A background check in Texas for employment is governed by two overlapping sets of rules: Texas Business and Commerce Code § 20.05, which limits how far back a consumer reporting agency can reach, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which controls how employers request your consent, use the results, and notify you if the report costs you the job. For most positions, negative information older than seven years cannot appear on your report, you must authorize the check in writing before it runs, and the employer has to show you the report and give you a chance to respond before making a final rejection.
What Employers Actually See
Most employment screenings pull from a handful of record categories. Not every employer checks all of them.
- Criminal history, including felony and misdemeanor convictions, pending charges, and in some cases dismissed cases. This is the backbone of most checks.
- Driving records, which matter for any role involving a company vehicle.
- Credit history, usually reserved for positions involving financial responsibility or access to sensitive data.
- Employment verification, confirming job titles, dates, and sometimes the reason you left.
- Education verification, confirming degrees, certifications, and professional licenses.
Some employers also review social media, though companies that do this often route it through a third-party service that filters out information about race, religion, disability, or other characteristics protected under Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 and federal anti-discrimination law.1State of Texas. Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 – Employment Discrimination Direct scrolling by a hiring manager creates legal exposure the employer usually wants to avoid.
Consent Rules Before a Check Can Run
Before any employer pulls a background report through a third-party consumer reporting agency, the FCRA requires two things. First, the employer must give you a written disclosure, in a standalone document, stating that a background check may be obtained. The disclosure cannot be buried inside the job application or mixed with other paperwork. Second, you must authorize the check in writing.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
The Texas Workforce Commission publishes a sample authorization form that meets these requirements. The form explains that an outside firm will investigate the applicant’s background and makes clear that withholding permission means the application will not move forward.3Texas Workforce Commission. Authorization for Background Check Employers who run checks through their own internal resources using government databases, rather than through a third-party agency, are not subject to this specific FCRA consent rule.
You’ll typically give your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number so the screening agency can match records accurately. Check the spelling and numbers before signing. Mixed files, where your report gets contaminated with another person’s records, are one of the most common errors, and bad input data makes them more likely.
How Far Back the Report Can Go
This is where Texas and federal law diverge, and the stricter rule wins.
Texas Reporting Limits
Under Texas Business and Commerce Code § 20.05, a consumer reporting agency cannot include:
- Arrests, indictments, and convictions where the disposition, release, or parole date is more than seven years old.
- Civil suits and judgments older than seven years or the statute of limitations, whichever is longer, and tax liens paid more than seven years ago.
- Bankruptcies where the filing or adjudication date is more than ten years old.
- Any other adverse information older than seven years.
There is one critical exception. If the position pays an annual salary of $75,000 or more, these time limits disappear entirely. For higher-paying roles, reporting agencies can include criminal records and other negative information regardless of age.4State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 20.05 – Reporting of Information Prohibited
Federal Reporting Limits
The FCRA has its own set of time limits that largely mirror the Texas rules, with one important difference: federal law does not cap the reporting of criminal convictions. The seven-year federal limit applies to arrests, civil suits, collection accounts, and other adverse items, but convictions can be reported indefinitely.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports The same $75,000 salary exception applies at the federal level.
For jobs paying under $75,000, Texas law provides an extra layer of protection. A conviction older than seven years should not appear on a report run by an agency following Texas rules, even though federal law alone would allow it.
Criminal Records and the Chance to Explain
Having a criminal record does not automatically disqualify you. The EEOC has long held that blanket policies rejecting anyone with a conviction can amount to illegal discrimination under Title VII, because they disproportionately affect certain racial and ethnic groups. Instead, the EEOC expects employers to weigh three factors, known as the Green factors, before disqualifying someone based on criminal history:
- The nature of the crime. A fraud conviction is more relevant for a bookkeeper position than a warehouse job.
- The time elapsed since the offense. A conviction from 15 years ago carries less weight than one from last year.
- The nature of the job. Positions involving vulnerable populations or high-security access justify stricter screening.
Beyond applying these factors, the EEOC advises employers to conduct an individualized assessment, giving the applicant a chance to explain the circumstances before a final decision. An arrest that never led to a conviction should carry even less weight, since an arrest alone does not prove anything happened.6U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Criminal Records If a background report flags your criminal history, respond with context: rehabilitation efforts, time elapsed, and the lack of connection between the offense and the job duties are all relevant.
Clearing or Sealing Old Records
Texas offers two legal mechanisms for limiting what shows up on a background check.
Expunction
An expunction completely erases an arrest record as though it never happened. You qualify if you were arrested but never charged, if the charges were dismissed, if you were acquitted, or if you were convicted and later pardoned. The waiting period depends on the offense level: 180 days for a Class C misdemeanor, one year for a Class A or B misdemeanor, and three years for a felony, assuming no charges were filed during that time.7Justia Law. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55 – Expunction of Criminal Records After an expunction, you can legally deny the arrest ever occurred on a job application.
Orders of Nondisclosure
If you completed deferred adjudication or qualified for certain other dispositions, you may be eligible for an order of nondisclosure. This doesn’t erase the record, but it seals it from public view. Courts, clerks, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors are prohibited from sharing information about the sealed offense. DPS seals the record within its system and notifies relevant federal agencies.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code Section 411.0765 With a nondisclosure order in place, you generally do not need to disclose the offense on job applications.
There are exceptions. Certain state licensing agencies and government entities, particularly those overseeing healthcare, education, and law enforcement, can still access sealed records. For most private-sector employers, though, a nondisclosure order effectively removes the offense from the screening results.
Your Rights If the Report Costs You the Job
When an employer decides not to hire you because of something in your background report, federal law imposes a two-step process. Skipping either step is one of the most common FCRA violations and gives the applicant grounds to sue.
Pre-Adverse Action Notice
Before making the final decision, the employer must send you a copy of the background report that raised concerns, along with a written summary of your rights under the FCRA. The point is to give you a chance to review the report and flag any errors before anything is finalized.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports The statute does not set a mandatory waiting period, but most legal guidance suggests at least five business days.
Final Adverse Action Notice
If the employer proceeds with the rejection, a second notice is required. It must include the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting agency that produced the report. It must state that the reporting agency did not make the hiring decision and cannot explain the reasons. And it must inform you of your right to request a free copy of your report from that agency within 60 days and to dispute any inaccurate information.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports
The Texas Workforce Commission echoes these requirements: an employer that rejects you based on an outside agency’s background or credit check must explain why, provide a copy of the report, and identify the service that furnished the information.10Texas Workforce Commission. References and Background Checks
Fixing Errors on Your Report
Background reports are only as good as the data feeding them, and errors are common. Mixed files, outdated records that should have aged off, and convictions that were expunged but still appear are the usual culprits.
When you notify the consumer reporting agency of a dispute, the agency must conduct a free reinvestigation and resolve it within 30 days. If the disputed information turns out to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, the agency must delete or correct it and notify whoever furnished the data.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
File disputes in writing with as much documentation as you can gather: court records showing a dismissal or expunction, proof of identity to show a mixed file, or official DPS records demonstrating the correct disposition. A vague “this isn’t mine” letter gets less traction than one with evidence attached. If the agency refuses to correct a verified error, you have the right to add a personal statement to your file explaining the dispute, and you may have grounds for an FCRA lawsuit. Willful violations carry statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per violation plus punitive damages and attorney fees; negligent violations entitle you to actual damages plus attorney fees.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681o – Civil Liability for Negligent Noncompliance
What Texas Does Not Restrict
Unlike a growing number of states, Texas has no statewide law restricting when private employers can ask about criminal history on a job application. Several Texas cities, including Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas County, previously adopted local ban-the-box ordinances, but the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act passed in 2023 effectively blocked local governments from imposing employment regulations that exceed state law. The legal challenge to that act is ongoing, with appeals court proceedings pending as of mid-2025.
In practice, most private employers in Texas can include criminal history questions on the initial application and can inquire about your record at any stage of hiring. That makes the Texas seven-year reporting limit, the EEOC’s individualized assessment framework, and the state’s expunction and nondisclosure remedies the main protections you have when a record is involved.