District of Columbia background check laws
A practitioner-grade reference to District of Columbia pre-employment background screening: lookback caps, ban-the-box scope, salary-history limits, cannabis testing rules, and the statutes the SafestHires compliance team applies on every order routed to DC.
The four levers at a glance
| Lookback period | 10 years conviction lookback (D.C. Code §2-1402.66) |
| Ban-the-Box scope | Statewide; conditional-offer-only rule |
| Salary history | Banned + range posting required |
| Cannabis testing | Statewide off-duty protection (2023) |
Lookback period
The Fair Criminal Record Screening Amendment caps conviction reporting at ten years from completion of sentence and prohibits any consideration of arrests not leading to conviction.
Ban-the-Box and Fair Chance rules
Employers with 11+ employees may not inquire about a candidate's criminal history until after a conditional offer.
Salary history
The Wage Transparency Amendment Act of 2023 requires pay range and benefits in job postings and prohibits wage-history inquiries.
Cannabis & drug testing
The Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act protects most employees from adverse action for off-duty cannabis use, with carve-outs for safety-sensitive and federally regulated positions.
Governing statutes & references
- D.C. Code §2-1402.66
- Wage Transparency Amendment Act 2023
- Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act 2022
SafestHires compliance note
Strongest single-jurisdiction stack in the country — sequence pre-adverse and adverse-action timing carefully.