Delivery Driver Background Checks: A Complete Guide [2025]

If you operate a last-mile delivery service or a similar organization, it’s essential to conduct background checks on all potential hires.

Failing to complete delivery driver background checks puts both the public and your business at risk.

At iprospectcheck, we regularly conduct background checks for last-mile delivery companies and courier service providers across the U.S. and Canada.

This guide outlines what you need to know about delivery driver background checks.

What is a Delivery Driver Background Check?

A delivery driver background check is a thorough review of an applicant’s criminal record, employment history, motor vehicle record, and other information.

The purpose of these checks is to identify and screen out drivers that could pose public safety and liability risks.

Many last-mile delivery drivers are not required to have commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and drive smaller vans or trucks than over-the-road or interstate commercial truck drivers.

However, they also might face more obstacles when they drive in cities and residential areas.

Delivery drivers often interact with customers while delivering packages, food, or various other products.

Moreover, some last-mile drivers not only deliver items but also assist customers by carrying these items into their homes and helping with their setup.

Due to the unique nature of delivery drivers’ jobs, conducting thorough background checks is essential.

These investigations should include nationwide checks of criminal records and comprehensive screenings of driving histories, which are crucial to ensure the safety of your customers and others on the road near your drivers.

What Companies Conduct Background Checks on Delivery Drivers?

Many companies hire delivery drivers and perform background checks on candidates, including:

• Uber Eats
• UPS
• FedEx
• Lyft
• Uber
• Postmates
• Instacart
• Doordash
• Walmart
• Amazon
• Grubhub

Besides these major companies, many local companies also hire delivery drivers and perform background checks on them, including local moving companies, restaurants, medical supply companies with home delivery, and more.

Why Are Delivery Driver Background Checks Important?

1. Protect Public Safety

Delivery drivers deliver goods to the homes of customers and drive on city streets and residential areas.

Since delivery drivers are often pressured to make timely deliveries, bad hires could cut corners by speeding, running red lights, and engaging in other unsafe driving behaviors.

Delivery drivers also interact with customers and might be required to enter their homes to set up furniture and other items.

Performing background checks helps last-mile delivery companies and other similar businesses filter out drivers with a history of criminal convictions or problematic driving.

2. Minimize Liability Risks

Your company bears responsibility for any careless actions committed by the drivers you’ve employed when they are fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of their job.
This means that if one of your delivery drivers causes an accident while making deliveries, your company will ultimately be responsible for paying damages to the injured party.

From 2021 to 2023, FedEx Ground drivers were involved in 907 injury accidents and 84 crashes resulting in deaths in the U.S.

UPS, which has more delivery drivers in the U.S. than FedEx, reported 1,024 injury accidents and 69 crashes resulting in fatalities during the same two years.

These statistics underscore the importance of ensuring the drivers you hire are safe.

If your company fails to conduct a thorough background check on a potentially dangerous applicant, you could also be directly liable if they cause an accident, steal packages, or assault someone while delivering goods.

Thorough delivery driving background checks can help you identify incompetent, risky, and unqualified drivers so that you can make better hiring decisions.

3. Maintain Regulatory Compliance

Many states have laws requiring background checks for drivers who work for transportation network companies (TNCs), including Uber, Lyft, Doordash, GrubHub, and others.

Conducting delivery driver background checks facilitates regulatory compliance and reduces the risk of fines and civil penalties.

4. Build a Safety Culture

It’s in the best interests of delivery companies to build a strong workplace culture in which safety is prioritized.

Conducting pre-employment background checks and screening out known unsafe applicants can help to build a culture within the workplace in which safety is valued.

A good background check policy helps to communicate your company’s safety emphasis to prospective and current employees.

This can help to cut down the risk of accidents caused by drivers cutting corners and violating the law.

What Shows up on a Delivery Driver Background Check?

What appears on delivery driver background checks depends on the searches employers request.

Most delivery companies and TNCs ask for the following types of checks:

• Identity verification
• Criminal history checks
• National sex offender registry checks
• Employment verification
• Motor vehicle records (MVR) checks
• Pre-employment drug tests

Here’s what you might see on each of these reports.

Identity Verification

Identity verification ensures an applicant is who they claim to be and that the records uncovered belong to them instead of someone else.

Verifying the identity of your applicants confirms who they are and prevents confusing them with others with similar names.

Criminal History Search

If an applicant has a criminal record, a criminal history background check will reveal the following information about the applicant’s pending case or criminal conviction:

• Offense date
• Type of offense
• Offense level (misdemeanor/felony)
• Disposition and date of disposition if the case has been disposed of
• Sentence information (if available)

Many companies screen out delivery driver applicants with criminal convictions such as theft, violent crimes, sex offenses, or assaults.

National Sex Offender Registry Check

Since some delivery drivers will enter the homes of customers, many companies conduct sex offender registry checks.

If a driver is a registered sex offender, the following information will be reported:

• Registration date
• Address at which the individual is registered
• Offense for which the applicant is registered (if reportable)

Employment Verification

Many employers request employment verification for delivery driver applicants to confirm the information the applicants have reported on their applications.

An employment verification report reveals the following information about an applicant’s past employers:

• Name and address of each employer
• Dates of employment with each employer
• Jobs/titles held

Motor Vehicle Records Checks

Motor vehicle records (MVR) checks are crucial for companies when recruiting delivery drivers, as they help confirm the candidates are capable and qualified drivers.

An MVR check reports the following information:

• Driver’s license number
• Driver’s license issuance date
• Physical descriptors (hair color, eye color, weight, height, photograph)
• Suspensions or revocations
• Driver’s license expiration date
• Traffic crime convictions
• Moving violations
• Major traffic crimes

Drivers with major traffic convictions, including DUIs, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, reckless driving, and others, might not be insurable.

Similarly, those with too many moving violations within the past few years might also not be insurable.

Pre-employment Drug Test

Most delivery companies make employment offers contingent on their drivers’ ability to pass a pre-employment drug test.

Employers typically request a five-panel urine screen that tests for the applicant’s recent use of the following substances:

• Cocaine
• THC/Marijuana
• Opiates (heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, etc.)
• Amphetamines/methamphetamines
• PCP/phencylcidine

How to Get a Background Check for a Delivery Driver

There are two main ways employers can complete delivery driver background checks, including attempting do-it-yourself background checks or partnering with a full-service provider like iprospectcheck.

Here’s a look at each method.

1. DIY Delivery Driver Background Checks

Some employers attempt do-it-yourself background checks for delivery drivers.

They might send information requests to the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the state’s criminal repository, check the references provided by the applicant, and contact the applicant’s former employers.

Pros

• Free, other than fees charged by state agencies for information

Cons

• State agencies can take a few weeks to return reports, depending on the jurisdiction
• Risk of receiving incomplete data
• Risk of mixing up an applicant with someone else who has a similar name
• Information might not be legally compliant

Partnering with iprospectcheck

When you partner with iprospectcheck, we are a full-service provider that also offers clinical services, including pre-employment drug tests.

Pros

• Fast turnaround times within a few hours
• Complete, accurate, and up-to-date background checks
• We verify identity information to ensure it belongs to your applicant
• We comply with the FCRA and state employment background check laws and regulations

Cons

• Background check fees, but they are affordable

Important Laws and Regulations

Federal Laws

Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumers in the privacy of their information when it is collected and disseminated by consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), including companies that perform background checks for employment.

Under the FCRA, CRAs are prohibited from reporting the following types of information when it is seven or more years old if a job offers an annual salary of less than $75,000:

• Arrests that didn’t result in convictions
• Bankruptcies (10 years for Chapter 7)
• Paid tax liens
• Civil lawsuits
• Civil judgments

The reporting of criminal convictions, pending criminal cases, and driving records is not restricted by the FCRA.

However, some states might have laws that prevent reporting criminal conviction information older than a set period.

The FCRA also requires employers to complete the adverse action process when they receive information on a background check that makes them want to deny an applicant.

You must complete the following steps before deciding against hiring an applicant:

1. Send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the problematic report.
2. Provide the applicant with a reasonable time to respond with mitigating information or evidence that the reported information is wrong.
3. Send a final adverse action notice if you decide not to hire the applicant.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal anti-discrimination law that prohibits workplace discrimination based on an applicant’s or employee’s protected characteristics.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers should individually assess criminal convictions as they relate to the job before making adverse employment decisions.

State Laws

States have varying employment background check laws and regulations.

A growing number of state and local jurisdictions have enacted ban-the-box laws that control when employers can inquire about criminal history information.

States might also have different laws about the types of background checks TNCs and other delivery companies should conduct on drivers.

You should consult legal counsel about your state’s laws to ensure you maintain compliance.

iprospectcheck: Your Trusted Partner for Delivery Driver Background Checks

As a delivery company, it’s critical to ensure your drivers are safe and trustworthy.

Failing to conduct thorough delivery driver background checks could expose you to significant liability.

At iprospectcheck, we are a preferred background check partner for many logistics and transportation companies across the country.

Contact iprospectcheck to learn more about our background check and clinical services or to receive a free quote: (888) 509-1979

DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.