PreCheck report showed a record that was sealed?

Who PreCheck is and who relies on its reports

PreCheck, Inc. is a Houston-based background screening company that has long focused on healthcare. When Cisive bought it, PreCheck was described as serving more than 4,000 hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, educational institutions and other healthcare organizations. In January 2019, Cisive, a global provider of compliance-driven human capital management and risk management solutions, announced that it had acquired PreCheck, and PreCheck now operates as a Cisive brand. A 2023 Fifth Circuit opinion identifies the company as CARCO Group, Inc., doing business as PreCheck.

PreCheck’s services include healthcare background checks, drug and occupational health testing, license monitoring, immunization tracking and employment verifications. Its support page also has a separate StudentCheck portal for students’ background checks. That means a PreCheck report can decide whether a nurse, technician or student gets hired, keeps a job or starts a clinical rotation.

Why sealed and expunged records keep showing up

When a court seals a case, expunges it, or issues an order of nondisclosure, the record is supposed to disappear from public view. But background check companies often buy court data in bulk or keep their own copies. If that data is not refreshed, the old case can keep showing up on reports long after the court cleared it.

Many states let people clear arrests, dismissed charges and some convictions. A report that still shows that case can cost you a job you are otherwise qualified for, and in healthcare, where checks are repeated at hiring, credentialing and placement, the same error can come back again and again.

The law here is not fully settled. In January 2024, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion saying consumer reporting agencies must have procedures to prevent reporting information that has been expunged, sealed or otherwise legally restricted from public access. The CFPB withdrew that opinion in May 2025. The FCRA’s accuracy requirement did not change, but courts have reached different results on these claims. In March 2026, according to accountsRECOVERY.net, a federal court in Virginia dismissed an FCRA accuracy claim against a different screening company, finding that the expunged convictions were historically true and that the expungement was not publicly verifiable. Whether you have a claim can depend on your state’s law, what the court order says, whether the company had notice of it, and how the report described the case.

Errors that show up on healthcare background checks

• Sealed or nondisclosed cases. A case covered by a sealing order or order of nondisclosure still appears.
• Expunged records. A record that was expunged is reported as though it still exists.
• Missing outcomes. A charge listed without its dismissal or final disposition.
• Wrong-person records. A case belonging to someone with a similar name or birth date.
• Duplicates. One case reported several times.
• Old non-conviction records. Arrests and other non-conviction records more than seven years old, which the FCRA generally bars from consumer reports.

How to dispute PreCheck (Cisive)

1. Get the full report. PreCheck’s support page has an online form to request a copy of your report and a status portal for StudentCheck. An employer that plans to take adverse action should also give you a copy and a summary of your rights.
2. Get a certified copy of the court order. The sealing order, expunction order or order of nondisclosure is your strongest evidence. Include the case number and the date of the order.
3. File the dispute with PreCheck. PreCheck accepts disputes online through its support page, by its Dispute Hotline at 800-203-1654, by email to [email protected], or by mail to PreCheck Dispute Team, 8707 Commerce Drive, Easton, MD 21601.
4. Be specific. Identify each entry that should not appear, say why, and attach the order. For a wrong-person record, include proof such as a different middle name or birth date.
5. Tell the employer or school. Let them know you have disputed and ask them to hold their decision. Keep copies of what you send.
6. Track the 30 days. A consumer reporting agency generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)).
7. Keep everything. The report, your dispute, the court order, the pre-adverse and adverse action notices, and any rescinded offer letter.

How to contact PreCheck (Cisive)

PreCheck’s support page lists:

• Online: forms to request a copy of your report and to file a dispute, plus a status portal for StudentCheck.
• Dispute Hotline: 1-800-203-1654.
• Email: [email protected].
• Mail: PreCheck Dispute Team, 8707 Commerce Drive, Easton, MD 21601.

The support page does not list hours.

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). PreCheck must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of what it reports. Relying on stale court data that misses sealing and expunction orders can fall short of that standard.
• Public records for employment (§ 1681k). When PreCheck reports public-record information for employment that is likely to hurt you, it must either notify you at the time or maintain strict procedures to make sure the information is complete and up to date.
• Pre-adverse action notice (§ 1681b(b)(3)). Before an employer takes adverse action based on a report, it generally must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). PreCheck must reasonably reinvestigate disputed information and correct or delete what is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.
• Your file (§ 1681g). You have the right to see the information in your file and its sources.

Can you sue PreCheck (Cisive)?

Possibly. As a consumer reporting agency, PreCheck has its own duties under the FCRA, and you may have a claim when it reports information about you that is wrong, outdated or belongs to someone else.

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). PreCheck must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. This claim does not depend on a prior dispute: a report that is inaccurate because of poor matching or stale data can be enough.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). After you dispute, PreCheck must reasonably reinvestigate, generally within 30 days, and correct or delete what it cannot verify.
• Employment reports (§§ 1681k, 1681c). For a job screening, a company reporting public records that are likely to hurt you must either notify you at the time or use strict procedures to keep the records complete and up to date (§ 1681k), and most arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years cannot be reported (§ 1681c).
• What you can recover. Actual damages, fees and costs for negligent violations (§ 1681o), and statutory and punitive damages for willful ones (§ 1681n), as explained below.
• Deadline. An FCRA claim generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after the violation occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p).

As explained above, courts have reached different results on claims about sealed and expunged records, so the facts and the court matter. Employers that use a PreCheck report also have duties, including giving you a copy of the report before taking adverse action (§ 1681b(b)(3)).

What you may recover

If PreCheck negligently violated the FCRA, you may recover actual damages, such as lost wages, a lost job offer or a delayed clinical placement, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If the violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. No fee unless we win.

Get a free case review

The clock is running. An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and within five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If a PreCheck report showed a sealed or expunged record and cost you a healthcare job or placement, save the report, the court order and your dispute, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing PreCheck (Cisive)

Who owns PreCheck?

Cisive. Cisive announced its acquisition of PreCheck in January 2019, and PreCheck's website now redirects to a PreCheck page on Cisive's site. A 2023 federal appeals opinion identifies the company as CARCO Group, Inc., doing business as PreCheck. If your report came from PreCheck, a lawyer can confirm the right legal entity to name.

Can I sue PreCheck for reporting a sealed record?

Possibly. PreCheck prepares consumer reports for employers and schools, so it is a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. Reporting a sealed or expunged case may support a claim that it lacked reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, or that it failed to fix the record after you disputed. Courts do not all agree on these claims, so the details of the order and the report matter.

My report showed a dismissed charge, but it said it was dismissed. Is that a violation?

Usually not by itself. In a 2023 case, the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of FCRA claims against PreCheck where the report described a Harris County charge and correctly showed that it was dismissed. A dismissed charge that was later sealed or expunged, or that appears without its outcome, is a different question.

What does it cost to bring a case?

Nothing out of pocket. FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, with no fee unless we win, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

• Got a Pre-Adverse Action Notice? What It Means and What to Do Next
• Background Check Dispute Letter: What to Write, What to Attach
• How to Fix a Background Check Error, Step by Step
• 7 Types of Background Check Errors, and How to Prove Each One

Sources

• PreCheck by Cisive (official): services and industries served
• PreCheck support (official): report copies, disputes, Dispute Hotline 800-203-1654
• PRWeb (May 2018): PreCheck, Inc., a Houston-based healthcare background screening firm, re-accredited
• Willkie Farr & Gallagher: Cisive acquires PreCheck (Jan. 2019; serves over 4,000 healthcare organizations)
• Okwo v. Houston Methodist The Woodlands, No. 22-20457 (5th Cir. Jan. 31, 2023) (CARCO Group, Inc., doing business as PreCheck)
• Federal Register, May 12, 2025: CFPB withdrawal of guidance, including Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening, 89 FR 4171
• CFPB: Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening advisory opinion (Jan. 23, 2024; expunged, sealed or legally restricted records; withdrawn May 12, 2025)
• accountsRECOVERY.net (Mar. 2026): Expunged does not mean inaccurate, court says in background check FCRA case (Smith v. Informdata, E.D. Va.)

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.