An FBI background check shows your criminal history as reported to the bureau by federal, state, and local agencies: convictions, arrests, pending charges, active warrants, and qualifying protective orders, all tied to your fingerprints. It does not show your credit, employment history, education, driving record, or medical information. What actually appears depends on whether the check runs on your fingerprints or your name, and on whether the agencies that handled your cases sent their records to the FBI in the first place.
Criminal Convictions
Convictions are the core of the report. The FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) system and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) together catalog felony and misdemeanor convictions submitted by federal, state, and local agencies across the country.1Federation of American Scientists (FAS). National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – FBI Information Systems Each entry typically shows the offense, the date, and the jurisdiction that handled the case.
A conviction only appears if the agency that handled it submitted fingerprints to the FBI. About half of all FBI records are arrest-only entries with no final disposition attached, because many local agencies never follow up with court outcomes. That gap can make a dismissed case look unresolved on paper.
Arrests and Pending Charges
Arrests show up even when they never led to a conviction. If you were fingerprinted at booking, that arrest is likely in the FBI’s records along with whatever charge information the arresting agency submitted.1Federation of American Scientists (FAS). National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – FBI Information Systems Pending charges and active indictments appear as well, because NCIC tracks individuals charged with serious offenses who are awaiting trial.
An arrest by itself is not proof of criminal conduct. The EEOC has said that an employer cannot lawfully deny a job based on an arrest record alone; only the underlying conduct, when directly relevant to the position, can be considered.2U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act The FBI check itself does not draw that distinction for the reader; it delivers the raw data.
Warrants and Protective Orders
Active warrants appear in the NCIC’s Wanted Person File, which covers federal warrants and state warrants for felonies and serious misdemeanors.1Federation of American Scientists (FAS). National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – FBI Information Systems The system also accepts “temporary felony wants” when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone committed a felony and may flee across jurisdictions before a formal warrant issues.
Court-issued protective orders, often tied to domestic violence or stalking, are recorded in the NCIC as well. Under federal firearms law, being subject to a qualifying protective order makes you ineligible to purchase or possess a firearm, and that information feeds into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) used by licensed dealers.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. NICS Index Brochure
What an FBI Background Check Does Not Show
The check is limited to criminal history and related law enforcement data. It is not a general dossier. You will not find:
- Credit history, debts, bank accounts, or financial records. Finances are reviewed separately during security clearance investigations, not in a standard criminal history check.
- Employment or education history. The FBI does not verify where you worked or went to school.
- Driving records. Traffic violations and license status live with state motor vehicle agencies.
- Medical records, which are protected under federal privacy laws and never included.
- Drug test results. Prior drug-related arrests or convictions appear; screening outcomes do not.
- Sealed juvenile records, which are generally inaccessible through a standard FBI check.
Federal employment and security clearance investigations are a separate, deeper process that does look at finances, foreign contacts, references, and personal history. If you are going through one of those, expect the review to reach well beyond your criminal record.
Fingerprints Versus Name-Based Searches
The FBI runs two different kinds of searches, and each produces different results. A fingerprint-based check matches your prints against the NGI database, which creates a positive identification and ensures the results actually belong to you. The FBI requires fingerprints before releasing any Identity History Summary, specifically to prevent misidentification.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Name-based checks work differently. The FBI’s National Name Check Program searches the bureau’s Universal Index using your name and approximate date of birth, looking for any mention of you in FBI files, whether as the subject of an investigation or someone referenced in one.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI Name Check Process USCIS uses name checks as part of immigration and naturalization screening.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Chapter 2 – Background and Security Checks Name searches cast a wider net but are less precise. Common names produce false hits, and unusual spellings can miss records that belong to you. Fingerprint checks are slower but definitive.
Expunged and Sealed Records
Records a state court has ordered expunged or sealed should disappear from your FBI record. In practice, they often don’t. The FBI cannot remove or seal a record on its own initiative. It needs a formal request from the state identification bureau or the agency that originally submitted the record. When that request never arrives, the expunged case sits in the FBI database as if nothing changed.
The breakdown can happen at several points. The court issues the expungement order, but the local agency doesn’t forward the paperwork to the state. The state bureau processes it internally but never notifies the FBI. Or the notification is sent but the FBI record isn’t updated because of a fingerprint mismatch or processing backlog. For nonfederal records, the FBI directs you to the state identification bureau in the state where the offense occurred, since expungement laws and procedures vary by jurisdiction.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions For federal records, removal happens only when the submitting agency requests it or the FBI receives a federal court order directing expungement.
A separate rule applies when a consumer reporting agency runs a background check for employment. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, that agency cannot include records it knows have been expunged or sealed.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening The FBI itself is not a consumer reporting agency and is not bound by the FCRA, so a federal agency running its own check may still see records a state court ordered sealed.
How to See Your Own Record
You can request your Identity History Summary, sometimes called a “rap sheet,” directly from the FBI for $18, payable by credit card, money order, or certified check. Personal checks and cash are not accepted.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions Three submission routes are available:
- Submit the request online through the FBI’s website, then visit a participating U.S. Post Office to have your fingerprints captured electronically. This is the fastest option.
- Get fingerprinted on an official FBI card (form FD-1164) and mail the card with your payment. Local law enforcement agencies and some private companies can take prints, with fees ranging from free to about $35.
- Use an FBI-approved channeler, a private contractor authorized to collect your prints and submit them for you. Channelers charge their own service fee on top of the $18.8FBI. Channeler FAQs
Electronic submissions come back faster, though the FBI does not guarantee turnaround times for any method. Mail-in results are returned by First-Class Mail only.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Fixing Errors Before an Employer Sees Them
If your summary contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you can challenge it at no cost. Identify which entries are wrong and submit supporting documentation such as court dispositions, dismissal orders, or expungement records. The FBI processes challenges in the order received and aims to respond within 45 days.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
The most common error is a missing disposition: the record shows an arrest but no final outcome, making a resolved case look open. Fixing it usually means contacting the court where the case ended to obtain certified disposition documents, then submitting those to the FBI. For a state expungement that hasn’t reached your FBI record, contact the state identification bureau in the state where the offense occurred, since the FBI depends on that bureau to initiate the update.
Reviewing your own record before you apply for a job or a professional license is usually worth the $18 and the wait. Finding an error after an employer has already pulled the check leaves you gathering court documents while a hiring decision sits on hold.