Employers are under significant pressure to fill positions quickly while ensuring their new hires are competent, qualified, trustworthy, and a good fit for the role.
As a result, employment background checks need to be both fast and dependable.
This guide explains why employers need background checks with a quick turnaround time, the steps they can take to accelerate the process, and the importance of maintaining legal compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Employers need fast background checks to improve hiring efficiency, minimize downtime, improve candidate experience, maintain a competitive advantage, reduce hiring costs, and increase productivity.
- While all employers can benefit from fast background checks, they are especially important for those in the transportation and logistics, healthcare, manufacturing and fulfillment, retail, and gig economy sectors.
- To speed up background checks, choose a reliable provider, use digital notice and consent processes, submit applicants’ complete identity information and authorizations, integrate your ATS, automate processes, use candidate-friendly paperless background checks, and implement checklists for HR staff.
- Background checks must comply with local, state, and federal laws.
Why Employers Need Fast Background Checks
While the unemployment rate remains historically low at just 4.1% as of November 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports there are 7.9 million open positions.
Employers in this competitive labor environment are under significant pressure to develop strong talent pools and quickly fill open jobs.
Employment background checks are a critical part of the hiring process, and employers need them quickly so they can make smart and fast hiring decisions.
Here are some key reasons why background checks with a rapid turnaround time are important:
1. Improve Hiring Efficiency
When applicants have numerous job openings to consider, an efficient and fast hiring process can be attractive.
Applicants are more likely to move on to other opportunities if a company’s hiring process is slow and inefficient.
Fast background checks help employers reduce time to hire while still ensuring quality hires.
This can help them attract and retain top talent before candidates turn to competitors.
2. Minimize Downtime
When you have positions that go unfilled for weeks or more, they can greatly cut down on your team’s overall productivity and ability to keep your operations running smoothly.
Completing background checks quickly helps to reduce your company’s time to fill and leaves less downtime that could hurt your bottom line.
3. Improve the Candidates’ Experience
A fast hiring time improves your candidates’ experience and leaves a better impression of your company on them.
Candidates who experience shorter waiting times during hiring are more likely to remain motivated, engaged, and excited about your organization, which can carry over to their work if hired.
4. Maintain a Competitive Advantage
Applicants consider multiple factors when deciding which job opportunities to pursue.
When your company has a reputation for having an efficient, fast hiring process, it will be easier to attract top talent.
By contrast, if your background checks take a long time, applicants may lose interest and decide to accept other offers while they wait.
A fast background check and hiring process helps your company maintain its competitive advantage.
5. Reduce Costs
Having open positions for an extended period increases your company’s overall costs by reducing productivity.
Similarly, a lengthy hiring process can drive up hiring costs caused by delays, advertising expenses, and inefficient processes.
Fast background checks can reduce your company’s costs by helping it fill open positions quickly, maintain productivity, and avoid delays and associated expenses.
6. Increase Productivity
Productivity levels fall when you have staffing gaps.
When you streamline your hiring process and partner with a provider like iprospectcheck that returns accurate, reliable, and compliant background checks quickly, you can onboard new employees sooner.
This can boost your company’s productivity and keep your teams working as they should.
Being fully staffed can also increase productivity by improving employee morale.
Know Before You Hire
Industries That Benefit Most from Fast Background Checks
While employers in any industry can benefit from a fast background check process, it is especially important for those operating within the following sectors:
1. Transportation and Logistics
Transportation and logistics companies struggle with nationwide labor shortages despite attractive salaries.
According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the truck driver shortage reached 78,800 in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.
With many companies vying for qualified professionals to fill their open positions, expediting the hiring and background check process is critical.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates these companies, and they must balance legal compliance with the need to hire quickly to keep the goods the public depends on moving.
Some examples of the types of positions that require fast, compliant background checks in the transportation and logistics industry include:
- Commercial truck drivers
- Airline pilots
- Delivery drivers
- Freight brokers
- Flight attendants
- Railway workers
- Dispatchers
- Supply chain managers
- Logistics analysts
For companies hiring for these roles, fast background checks ensure legal compliance, speed up onboarding, and reduce the time to hire to support their role in the supply chain.
2. Manufacturing and Fulfillment Centers
Manufacturing companies must hire quickly to keep production lines running smoothly and to increase workplace safety.
Facilities with numerous open positions face slowed production, reduced profits, and increased safety risks when their existing employees are forced to work harder to fill the gaps.
Fulfillment centers face similar issues and need to hire quickly.
These employees work in a fast-paced, demanding environment as they work to fill orders and ready products for shipment.
Some examples of jobs in the manufacturing and fulfillment sector that require fast background checks include:
- Production line workers
- Quality assurance professionals
- Forklift drivers
- Machine operators
- Material handlers
- Welders
- Pickers/packers
- Inventory managers
- Assemblers
- Fabricators
- Warehouse workers
Fast background checks help manufacturing and fulfillment companies fill open positions quickly while ensuring their new hires are safe and reliable.
3. Retail Industry
Retail companies often experience cyclical demands and must be prepared to hire staff quickly to meet seasonal requirements.
Some examples of jobs retail stores need fast background checks for include:
- Cashiers
- Merchandisers
- Stockers
- Custodial staff
- Greeters
- Security
Fast background checks help retail stores ramp up staffing quickly during peak shopping times.
4. Healthcare
The American Hospital Association (AHA) predicts a shortage of approximately 100,000 critical healthcare workers by 2028.
Amidst stiff competition for top talent, healthcare organizations must streamline their hiring and background check processes to secure qualified health professionals before they accept other offers.
Some of the positions for which fast background checks are essential include:
- Nurses
- Doctors
- Certified nurse assistants (CNAs)
- Medication aides
- Home health aides
- Physician’s assistants (PAs)
- Pharmacists
- Pharmacy techs
- Lab techs
- EMTs
- Paramedics
Healthcare background checks must be both fast and compliant with the numerous laws and regulations governing the healthcare industry.
5. Gig Economy
Many companies have turned to freelancers and on-demand employees to fill temporary staffing needs or complete time-limited projects.
Like volunteers and regular employees, freelancers and on-demand workers should be vetted with background checks.
Some examples of freelancers and on-demand employees who need fast background checks include:
- Drivers for ride-share apps
- Drivers for food delivery apps
- Household cleaners
- Handymen who will be in people’s homes
- Temporary workers
Fast background checks allow companies to quickly vet these applicants and place those trusted to perform the work.
How to Speed Up the Background Check Process
To speed up your company’s background check process, take the following steps:
1. Choose a Reliable Provider
The background check provider you choose can greatly impact the validity of the results and the speed of the vetting process.
Choosing a reliable provider like iprospectcheck can ensure you will receive accurate, current, and legally compliant background checks quickly.
Because of our access to reliable information sources and cutting-edge research methods, we return most FCRA-compliant reports within a few hours to a couple of days.
2. Obtain Digital Consent and Submit With Requests
Digitize the FCRA’s disclosure and consent requirements by sending digital notices to applicants that your company performs background checks and obtaining digital authorization from your candidates to conduct them.
Submit the applicant’s digital authorization when you order a background check.
3. Ensure Candidates Submit Complete Identification Information
It’s critical to submit the candidate’s complete identification information to avoid delays.
Ask your candidates for the following information:
- Complete legal name
- Social Security number (SSN)
- Date of birth
- Signed authorization forms
4. Integrate Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) is a great way to streamline your hiring process.
Make sure your background check provider can integrate with your ATS to accelerate your vetting process.
At iprospectcheck, we offer numerous ATS integrations, allowing information from your ATS to flow directly to us without requiring a manual transfer or data entry.
5. Automate Processes
Reducing manual processes can greatly speed up background checks, prevent data entry errors, and eliminate waste.
Automate the following processes for your background checks:
- Disclosures and authorizations
- FCRA adverse action notices (pre-adverse and final adverse)
- Background check results delivery
6. Use Paperless, Candidate-Friendly Solutions
Paperless background checks are more candidate-friendly and help deliver a seamless experience.
At iprospectcheck, our SwiftHire mobile app allows candidates to submit and receive information directly from their smartphones or other mobile devices.
This app ensures all required information is submitted and your candidates stay informed.
7. Have HR Staff Follow a Checklist
Develop a checklist for your HR staff to follow before they submit background check requests.
Your HR staff should review the checklist to confirm they have gathered all required information to prevent delays.
How to Maintain Compliance When Conducting Background Checks
Whenever you conduct background checks, you must comply with state and federal laws.
If you cut corners, your company could face significant legal liability, fines, and other penalties.
You must also ensure that your candidates’ personal identity information (PII) is protected through strong security measures.
Fast background checks must comply with guidelines under the FCRA, EEOC, and FCA as well as relevant state and local laws as detailed below:
Federal Laws
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA is one of the most important laws that govern how consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) collect, retain, and report information to employers and what employers do with that information during employment background checks.
This law is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and protects consumers’ privacy in their sensitive information.
Under the FCRA, background check providers must comply with a seven-year restriction on the reporting of the following information for jobs with annual salaries under $75,000:
- Arrests not resulting in convictions
- Paid tax liens
- Civil lawsuits and judgments
- Chapter 13 bankruptcies (10-year reporting rule for Chapter 7)
- Debt collection accounts
The FCRA doesn’t restrict CRAs from reporting convictions, but state laws might limit conviction reporting.
Employers must comply with the FCRA’s notice and consent rules by disclosing that they perform background checks on a standalone form and obtaining signed authorization from candidates before initiating them.
When an employer receives a background check that contains negative information and makes them want to deny employment, they must complete the following adverse action steps:
- Send a pre-adverse action letter to the candidate that includes a copy of the report with the problematic information highlighted.
- Provide a reasonable response time for the applicant to provide evidence the information is wrong or that they have been rehabilitated (typically five business days).
- Send a final adverse action letter to the candidate that includes a copy of their FCRA rights if the final decision is not to hire.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Title VII is the leading federal anti-discrimination law that prohibits workplace discrimination based on the protected characteristics of applicants and employees.
This law is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and applies to all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including the hiring and background check processes.
According to EEOC enforcement guidance, employers should individually assess convictions they discover during background checks as they directly relate to the open position’s job duties and workplace safety concerns before deciding not to hire the applicant based on that information.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (FCA
The FCA is a federal fair chance hiring law that governs federal agencies and the private companies they contract with.
This law mandates federal contractors wait until after they have extended conditional job offers to candidates to conduct criminal background checks or otherwise inquire about criminal history information.
Federal agencies can’t contract with companies that ask for criminal history information earlier in the hiring process.
State and Local Laws
State and local laws vary widely, so you should consult legal counsel to learn more about your state’s requirements.
A growing number of states and municipalities have enacted ban-the-box laws that control when in the hiring process you can ask about an applicant’s criminal history.
Other state laws might restrict credit history inquiries, pre-employment marijuana drug tests, or salary history inquiries.
Partner with iprospectcheck for Fast, Accurate, and Compliant Background Checks
Employers must balance hiring quickly with thoroughly vetting candidates to ensure new hires are trustworthy, competent, and safe.
Fast background checks conducted by reliable, compliant background check providers like iprospectcheck allow employers to make better hiring decisions.
At iprospectcheck, many of our reports (e.g. identity verification, national criminal database search, and sex offender searches) come back within 1 business day.
To learn more about our background checks or to get a free quote, contact us today: (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.
FAQs
What’s included in a background check?
What’s included in a background check varies based on the searches requested. The following are common checks employers request:
- Criminal history – Shows criminal case number, charge type and severity, offense date, disposition and disposition date, and sentence information (if available) for convictions and pending cases
- Employment verification – Discloses employer names and addresses, employment dates, and positions held
- Education verification – Reports school name(s) and address(es), attendance dates, and any degrees or diplomas conferred
- Professional license verification – Reveals the license validity, number, type, issuance date, expiration date, and any sanctions
- Motor vehicle records check (MVR) – Discloses the license number, license class, licensee’s legal name, registered address, licensee’s physical descriptors, traffic violations, major traffic crimes, issuance date, expiration date, and revocations or suspensions
How fast can a background check be completed?
How fast a background check can be completed depends on the searches requested.
In most cases, iprospectcheck can return comprehensive, accurate, and compliant reports in as little as a few hours to a couple of days.
More complex requests might take longer.
Do fast background checks cost more?
Some companies that advertise fast background checks claim to do so at minimal cost, but they often deliver unreliable results that might not comply with relevant laws.
At iprospectcheck, we leverage extensive access to reliable information sources and advanced research methodologies to deliver results you can count on.
We offer multiple packages and add-on searches for affordable prices and volume discounts to companies ordering 50 or more background checks per year. Call us for a free quote.
