How far back do background checks go? (employee, credit check, felony)

[Mapper71]

Just curious how far back employers check.

[LakeLifePA]

Are we talking about a job with NSA or McDonalds? No one here can answer your question, because it depends entirely on the employer. I would suggest whatever you do, don't hide information from a prospective employer regardless, because in some cases it can be considered a felony.

[joe from dayton]

It depends on a multitude of factors. There is no one answer to this question.

[Rabrrita]

We can go as far back as we want until a law or regulation tells us to stop.

[Marie Joseph]

Private employers for positions that don't involve handling money or are not high level--generally we will go back 7 years. It includes employment verification, education verification, criminal history check, and SSN verification.

Private employers for positions of financial responsibility or higher level go 7-10 years and include the same things but also will often have a credit check added.

Private employers also generally check references; how many and how far back depends on the place.

I'm not as familiar with fed/state jobs but some of these jobs require security clearances and they can pretty much go as far back as required. I've worked places where an ex employee applied for a federal job and had to give them the file for this employee who had worked there like 8 years ago!

[Yenisei]

How does the background check process work for a private employer if you haven't lived in the US for over a decade?