No matter which industry your company might be in, conducting pre-employment background checks should be a critical component of your business’s hiring process.
Accurate and comprehensive Indiana employment background checks are key to ensuring your company finds reliable, qualified, and safe employees who can help your business grow.
When you conduct pre-employment background checks in Indiana, you must also comply with all relevant laws in how the checks are completed and how you use the information when making hiring decisions.
Complying with the applicable Indiana employment background check laws requires up-to-date knowledge of the laws and access to comprehensive resources to gather detailed information.
At iprospectcheck, we have conducted thousands of background checks in Indiana for companies located throughout the state, including in Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and more.
To help you understand the basics of conducting accurate, FCRA-compliant Indiana background checks for employment, we have created this guide that you can use as a resource for your company’s hiring process.
Let’s start now.
Indiana Employment Background Check Laws 2025: A Complete Overview
Indiana employers and consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) like iprospectcheck must comply with local, state, and federal laws covering background checks and the types of information that can be accessed and used during the hiring process.
If you fail to comply with these laws, you could face legal liability in lawsuits and other potential penalties.
Some of the most important laws that employers in Indiana should know when relying on third-party employment background check providers during the hiring process are detailed below.
Federal Laws on Employment Background Checks
Two of the most important federal laws on employment background checks in Indiana include the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA was enacted in 1970 and is a comprehensive set of laws designed to protect the privacy of consumer information, including the information accessed and used during the employment background check process. This law restricts the information that CRAs can gather and that employers can use when making hiring decisions.
The FCRA restricts CRAs from reporting information about arrests more than seven years old that did not result in convictions. Information about judgment liens, bankruptcies, civil lawsuits, and collection accounts may also not be reported when they are seven or more years old.
However, criminal conviction records may be collected and reported regardless of age. The FCRA’s restrictions do not cover positions that offer salaries of $75,000 or more.
When employers intend to complete pre-employment background checks in Indiana, they must also notify candidates of their intention to conduct background checks in advance. Consent should be secured from each applicant before you complete a background check for employment in Indiana.
If you receive negative information about a prospective employee on a background check report, you must follow the two-step adverse action process before making a final decision not to hire the applicant.
Title VII
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark federal anti-discrimination law that prohibits employment discrimination based on the protected characteristics of job applicants and employees. This law is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
This law covers situations in which you receive criminal history information on a pre-employment background check in Indiana. The EEOC recommends employers complete an individual assessment based on the specific positions for which they are hiring before they make adverse job decisions based on this type of information.
Indiana State Laws on Employment Background Checks
Several Indiana state laws apply to Indiana employment background checks. Under IC § 24-4-18-7, CRAs may not knowingly report criminal history information on an Indiana employment background check report that has not been updated in the last 60 days.
Under IC § 24-4-18-6, CRAs are also prohibited from knowingly disclosing information about expunged records, limited access records, restricted records, or information about Class D felonies that have been entered as Class A misdemeanor convictions.
Public sector employers in Indiana must comply with the executive order prohibiting questions on applications about criminal history information. However, under IC § 22-2-17-3, cities and counties may not enact local ban-the-box regulations for private employers.
Know Before You Hire
What Shows Up on an Indiana Background Check?
The information that will appear on your employment background checks in Indiana will depend on the types of reports you request. At iprospectcheck, we offer tailored reports to meet the needs of individual businesses.
However, most companies in the state request criminal history information, employment verification, and education verification on their background check reports. Here is what you might see for each of those reports.
Criminal History Information
If an applicant has a criminal record, you will see the following types of information on a background check report:
- Case number
- Arrest date
- Charge
- Case disposition
- Disposition date
- Charge severity (felony or misdemeanor)
- Sentence
Records that have been expunged or sealed will not be reported.
Employment Verification
Employment verification allows you to see an applicant’s dates of employment with each employer, all of the applicant’s past employers, and the specific job titles for the positions an applicant has held.
This information can help you to ensure your applicants are honest and qualified so that you can reduce your risk of liability in negligent hiring claims.
Education Verification
Requesting education verification allows you to confirm the degrees, diplomas, and other credentials an applicant has earned. Education verification will show the institutions an applicant has attended, the attendance dates, and any diplomas or degrees earned.
This type of information can help to ensure you hire qualified and trustworthy employees who can perform their jobs.
How Many Years Back does a Background Check go in Indiana?
The FCRA restricts how far back adverse information for a job applicant can be reported and used for employment purposes in Indiana. Certain types of adverse information, including arrests that are older than seven years that did not result in convictions, civil judgments, liens, and similar information cannot be reported on pre-employment background checks.
However, this restriction does not apply to positions paying $75,000 or more. There is also no restriction on how far back criminal convictions can be reported.
The FCRA’s seven-year lookback period does not apply to background information about past employment, education, or credentials. You can use this type of information no matter how old it is.
Where to Get a Background Check in Indiana
Applicants for professional licenses can submit fingerprints to secure national criminal background checks at their own cost through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. This type of check is performed at the time an applicant applies for an initial professional license or certificate and is not used by employers.
The Indiana State Police maintains a central repository of criminal records. Employers may conduct a name-based search for limited criminal history reports that include information about arrests and convictions in Indiana.
However, obtaining a report through the state will not include information about convictions from other jurisdictions or other critical background information such as employment or educational histories.
You might find providers online that advertise they provide free Indiana background checks. However, you should be wary of these types of providers.
The information they provide is frequently outdated, inaccurate, and not FCRA-compliant. Relying on it could expose your company to legal liability.
Free public records in Indiana can also be incomplete or provide you with information that cannot be used for employment purposes.
The best approach is to choose a reputable, FCRA-compliant full-service employment background check provider like iprospectcheck. We provide comprehensive, accurate, and current pre-employment background check reports that comply with all relevant laws.
How Much Does a Background Check Cost in Indiana?
If you submit a request for a limited name-based criminal history background check to the Indiana State Police, you will have to pay $15 per report. However, this report will not include other important information that you might need for employment.
Getting all of the information you might need on your own would require you to send requests to multiple agencies, companies, and institutions, which could be a very time-consuming and expensive process.
Trying to rely on sites promising free employment background check reports in Indiana is risky and could expose you to substantial liability.
A better approach is to partner with a reliable, FCRA-compliant background check company like iprospectcheck.
We offer tailored Indiana pre-employment background checks that allow you to select only the types of information you need instead of receiving a lot of superfluous information you will not use.
We have several packages available at different price levels and many additional types of reports and clinical services, including pre-employment drug testing.
If you will order employment background checks at volume, we also offer significant volume discounts. Contact iprospectcheck today for a free quote.
How Long Does it Take to Get a Background Check Completed in the State of Indiana?
How long you might expect a pre-employment background report in Indiana to take will depend on the methods used to conduct your checks.
If you choose to collect the information you need on your own by submitting requests through several agencies, institutions, and previous employers, it could take you several weeks to get the information you need for an applicant.
Employers in Indiana benefit when they offer applicants a fast, smooth onboarding experience. Partnering with iprospectcheck can help to ensure you receive the pre-employment background check reports quickly, enabling you to move forward with your hiring decisions.
When you work with us, we will return the information to you in the shortest time possible. In many cases, we are able to turn reports around in a matter of a few hours.
iprospectcheck: Your Trusted Partner for Fast, Accurate, Compliant Indiana State Background Checks
To conduct comprehensive, FCRA-compliant, and accurate Indiana background check reports for employment, you will have to have access to all of the relevant records about criminal history, employment, education, credentials, and other relevant data about each applicant.
At iprospectcheck, we have extensive resources and access to up-to-date databases to quickly gather current information for your background check reports.
Our professional staff members undergo in-depth training and understand how to gather and analyze crucial screening information for job candidates. You can feel confident that the results we provide are FCRA-compliant, comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date.
We prioritize customer service and the experiences of both our clients and their candidates. All of our services are USA-based, helping us to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of your sensitive information. If you ever have questions, you can also be assured you will receive a timely response.
To learn more about how iprospectcheck can help your company to enjoy a smooth, streamlined hiring process, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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.
