Background checks by state — 50-state directory

How to read this matrix

SafestHires runs a single-pass workflow that layers federal FCRA timing on top of state and local overlays. Each row below tells you the four levers that change the report you'll receive in your ATS, plus any jurisdiction-specific note our compliance team flags for new clients during onboarding.

Lookback — how far back conviction or non-conviction data can appear in the consumer report.
Ban-the-Box — whether criminal-history questions are restricted at application, conditional offer, or only in the public sector.
Salary history — whether you can ask compensation history and, in newer statutes, whether pay scale must be posted.
Cannabis — recreational status, off-duty protections, and safety-sensitive carve-outs that affect drug-testing panels.

State	Lookback	Ban the Box	Salary history	Cannabis	SafestHires note
Alabama	7 yr (FCRA, no state cap)	Public sector only	No restriction	Tested freely	No state-level expungement seal for employer reports.
Alaska	7 yr (FCRA)	None	No restriction	Recreational legal; testing allowed	AS 12.62 fingerprint pathway for healthcare/childcare.
Arizona	7 yr (FCRA)	Public sector (EO 2017-07)	No restriction	Med + rec; AMMA off-duty protections	Set-aside ≠ expungement — disclose carefully.
Arkansas	7 yr (FCRA)	Public sector	No restriction	Med only; no off-duty rule	Sealed records under Act 1460 — do not report.
California	7 yr (Cal. Civ. Code §1786.18)	Statewide + 5+ local (LA, SF, SD)	Banned (Lab. Code §432.3)	AB 2188 off-duty + non-psychoactive metabolite rule (2024)	ICRAA + CCRAA dual disclosure — and the new July 2024 FEHA regs.
Colorado	7 yr (FCRA)	Statewide (CRS 8-2-130)	Banned (Equal Pay Act)	Rec legal; safety-sensitive carve-out	Job posting must include salary range + benefits.
Connecticut	7 yr (FCRA)	Statewide (P.A. 16-83)	Banned (CGS §31-40z)	Rec legal; RERACA off-duty protections	Erased records may not be disclosed by candidate.
Delaware	7 yr (FCRA)	Public sector	Banned (19 Del. C. §709B)	Med + rec (2025)	Mandatory access pathway for healthcare under Title 16.
DC	10 yr conviction look-back capped (D.C. Code §2-1402.66)	Statewide; conditional-offer-only rule	Banned + range posting required	Statewide off-duty protection (2023)	Strongest single-jurisdiction stack in the country.
Florida	7 yr (FCRA)	Local: Miami-Dade, Orlando, Tampa	No restriction	Med only; testing allowed	Level 2 fingerprint for healthcare/childcare.
Georgia	7 yr (FCRA)	Public sector (EO 2015)	No restriction	No rec; med limited	GCIC access via O.C.G.A. §35-3-34; First Offender records.
Hawaii	7 yr conviction (HRS §378-2.5)	Statewide — conditional offer	Banned (Act 108)	Rec illegal; med protections	Among the strictest state look-back regimes; Massachusetts applies an even shorter 5-year cap for misdemeanors.
Illinois	7 yr (FCRA)	Statewide (Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act)	Banned (820 ILCS 112)	CRTA off-duty protection	Equal Pay Act amendments require pay scale in postings (2025).
Massachusetts	5 yr misdemeanor / 10 yr felony (M.G.L. c. 6 §172)	Statewide CORI reform	Banned (M.G.L. c. 149 §105A)	Off-duty protections for med	CORI access agreement required to query state repository.
New York	7 yr (NY Gen. Bus. Law §380-j)	Statewide + NYC Fair Chance Act	Banned (Lab. Law §194-a)	Lab. Law §201-d off-duty + non-active metabolite	Article 23-A individualized assessment required.
Texas	7 yr conviction (Bus. & Com. Code §20.05)	Local: Austin (private)	No restriction	No rec; no off-duty rule	DPS records access + nondisclosure orders under GC §411.

Excerpt — the full 50-state matrix is delivered to active SafestHires clients quarterly and on request to anyone running a free 15-minute audit with our compliance team.

How to apply state rules to a hire

Multi-state programs fail at the scoping step, not the search step. This is the sequence our compliance team walks new clients through.

Identify every jurisdiction in scope. List the candidate's work location, residence history within the lookback window, and the employer's hiring location. Each one can contribute a rule.
Set the lookback window. Start from the FCRA seven-year cap, then apply the stricter state cap where one exists — Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, California, DC, and Texas all override the federal default.
Time the criminal-history question. Check the ban-the-box column. Application-stage, interview-stage, and conditional-offer-stage rules each change your ATS knock-out logic.
Remove prohibited inquiries from the application. Salary-history bans and, in newer statutes, pay-range posting duties apply at the job-posting stage, before any report is ordered.
Tune the drug panel to the state. Off-duty cannabis protections and non-psychoactive metabolite rules determine whether THC belongs on the panel for a non-safety-sensitive role.
Document the decision path. Record which state's rule you applied and why. That record is the defense in both an FCRA claim and a fair-chance enforcement action.

Scope the search set with the package builder, confirm the fair-chance timing in the Ban the Box matrix, and pre-flight the file with the FCRA compliance checklist.

Frequently asked questions

How far back do background checks go?

The FCRA caps reporting of arrests not leading to conviction and most adverse non-conviction items at seven years. Convictions may be reported indefinitely unless a state imposes a shorter window. Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, California, DC, and Texas impose stricter caps — see each state guide for details.

How many states have ban-the-box laws?

Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia have statewide fair-chance statutes reaching private employers, and twenty-plus cities and counties layer ordinances on top. Texas joined on September 1, 2025 under HB 2466 and Virginia's Clean Slate inquiry ban took effect July 1, 2026. Roughly 37 states have ban-the-box rules for public-sector hiring.

Which states ban salary history questions?

Statewide salary-history bans currently apply in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and DC. Several other states ban inquiries for public employers only.

Which states limit pre-employment marijuana testing?

California, Connecticut, DC, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington restrict pre-employment cannabis testing or protect off-duty use. DOT-regulated and most safety-sensitive roles are carved out.

Which state's rules apply when a candidate lives in one state and works in another?

Apply the most candidate-protective rule of the two. Most employers scope the report to the work location and then layer on any stricter residence-state limit, documenting the choice in the screening policy.

How often is this state matrix updated?

SafestHires reviews all 50 states plus DC every quarter and flags any jurisdiction that amended its rules within the trailing 90 days. Statute citations on each state guide reflect the most recent review.

All 50 states & DC — deep-dive guides

Click any state below for a practitioner-grade guide covering the lookback period, ban-the-box scope, salary-history rules, cannabis testing posture, governing statutes, and the SafestHires compliance note for that jurisdiction.