What does Home Depot look for in a background check?
Home Depot does not publish a detailed list of what its background check covers. Its Associate Privacy Statement, which applies to candidates as well as associates, says the employment information it collects includes “background check information, drug testing results,” employment history, and documentation relating to work eligibility, and that it receives this information from outside “background check providers.” It also says it uses education verification services to check transcripts and certifications.
Here is what Home Depot’s statement lists, and what it does not.
What Home Depot says it collects about candidates
- Background check information
- Drug testing results
- Employment history
- Education records, certifications and trainings, including from education verification services
- Identifiers such as name, address, Social Security number and driver’s license number
- Documentation relating to work eligibility
Where Home Depot says it gets the information
- Directly from you
- “Companies that provide services on our behalf (e.g., background check providers)”
- Educational institutions or professional organizations
- Government entities, for some categories
What Home Depot does not publish
- Whether, and how far back, it checks criminal records
- Which convictions disqualify an applicant
- Which jobs require a drug test or a driving record check
- Its screening company
- How long the check takes
Anything more specific you read online about Home Depot’s criteria is not from Home Depot. If it matters to you, ask your recruiter for the written screening policy for your position.
Who runs the Home Depot background check?
Home Depot does not name its screening company. Its privacy statement refers only to “background check providers.”
Two documents should name the company:
- The disclosure and authorization form you sign before the check.
- Any pre-adverse or adverse action notice, which must give the screening company’s name, address and phone number under 15 U.S.C. § 1681m.
Education checks may be done by a different provider than the criminal check, so you may need to deal with more than one company. We have guides for several large screening companies, including First Advantage, Sterling, HireRight and Accurate Background. Use the one that matches the name on your paperwork.
How long does the Home Depot background check take?
Home Depot does not publish a time frame for its background check.
The usual causes of delay:
- County courts that require a manual search
- Records under a similar name that the screening company has to sort out
- Schools or past employers that are slow to confirm
- A drug test that has not been collected or reported yet
If you are waiting, ask your Home Depot hiring contact which screening company has your file, then call that company to confirm it has everything it needs.
What do you sign before the Home Depot background check?
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2), before getting a background report from a screening company, an employer must:
- Give you a clear and conspicuous written disclosure, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that a report may be obtained for employment purposes
- Get your written authorization
Take a screenshot of these screens during an online application. They often name the screening company and can matter later.
What if your Home Depot background check is wrong?
Your pre-adverse action rights
If Home Depot intends to reject you, pull an offer or end your employment based in whole or in part on a background report, § 1681b(b)(3) requires it to give you, before it acts:
- A copy of the report
- A written summary of your FCRA rights
Under § 1681a(k), “adverse action” in employment includes a denial of employment or any other employment decision that hurts you.
The FTC says the advance notice gives you the chance to review the report. The statute does not set a specific number of days, so act quickly:
- Read the full report, including any education and employment sections
- Mark each error: a criminal case that belongs to someone else, a dismissed case shown as a conviction, a degree or certification marked “unverified” that you actually earned, wrong employment dates
- Tell Home Depot in writing that the report is wrong and that you are disputing it
- Send proof: a court disposition, an expungement order, a diploma or transcript, or a W-2 or offer letter from a past job
Dispute with the screening company
The screening company must fix its own report. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, after it receives your dispute it must:
- Reinvestigate free of charge
- Finish within 30 days, extendable by up to 15 days if you send new relevant information during that period
- Correct or delete information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified
- Send you the results in writing within five business days after finishing
Ask the company to send a corrected report to Home Depot, and let your hiring contact know. Our background check dispute letter guide explains what to write.
The final notice
If Home Depot goes ahead, it must send an adverse action notice that names the screening company, says that company did not make the decision, and explains your right to a free copy if you ask within 60 days and your right to dispute, under § 1681m.
What cannot appear on a Home Depot background check?
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, screening companies generally may not report:
- Arrest records more than seven years old
- Other negative items more than seven years old, except criminal convictions, which have no federal time limit
These seven-year limits do not apply to a job paying $75,000 a year or more.
When screening companies report criminal and other public records for employment, § 1681k requires them either to notify you at the time or to keep strict procedures so the records are complete and up to date. State and local laws may add more protections.
When can a Home Depot background check error lead to an FCRA claim?
Against the screening company
- Inaccurate reporting. A consumer reporting agency must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, under § 1681e(b). Matching you to someone else’s record, reporting a dismissed case as a conviction, or reporting a sealed case can raise this claim.
- Failed reinvestigation. Verifying an error you documented, or not finishing on time, can violate § 1681i.
- Obsolete information reported in violation of § 1681c.
Against the employer
- Taking adverse action without first providing the report and summary of rights, under § 1681b(b)(3)
- Getting a report without a proper stand-alone disclosure and written authorization, under § 1681b(b)(2)
What you may recover. For negligent violations, actual damages such as lost wages and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs, under § 1681o. For willful violations, actual or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, possible punitive damages, and attorney’s fees, under § 1681n.
Deadline. Under § 1681p, generally two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it happened.
Keep screenshots of your application, the authorization form, every notice, the report itself, and your dispute and its result. For more on common report errors, see what is incorrect information on a background check report.
Get a free case review
If a Home Depot offer was pulled because a background check got your history wrong, or you never received the report before the decision, talk to a background check error lawyer. Our case review is free, and we work on contingency: no fee unless we win.
Frequently asked questions
What does Home Depot look for in a background check?
Home Depot does not publish the details. Its Associate Privacy Statement, which also covers candidates, lists background check information, drug testing results, employment history and education information among the data it collects, and says it receives information from background check providers and education verification services.
Who does Home Depot use for background checks?
Home Depot's privacy statement refers to background check providers but does not name them. The screening company that prepared your report must be named in any pre-adverse or adverse action notice.
How long does the Home Depot background check take?
Home Depot does not publish a time frame. Ask your recruiter or store hiring contact which screening company has your check, and contact that company if it seems stalled.
Does Home Depot drug test?
Home Depot's privacy statement lists drug testing results among the employment information it collects, but it does not say which positions are tested.
Can Home Depot pull my offer without showing me the background check?
Not if the decision is based in whole or in part on a background report from a screening company. The FCRA requires the employer to give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights first.
Sources
- The Home Depot, Associate Privacy Statement (covers associates and candidates)
- FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know
- EEOC and FTC, Background Checks: What Job Applicants and Employees Should Know
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681a, definitions (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, employment rules (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, information that cannot be reported (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e, accuracy procedures (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, disputes (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681k, public records for employment (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681m, adverse action notices (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681n, willful violations (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681o, negligent violations (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681p, time limit to sue (Cornell LII)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.