As a New Jersey employer hiring for positions that require licensure, you know the importance of ensuring that your employees are properly licensed.
Hiring people with expired or invalid licenses or who have a history of disciplinary actions against their licenses can result in substantial liability for your business.
Did you know that a Jersey City man was arrested and charged for practicing law without a license?
An NJ license verification allows you to check the credentials of your applicants and ensure that you only hire people who are fully qualified for their jobs.
NJ professional license verifications also help to protect the customers and clients your company serves while preventing negligent hiring lawsuits.
Based on our extensive experience conducting professional license verifications across multiple industries, we have written this guide for employers in New Jersey.
Let’s get started.
What Is a Professional License Check in New Jersey?
A NJ professional license check involves checking with the issuing boards or institutions to verify that an applicant currently holds an active and valid license or certification. This type of verification also allows employers to uncover whether the applicant has any disciplinary history against their licenses.
Why Should I Verify an Applicant’s License?
Whenever you hire an employee for a job that requires a specialized license, you should make sure to verify his or her license during your pre-employment background check process.
Verifying the professional licenses and credentials of your applicants provides multiple benefits to both your clients or customers and your business.
When you verify that your employees are licensed, you can guarantee that all of your employees have the necessary training to perform the services that you offer, whether you operate in healthcare, accounting, construction, technology or any other regulated industry.
Professional license verifications also help to protect your business against potential liability claims. Some applicants lie about the status of their licenses, and failing to confirm their claims could result in substantial losses
When Should I Verify an Applicant’s License in NJ?
You should complete a professional license verification during the background check process.
Since New Jersey law requires employers to wait until after applicants have had a chance to complete an initial interview for certain types of background checks, it makes sense to wait until then to conduct a professional license verification.
Since professional licenses expire and must be renewed, it is also a good idea to check the status of your current employees’ licenses on an ongoing basis.
That way you can know if an employee has been disciplined or has allowed a license to expire so that you can take appropriate disciplinary measures.
What Shows Up on a NJ License Verification Report?
A professional license verification report in New Jersey will include the following types of information:
- License type
- When the license was issued
- When the license expires
- Certification number
- Whether the license is current and valid
- Any sanctions or disciplinary actions
Know Before You Hire
How do I Verify a Professional License in New Jersey?
Verifying the professional licenses of your applicants and employees should be completed by contacting the issuing agency or board and checking other jurisdictions in which the applicant or employee has lived in the past.
Here is how to verify licenses for a few different professions in New Jersey.
Physicians, Nurses, CNAs, and Other Healthcare Professionals
For doctors, you can search on the New Jersey Health Care Profile site through the Office of the Attorney General to look up a physician’s license status and disciplinary history.
You can also check with the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners.
To check the licenses reported by nurses, you can check with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Under the Professions menu, select “nursing” to perform your search.
Contractors
For contractors, you can check the status of their licenses through the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
Some contractors have licenses in the names of their businesses, including home improvement contractors, electrical contractors, architects, and others.
For those types of licenses, you should conduct a business search. For others, you can conduct a name-based search to find and verify the license information.
Real Estate Professionals
You can search the license status of real estate professionals on the Department of Banking and Insurance’s Real Estate Licensee Search site. You will need to input the person’s full name or reference number.
Insurance Professionals
The Department of Banking and Insurance also allows you to verify the licenses of insurance professionals. You can verify the license status of an insurance professional by email.
It is critical to contact the issuing agency or board directly instead of checking databases online to verify the status of an applicant’s license. Online databases can include outdated or inaccurate information.
All General Professions
If you are hiring for positions in general professions that require licenses, you can also search online through the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
You will need to input the first and last names of the person, the city in which he or she lives, his or her profession and license type, and the license number if you have it available. Providing more information will improve the accuracy of the search.
Should I Verify Licenses on My Own or Partner with a Background Check Company?
While some businesses try to verify professional licenses on their own by checking online, it is best to go directly to the issuing agency or board. A professional license verification check should also include searches of the previous jurisdictions in which an applicant has lived and practiced his or her profession.
When you work with a reliable background check provider like iprospectcheck, you can feel confident in the accuracy and currency of the information you receive. Our New Jersey background checks always comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other relevant laws. With us, you can receive the reports you need in as little as a few hours.
Like many of the other background check services we provide, professional license records are generally matters of public record.
You might wonder, why have us provide this to you instead of doing it yourself?
Here are a few of the benefits you can enjoy by working with iprospectcheck:
• Save time
Trying to verify the professional licenses of your applicants can be time-consuming. It takes time to source the data, and the process can be frustrating. Working with us helps to free up the time of your human resources professionals so that they can attend to other important tasks.
Allowing your HR staff to focus on higher-value tasks is an easy way to boost their productivity.
• Stay organized
When you work with us, you will receive full documentation of the work that we perform.
If your business is audited, you will know exactly where to find the information that you need with our comprehensive documentation and reports.
Working with us also helps you to maintain consistency in your hiring process with every applicant.
• Have peace of mind
Partnering with iprospectcheck can provide you with the peace of mind that all of your professional employees have the licenses they need.
You can feel confident in knowing that your employees’ licenses have been verified by clearly seeing the information on their background reports.
• Convenience
Working with us is fast, easy, and inexpensive.
We are very efficient in our process and complete these types of checks for employers in every state instead of infrequently in only a state or two. We have extensive resources and know exactly where to quickly find relevant, accurate information in all 50 states.
In addition to license verifications, we can partner with you to complete all different types of employment background checks that you might need.
We perform employment criminal checks, sex offender checks, employment verifications, drug testing, and more.
Our broad menu of employment background check services complements your professional license verifications to provide you with a comprehensive picture of your prospective candidates.
iprospectcheck: Your Trusted Partner for Fast, Accurate, Compliant NJ License Verifications
When your business provides services that require licensure, you must verify the licenses of your applicants and employees. Failing to do so could expose you to potential negligent hiring liability and endanger the people you serve.
At iprospectcheck, we have the necessary resources and skills to quickly source license and other relevant background information. When you work with us, you can feel confident that your background check reports are accurate, current, and FCRA-compliant.
Call us today to learn more about our services and receive a free quote: (888) 808-9997
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.
