What does USPS look for in a background check?
USPS says every applicant “must be able to pass a criminal background check, drug screening, and medical assessment,” and must have a safe driving record if the job involves driving. The criminal check is run by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is “a 10-year inquiry for any location where the individual has resided,” and also covers places you worked or went to school in the U.S. and its territories. USPS says the sources include FBI fingerprint checks and state and county checks.
Here is what USPS’s careers page and its hiring handbook (EL-312) say.
Criminal history
- A 10-year inquiry covering where you lived, worked and went to school
- FBI fingerprint checks plus state and county checks
- U.S. information resources only. USPS says that if you lived outside the U.S. and its territories for the past five years, the check “may not be considered complete,” and applicants whose check cannot be completed are ineligible, with exceptions such as U.S. government dependents, missionaries, students abroad, Peace Corps participants and employees of U.S.-based companies.
Federal agency check for career jobs
The handbook says newly selected career employees need a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI), and noncareer employees need a Special Agency Check with Inquiries. The NACI includes:
- A search of OPM’s Security/Suitability Investigations Index and the Defense Clearance and Investigations Index
- An FBI criminal history check based on fingerprints and name
- Employment history for the past five years
- Criminal conviction history where you lived, worked or went to school in the past five years
- Education, reference and residence verification
Driving record (for driving jobs)
USPS gets a driving abstract from every state where you lived in the past five years. Its disqualification table includes, among other things, less than two years of documented driving experience, any drug- or alcohol-related driving conviction, a license revoked within five years, and any hit-and-run conviction in the past five years.
Drug screening and medical assessment
USPS lists both as requirements. Its handbook has a section on pre-employment drug testing.
After you are hired
The Inspection Service also runs an automated check each pay period that matches new hires in nonsensitive positions against its Investigative History Files and NCIC wanted and warrant files, and notifies the hiring official of a match.
How is USPS hiring different from a private employer or other federal agencies?
The Postal Service runs its own hiring. By law, the Postal Service appoints its own officers and employees, who are part of the “postal career service,” under 39 U.S.C. § 1001. USPS posts its jobs on its own site (jobs.usps.com), and its screening rules are in its own handbook, EL-312.
That has three practical effects:
- The Inspection Service, not an outside vendor, runs the criminal check. We found no USPS page saying it uses a private background screening company for the criminal check.
- The Office of Personnel Management still plays a role. The NACI searches OPM’s investigations index, and OPM makes the final decision on Fair Chance Act complaints against USPS.
- Your rights come from USPS’s own rules as well as the FCRA. See below.
The Fair Chance Act. USPS says the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 “prohibits the Postal Service from inquiring into the criminal history of applicants before a conditional offer of employment has been made.” If you think USPS asked too early, you have 30 days from the alleged violation to file a complaint, by email to [email protected]. USPS says it does a fact-finding investigation within 60 days and sends a report to OPM for the final decision.
How does USPS judge a criminal record?
USPS’s handbook (section 514.3) sets rules that are more specific than most private employers publish:
- No automatic disqualification. “The fact that an applicant has a criminal conviction record is not sufficient to disqualify that applicant.”
- Individual evaluation. USPS weighs your age at each offense, the nature and circumstances of the offense, how much time has passed, rehabilitation efforts, and the nature and location of the job.
- Older records. A conviction record may not be the sole basis for disqualification if you had no conviction in the 10 years, and no incarceration in the 5 years, before your application date.
- Sealed records. Convictions that were set aside, vacated, annulled, expunged or sealed cannot be the basis for disqualification. Juvenile adjudications are not considered.
- Unclear or pending cases. If records do not show how a charge was resolved, or show it is pending, USPS says “the applicant is given an opportunity to explain the surrounding circumstances.” Pending charges alone do not cause automatic rejection.
- Discrepancies. If records show discrepancies, USPS sends a letter of inquiry.
How long does the USPS background check take?
USPS does not publish a time frame for the background check. Its careers page says only that once screening is complete and your employment is confirmed, “you’ll be contacted by email within a few days to finalize your start date.”
For career jobs, the handbook says Human Resources starts the NACI paperwork (SF 85) only after a job offer is made. Fingerprints, out-of-state court searches and driving abstracts from several states all add time. If you lived abroad, expect the check to take longer or, outside the listed exceptions, to be treated as incomplete.
What if your USPS background check is wrong?
Use USPS’s own process first. If you get a letter of inquiry, or are asked to explain a charge, answer in writing, on time, with proof: a certified court disposition, an expungement or sealing order, or proof that a record belongs to someone else. Keep copies.
Fix the source record. The Inspection Service checks FBI, state and county records directly. If one of those records is wrong (for example, a dismissed case still shows as open), you will usually need the court or state agency that keeps it to correct it. Otherwise the same error may appear in your next check.
Fix a wrong driving record with your state. Driving abstracts come from state records, so ask the state that issued the record to correct it.
Where the FCRA fits. The FCRA treats government agencies as “persons,” under 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(b). If any part of your USPS screening came from a consumer reporting agency, the employer rules in § 1681b(b)(3) and § 1681m apply: you are entitled to a copy of that report and a summary of your rights before adverse action, and a notice naming the agency afterward. You can then dispute with that agency, which must reinvestigate within 30 days under § 1681i. Records USPS’s Inspection Service pulls directly from the FBI, courts or state motor vehicle agencies are generally not reports from a consumer reporting agency, so those FCRA rules may not apply to them.
If you are not sure where a piece of information came from, ask USPS Human Resources in writing what source it relied on.
When can a USPS background check error lead to an FCRA claim?
An FCRA claim usually needs a consumer reporting agency in the picture. That can happen when:
- A screening company that prepared a report used in your USPS hiring reported someone else’s record, a dismissed case as a conviction, or a sealed record, without reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, under § 1681e(b)
- That company did not properly reinvestigate your dispute, under § 1681i
- The same wrong record shows up on a private employer’s background check from a screening company after you dispute it
Claims against USPS itself as an employer raise separate questions of federal law, and the answer depends on the facts. Talk to a lawyer before you assume either way.
Deadlines are short. Under § 1681p, an FCRA claim generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it happened. The Fair Chance Act complaint window is only 30 days.
For general dispute steps, see our background check dispute letter guide and what to do if your background check is incorrect.
Get a free case review
If a wrong criminal or driving record cost you a Postal Service job, or the same error keeps following you to other employers, 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 USPS look for in a background check?
USPS says applicants must pass a criminal background check, a drug screening and a medical assessment, and have a safe driving record if the job requires driving. Its criminal check is a 10-year inquiry covering places you lived, worked or went to school, using FBI fingerprint checks and state and county checks.
Who runs the USPS background check?
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service. USPS says the Inspection Service criminal background check uses U.S. information resources only. Its handbook says National Agency Check with Inquiries requests are processed by the Inspection Service's Security Investigations Service Center.
How long does the USPS background check take?
USPS does not publish a time frame for the background check. Its careers page says that after screening is complete and employment is confirmed, you will be contacted by email within a few days to finalize your start date.
Does a criminal record automatically disqualify me from USPS?
No. USPS's handbook says a conviction record is not enough by itself to disqualify an applicant, and that each applicant must be evaluated individually. A conviction may not be the sole basis for disqualification if you had no conviction in the 10 years, and no incarceration in the 5 years, before you applied. Sealed, expunged, vacated or set-aside convictions and juvenile adjudications cannot be used.
Can USPS ask about my criminal record on the application?
USPS says the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 bars it from asking about an applicant's criminal history before a conditional job offer. You have 30 days from the alleged violation to file a complaint with USPS, and USPS sends its report to the Office of Personnel Management, which makes the final decision.
Sources
- USPS Careers, How to apply (requirements and screening)
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 514 Criminal conviction history
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 516 Driving history
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 56 New hire investigations
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 562 National Agency Check with Inquiries
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 564 Investigation results
- USPS Handbook EL-312, 583 Security investigations
- USPS, Fair Chance Act
- 39 U.S.C. § 1001, Postal Service appointment of employees (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681a, definitions (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, employment rules (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e, accuracy procedures (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, disputes (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681m, adverse action notices (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681p, time limit to sue (Cornell LII)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.