Missouri Background Checks: A Complete Guide [2025]

Looking to hire the right people for your Missouri business? Resumes and interviews only tell part of the story.

Consider this: a Missouri woman was convicted for her fourth fraud scheme after embezzling from multiple employers.

That’s why background checks are so important. They help verify resume information and reveal potential disqualifying convictions.

Based on our experience helping employers in Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and beyond, we’ve created this guide to walk you through the process.

What is a Missouri Employment Background Check?

A Missouri employment background check examines a candidate’s criminal record, educational background, work history, professional credentials, and other key information to evaluate their suitability for a position.

Employers throughout Missouri use these screenings to confirm applicant details and make informed hiring decisions based on factual, dependable information.

Why Do Employers in Missouri Conduct Background Checks?

Employers in Missouri conduct background checks for several important reasons:

1. Ensure Workplace Safety

Background checks help Missouri businesses identify potential risks by revealing criminal records or past behaviors that may pose safety concerns for employees, clients, and the public.

Screening candidates for relevant offenses helps create a safer work environment.

2. Support Fair Hiring Practices

A standardized background check process ensures all candidates are evaluated fairly, reducing the risk of unconscious bias in hiring decisions.

Consistent screening procedures promote equal employment opportunities while minimizing legal risks.

3. Comply with Regulations

Missouri employers must adhere to federal, state, and industry-specific background check laws.

For example, companies regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) must conduct DOT background checks and DOT drug testing for safety-sensitive positions.

Missouri’s economy brings together various industries, each with its own approach to background screening.

In aerospace and defense, major players like Boeing in St. Louis require federal security clearances for sensitive roles.

The automotive sector, including Ford’s Claycomo plant and GM’s Wentzville facility, runs comprehensive background checks to keep workplaces safe and maintain quality standards.

Healthcare providers such as BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine thoroughly screen potential employees, with criminal record checks being particularly important for patient safety.

Meanwhile, financial firms like Edward Jones and Commerce Bank conduct extensive background investigations to follow federal regulations and safeguard their clients’ assets.

Implementing industry-appropriate background screening protocols helps employers maintain workplace safety and regulatory compliance.

4. Reduce Negligent Hiring Risks

Employers who fail to properly vet candidates may face legal liability if an unverified hire causes harm in the workplace.

Comprehensive background screenings demonstrate due diligence and help protect businesses from negligent hiring lawsuits.

5. Build Trust with Clients

Many industries in Missouri, such as finance, healthcare, and legal services, require employees to handle sensitive customer information.

Background checks help employers verify a candidate’s integrity and ensure they can responsibly manage confidential data, reducing the risk of fraud or security breaches.

6. Protect Corporate Reputation

Employees represent their company, particularly in public-facing roles.

Thorough background screenings help employers avoid hiring individuals with a history of misconduct that could damage the company’s reputation or erode customer trust.

What Shows Up on a Missouri Background Check?

Most employers in Missouri request information about applicants’ criminal history, employment history, and educational qualifications.

Depending on the specific position, some may request additional background information.

Criminal History Information

If an applicant has a reportable criminal record, you will see the following information:

• Criminal case number
• Jurisdiction
• Date of the offense
• Nature of the charges
• Classification level (misdemeanor or felony)
• Case disposition
• Disposition date
• Sentence (if applicable)

Employers should evaluate criminal records in context rather than automatically disqualifying candidates.

Each case should be considered in relation to the job requirements and workplace safety to ensure fair hiring practices.

Remember that consumer reporting agencies cannot disclose sealed, expunged, or pardoned records.

Education Verification

Education verification confirms that candidates have the academic qualifications needed for the position. This screening includes:

• Institution name(s) and location(s)
• Enrollment periods
• Degrees or diplomas earned

This verification helps ensure that applicants have truthfully represented their educational backgrounds.

Employment Verification

Employment verification confirms a candidate’s work experience by checking:

• Company names and locations
• Employment start and end dates
• Job titles and positions held

This helps employers confirm accurate work history reporting and identify any unexplained gaps in employment.

Professional License Verification

For positions requiring certification or licensure, this verification confirms:

• License validity
• License type
• License number
• Licensee’s name
• Issuing organization
• Issuance and expiration dates
• Public disciplinary records

This ensures that candidates in regulated industries have the proper credentials for their roles.

Identity Verification

Identity verification confirms:

• Full legal name and known aliases
• Address history
• Date of birth

This ensures background screenings are conducted on the correct person, minimizing errors or misidentification.

Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) Check

MVR checks reveal information about a candidate’s driving history, including:

• Driver’s license number
• License class
• Issuance and expiration dates
• Legal name and registered address
• Traffic infractions and major traffic offenses
• License suspensions or revocations

For driving positions, these checks help ensure that candidates are safe, responsible drivers who meet insurance requirements.

Important Laws and Regulations

Federal Laws

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

First enacted in 1970, the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.

This law includes comprehensive rules governing employers’ hiring practices in the U.S. and was designed to guarantee that consumer information gathered, held, and disseminated by consumer reporting agencies to third parties is fair, accurate, and protected.

The FCRA includes a seven-year rule that prohibits CRAs from reporting the following information for jobs paying less than $75,000 when it’s seven or more years old:

• Arrests not culminating in convictions
• Paid tax liens
• Chapter 13 bankruptcies (Chapter 7 can be reported for 10 years)
• Civil lawsuits
• Civil judgments
• Debt collections

This rule doesn’t restrict CRAs from reporting this information for jobs paying more than $75,000 and also doesn’t prevent convictions from being reported regardless of age.

The FCRA provides a standard that employers must follow in how they collect and use consumer information, including from third-party background checks.

The FCRA requires employers to provide a written notice to applicants that they intend to conduct background checks.

This notice must be on a separate form and can’t contain any additional information.

They must then obtain written authorizations from applicants before they conduct the pre-employment background checks.

If an employer decides to make an unfavorable hiring decision based on the information revealed on a background check, the FCRA has stringent protocols in place for how the situation must be handled.

At iprospectcheck, you can rest easy knowing we comply with all FCRA regulations.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Several laws prohibiting discrimination are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

This law prohibits employment discrimination based on the protected characteristics of applicants and employees, including:

• Race
• National origin
• Color
• Gender
• Religion/creed

Other laws that have since been passed have added additional protected characteristics, including:

• Disability
• Age (over 40)
• Pregnancy
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Genetic information
• Citizenship status

When a background check reveals criminal history information, EEOC guidance for employers states that they must individually assess the information in relation to the specific positions for which the applicants are being considered and workplace safety before they make final decisions not to hire based on convictions.

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (FCA) is a federal law that applies to companies seeking federal contracts and the federal agencies that extend them.

Under the FCA, a federal contractor or federal agency must wait to inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until they have extended contingent job offers.

Federal agencies are not allowed to contract with companies that violate the FCA by inquiring about criminal history before making job offers.

State Laws

Missouri Executive Order 16-04

In April 2016, former Governor Jay Nixon signed Executive Order No. 16-04, which is a ban-the-box law that applies to agencies within the executive branch of the Missouri state government.

Under this order, executive branch agencies may not include questions about criminal history on their applications.

However, the law does allow executive branch agencies to ask about criminal history information when having a conviction would make the person ineligible for the position under the law.

Kansas City Ban-the-Box Ordinance

On February 1, 2018, the Council of Kansas City passed Ordinance No. 180034, which is a ban-the-box law that changed how employers can request and consider criminal history information from their applicants.

Employers that employ six or more employees cannot ask about criminal history information until after the applicant has been determined to be otherwise qualified for the job and has had the opportunity for an interview.

Employers are also prohibited from considering a criminal conviction for the purpose of a hiring decision unless they have first determined that the conviction directly relates to the requirements of the job.

This ordinance doesn’t apply to employers hiring for jobs when they are required to inquire about criminal history under local, state, or federal law.

St. Louis Ban-the-Box Ordinance

St. Louis has a ban-the-box law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021. Ordinance No. 71074 applies to employers within the City of St. Louis that have 10 or more employees.

It prohibits employers from asking about criminal history information on their applications, and they can only do so after the candidates have had interviews unless they conduct criminal background checks on the entire pool of final candidates.

Employers also are not allowed to base hiring decisions on criminal convictions unless they have determined that the convictions directly relate to the duties of the jobs for which the applicants are under consideration.

Jobs for which criminal history inquiries are required under state or federal laws or regulations are exempt from this local ordinance.

Columbia’s Ban the Box Ordinance

The city of Columbia has a ban-the-box ordinance found at Columbia City Code Sec. 12-90. This law applies to all employers operating within Columbia’s city limits.

Under this ordinance, employers are prohibited from inquiring about a candidate’s criminal history until after they extend conditional employment offers.

Jackson County’s Ban the Box Rule

Jackson County has a ban-the-box law found in Exec. Order No. 16-16.

This order applies to public county employers and prohibits them from including questions about criminal history on job applications.

Kansas City Salary History Ban

Under Substitute Resolution No. 180519, Kansas City employers with six or more employees are prohibited from asking about an applicant’s salary history to make hiring decisions.

They can ask about an applicant’s salary expectations, however.

St. Louis Salary History Ban

St. Louis has a salary history ban that only applies to city employers.

This rule is found in Board Bill No. 171FS and prohibits city employers from inquiring about an applicant’s salary history.

Mandatory E-Verify Enrollment

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 285.530, public employers and private employers that have contracts worth $5,000 or more with the state must enroll in E-Verify and use it to confirm applicants are legally authorized to work.

Covered employers must provide an affidavit that they have enrolled in E-Verify and that none of their employees are undocumented.

Missouri Expungement Law

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.140, people convicted of many different types of felony offenses and misdemeanor crimes can petition the court in the county in which they were convicted to ask for their records to be expunged.

There is a three-year waiting period following the completion of a sentence and the payment of all fines for a felony conviction.

People with misdemeanor convictions cannot request an expungement until one year after they have completed their sentences and paid their fines.

If the petition is successful, the petitioner’s record will be sealed and cannot be reported. An applicant with an expunged conviction is legally allowed to state that he or she does not have a criminal conviction if asked by a prospective employer.

How to Get a Background Check in Missouri

1. Create a Compliant Background Check Policy

Before you conduct background checks, create a background check policy that complies with federal, state, and local background check laws.

Include the steps HR should take before, during, and after the background check process.

Discuss the types of searches that will be performed for different jobs based on their duties and authority level.

2. Train HR Personnel

Train the HR personnel who will conduct background checks. Make sure they understand their legal requirements to avoid unconscious bias.

3. Adhere to Notice and Consent Requirements

The FCRA requires employers to notify applicants in writing that they conduct background checks.

This notice must be on a standalone form without other information included.

You must also obtain an applicant’s written consent before beginning a background check.

4. Choose a Reliable Provider

Select a reputable provider like iprospectcheck that delivers thorough, up-to-date, accurate, and legally compliant background reports.

5. Select Your Searches

Choose specific screening elements based on the position’s requirements and responsibilities.

This targeted approach ensures you invest only in relevant information rather than unnecessary reports.

6. Review and Communicate the Results

Carefully analyze the completed background report when it arrives.

For promising candidates, discuss the results and begin the onboarding process.

If concerning information appears, follow the appropriate steps below.

7. Individually Assess Conviction Records

Never automatically disqualify candidates based solely on conviction records.

Instead, carefully consider each case in relation to the specific job requirements and safety considerations.

8. Complete the Adverse Action Process

When potentially declining a candidate based on background findings, complete these adverse action steps:

• Send a pre-adverse action notice – Provide a written notice with the concerning information and attach the complete report.
• Allow sufficient response time – Give candidates adequate opportunity (typically five days) to address concerns with corrective information or rehabilitation evidence.
• Send a final adverse action notice – If proceeding with rejection, send an official adverse action notification, including a copy of the candidate’s FCRA rights.

iprospectcheck: Your Trusted Partner for Fast, Accurate, Compliant Missouri Background Checks

Performing thorough and legally sound Missouri background checks means accessing numerous records—a process that can drain valuable time from employers.

By choosing iprospectcheck as your partner, you gain immediate access to dependable databases and skilled professionals trained specifically to gather and interpret essential screening data.

We deliver background check reports that are precise, current, and fully aligned with FCRA requirements.

Our team manages all verification processes internally, with zero overseas outsourcing, guaranteeing complete data protection and privacy.

For additional details or to receive 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.