusion, federal and state jobs understandably will require a more detailed and thorough background check than if you were trying to get a job in a fast food restaurant. If you are applying for a teacher’s position where you will be working with children, you would be looked at more thoroughly than if you are going to be waiting tables. Every company looks at things and situation differently, it depends on what type of job you are applying for.