What Background Checks Do You Actually Need?

For many small businesses, the hiring process grinds to a halt over the question "What background checks do I need?" And most of the time, SMBs lack the guidance of dedicated HR and legal teams. Without a clear approach, it’s easy to over-screen, under-screen, or delay hiring altogether.

The goal isn’t to run every possible check—it’s to run the right checks for each role. With a simple framework, you can make faster decisions, stay consistent, and keep hiring moving.

If selecting background screenings feels overwhelming, you're not alone. Choosing background checks can feel unclear for a few reasons:

Screening isn’t one-size-fits-all. What makes sense for a cashier won’t apply to a delivery driver. If you have locations in multiple places, state and local requirements differ. Without clear guidelines, it’s hard to know what’s necessary and what’s excessive.

Most SMBs don't have dedicated HR or compliance specialists. Hiring decisions are often handled by owners or managers who balance multiple responsibilities, making it difficult to keep up with evolving requirements or to feel confident in screening decisions.

Many teams struggle to find the right balance, and both extremes come with real consequences.

To play it safe, some SMBs run every available check. As a result, this means collecting more personal information than necessary,  which can feel intrusive or overly complicated to candidates. As a result, response times drop, timelines stretch, and strong candidates may disengage before the process is complete. At the same time, extra checks add cost without improving decision quality.

On the other hand, cutting corners due to uncertainty creates its own problems. Without adequate background information, hiring decisions become harder to justify and less consistent across candidates. Blind spots in a candidate’s background can expose the business to avoidable risk, especially when roles involve trust, safety, or access to sensitive information.

Background checks can include a range of screenings, but not every one belongs in every hiring process. The right mix depends on the role and risks involved.

Understanding your options is the first step—choosing the right ones depends on the role.

There’s no universal checklist. The right screening approach depends on the role, your industry, and where you hire. Here’s a look at each of these considerations.

For every position, ask a fundamental question: "What could go wrong if I hire the wrong person for this job?"

Think about the role’s responsibilities and how much trust you, your customers, and your community must place in them. Consider:

From there, determine what information would help you evaluate those risks. Once you define the risk, the answer to "What background checks do I need?" becomes clear.

Some roles come with established screening expectations. Certain checks may be required in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, education, or transportation.

Even in unregulated fields, industry norms often set a baseline. Meeting those expectations helps protect your business and maintain credibility.

State and local laws shape how and when you can run background checks, and how you’re allowed to use the results. These requirements can vary depending on where you hire.

They typically impact:

Begin with the basics: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) outlines federal requirements for disclosure, authorizations, and adverse action. Then review your state and local laws, which may address additional rules such as Ban the Box requirements or limits on certain types of checks.

If you’re hiring across multiple locations, exploring a dedicated compliance resource can help you stay aligned as requirements evolve.

When it comes to setting background check requirements, mistakes can slow hiring, lead to problem hires, or result in penalties for noncompliance. Fortunately, many of the pitfalls are avoidable once you know what to watch for. Here's a look at the most common ones:

More screening doesn’t always mean better decisions. Running checks unrelated to the role can add cost, create hiring delays, and complicate the process. It can also feel intrusive, souring the candidate experience. If a check doesn't help you evaluate a meaningful risk tied to the job, skip it.

Under-screening is just as problematic as over-screening. Using the same minimal approach across all positions can expose your business to risk. Higher responsibility roles require a more thorough approach.

SMB team members wear many hats and often have to squeeze screenings into already packed days. When different managers apply different standards, hiring becomes unpredictable and potentially unfair. Clear, role-based criteria ensure consistency across candidates and locations.

These mistakes often come from the same issue: a lack of clear structure in how screening decisions are made. A simple, role-based framework eliminates guesswork, so you can avoid over-screening, under-screening, and inconsistent decisions before they happen.

Consistency is key to mitigating risk and supporting compliance. Use this three-step framework to guide decisions.

Here’s what this framework looks like in practice.

With clear guidelines in place, your team can move through hiring without stopping to wonder about background check requirements. A three-step framework helps you choose the right checks for each role and screen consistently, hire after hire.

When your approach is clear and repeatable, background checks stop slowing you down and start supporting better hiring decisions.

About the author

Hayley Harrison writes about a wide range of business topics and best practices, including background checks, candidate experience, and recruitment and retention. Her work includes educational articles, e-books, and blog posts.