Why a State-Only Background Check Could Be Your Biggest Hiring Mistake
When it comes to hiring, you want to trust the people you bring on board. But, if you’re only running a state search in your background checks, you’re leaving massive blind spots , and those gaps could cost your business its reputation, money, and even legal standing.
Let’s break it down.
1. Criminals Don’t Respect State Borders
A state search only looks at criminal records within that single state. If your candidate committed a crime in another state, you’ll never know.
Example: Someone was convicted of assault in Texas but now lives in Florida. If you run a Florida-only check, it will come back clean, even though they have a serious record elsewhere.
2. State Records Are Often Incomplete
Not all states update their criminal databases in real time.
- Some take months (or years) to post new convictions.
- Many states only record felonies, skipping misdemeanors.
- Recent arrests and pending charges often aren’t included.
3. Federal Crimes Won’t Show Up
State searches do not include federal offenses like:
- Fraud and embezzlement
- Drug trafficking
- Weapons violations
To catch those, you need a federal court search, something a state check won’t provide.
4. County Records Hold the Most Accurate Data
Most crimes are prosecuted at the county level, and those records may never be sent to the state database. That means a state search could completely miss them.
5. A False Sense of Security Can Be Dangerous
What’s the problem when a business says “we ran a background check” but only did a state search? It’s like checking one camera on a 20-camera security system and assuming the whole place is safe.
If that employee later commits a crime and it’s revealed the company never ran a thorough search, the liability and reputational damage can be severe.
How a State-Only Search Exposes You to Liability
If your hiring process misses a serious criminal record because you only ran a state search, your organization could face:
- Negligent hiring lawsuits if the employee harms a customer, coworker, or member of the public.
- Loss of contracts or licenses: especially in industries that serve vulnerable populations or require compliance audits.
- Regulatory fines if your industry has background check mandates.
- Public relations fallout when the media reports you “failed to screen properly” after an incident.
Companies have been sued for millions after failing to uncover out-of-state convictions. With the courts ruling they “should have known” had they conducted a more comprehensive search.
The Best Practice for Safer Hiring
A truly effective background check should combine:
- Multi-state / national database search
- County-level searches in all locations the candidate has lived or worked
- Federal court checks
This layered approach gives you a much clearer, more accurate view of who you’re hiring, and it helps protect your business from costly