Yes, pending charges do show up on background checks in most cases. Once a charge is filed, it becomes part of the public court record, and commercial screening companies, fingerprint-based federal checks, and many online services can all report it while the case is still open. Federal law allows this reporting but also limits how far back it can go and how employers can use it, and you have specific rights to see the report and challenge anything wrong in it.
What the Report Actually Says About a Pending Case
When a pending charge appears on a background check, the entry usually includes the arrest date, the arresting agency, the specific charges filed, and the court handling the case. The status field will read “pending” or “open,” which signals that no verdict, plea, or dismissal has been entered.
A pending charge is not a finding of guilt, and screening companies are required to use reasonable procedures to keep reported information accurate. That includes reflecting the current status of a case rather than presenting an unresolved charge as a conviction.1Federal Trade Commission. What Employment Background Screening Companies Need to Know About the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Which Kinds of Checks Are Likely to Catch It
Not every background check pulls from the same places, and the type of screening shapes whether a pending charge surfaces.
Employer-Ordered Commercial Checks
Most pre-employment background checks come from third-party screening companies that search public records at the county court level. Because criminal cases originate in county or state courts, a charge that has been formally filed will typically appear on these reports within days.
FBI Fingerprint Checks
Positions in government, law enforcement, and work with vulnerable populations often require fingerprint-based checks run against the FBI’s national biometric database.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Recording Legible Fingerprints These checks are almost certain to return any pending charge along with your full arrest history.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Cheap Online Lookups
Instant online background checks pull from aggregated databases that may be outdated or incomplete. They can miss a recently filed charge that a professional screening company or fingerprint check would catch, and they can also carry stale information about matters that have already been resolved.
How Long a Pending Charge Can Be Reported
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the main federal law governing what screening companies can put in a background report. Under the FCRA, arrest records that did not lead to a conviction cannot be reported once they are more than seven years old.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports A pending charge sits inside that window because the case is still active. The seven-year clock runs from the date of the charge itself, and screening companies cannot restart it based on later court activity like continuances or new hearing dates.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fair Credit Reporting Background Screening
There is one significant carve-out. The seven-year limit does not apply to jobs with an expected annual salary of $75,000 or more. For those positions, older non-conviction records can still appear on the report.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Some states go further than the FCRA. A number restrict or bar reporting of non-conviction records entirely, which can block pending charges from appearing on a screening report at all. Where a state rule is stricter than federal law, the screening company has to follow the state rule. The specific state where the check is being run matters.
What an Employer Can Do With the Information
Even when a pending charge lawfully appears on a report, employers face real limits on how they can act on it.
Individualized Assessment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that an arrest record alone is not proof of criminal conduct and should not automatically disqualify an applicant. Instead of blanket exclusions, an employer should perform an individualized assessment weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job.6U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions An employer who treats any pending charge as an automatic rejection can face liability under Title VII.
The Adverse Action Process
If an employer decides not to hire you based even partly on your background check, the FCRA requires a two-step adverse action process. First, before the decision is final, the employer must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a written summary of your rights.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports This gives you a chance to review the information and flag errors.8Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports – What Employers Need to Know
The law doesn’t fix an exact waiting period; the standard is “reasonable.” Most employers treat five to seven business days as sufficient. If the employer then goes ahead with the rejection, they must send a final adverse action notice identifying the screening company and stating that the screener did not make the hiring decision.
Housing and Professional Licensing
Employment is not the only place pending charges create friction. Landlords and property management companies routinely run tenant background checks, and a pending charge can appear on those reports too. HUD has taken the position that denying housing based on an arrest alone violates fair housing principles, since an arrest is not evidence of criminal activity. Landlords who apply blanket criminal-record policies can face liability if those policies disproportionately affect tenants in protected classes. The expected approach is an individualized review of the alleged offense, its timing, and any evidence of good tenant history.
If you hold a professional license, a pending charge often triggers a separate obligation the background check process won’t remind you of: a duty to self-report the arrest to your licensing board, sometimes within 10 to 30 days. This applies across fields like healthcare, law, real estate, and education, though the specific windows vary by state and profession. The reporting duty is independent of any background check; your board may never see the charge through a routine screening, but you can still be disciplined for failing to disclose it. If you hold a license, check your board’s rules right after any arrest.
What You Can Do About a Pending Charge on Your Report
You have more control over this process than most people realize.
Pull Your Own File First
Every screening company must disclose the full contents of your file when you request it.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681g – Disclosures to Consumers Requesting your own report before an employer runs one lets you check for errors, outdated entries, or dispositions that were never updated. You can also see which employers pulled your report in the past two years.
Dispute What’s Wrong
If the report gets something wrong, like a pending charge listed as a conviction, an incorrect offense, or a dismissed case still showing as open, you have the right to dispute it directly with the screening company. The company must investigate for free and either correct or delete the information within 30 days.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy That window can extend by 15 days if you submit additional information during the investigation.
Get a Free Report If You’re Rejected
If an employer takes adverse action based on the background check, you’re entitled to a free copy of the report from the screening company. You have 60 days from receiving the adverse action notice to make that request.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures Use it to check whether the information the employer relied on was accurate.
Think About Disclosing First
Depending on the situation, telling a prospective employer about a pending charge before they find it can work in your favor. An employer who discovers a charge with no context is more likely to assume the worst. A brief, honest explanation lets you frame the situation. This isn’t always the right call, especially if the charge is minor and unlikely to appear on the type of check being run, but for positions where a thorough screening is guaranteed, getting ahead of it tends to produce better outcomes than silence.
Resolve the Case and Update the Record
The most important long-term step is resolving the criminal case. If the charge is dismissed or you’re acquitted, confirm that the court record reflects that outcome, and follow up with any screening company that previously reported the charge to make sure their information has been updated. Delays and errors are common. If your state allows expungement or record sealing for dismissed charges, pursuing that process will keep the charge from appearing on future background checks at all.