Six copy-and-paste forms covering the standalone federal disclosure, the separate authorization, a simple packet for a business with no HR department, plus volunteer, tenant, and reference release versions, with the one formatting rule that has cost employers millions
Most background check forms circulating online are quietly unlawful, and they fail in the same specific way: they combine the federal disclosure with a liability waiver, a state notice, and a chunk of at-will employment language on one tidy page. That tidiness is the problem. Federal law requires the disclosure to sit in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, and courts have taken that phrase literally.
The stakes are not theoretical. A federal appeals court has held that any surplus language in a combined disclosure and authorization form is unlawful, and one grocery chain settled a class action over a bundled release for $6.8 million covering more than ninety thousand people. Those cases were not about running an improper check. They were about the layout of a piece of paper.
So the six templates below are structured the way the rule actually requires: a bare disclosure page, a separate authorization that carries everything else, and adapted versions for a small business with no HR department, for volunteers, for tenants, and for contacting references directly. Copy them, put your name in the brackets, and have counsel review before you use them at scale.
TL;DR
A compliant employment background check form is two documents. The disclosure page contains nothing but the disclosure and a signature line. Everything else, including the scope of the check, identifying details, state copy-request boxes, and any release, belongs on the separate authorization. Adding a liability waiver to the disclosure is the single most common and most expensive mistake in this area.
What the form actually is
One phrase covers several different documents used by different parties for different purposes. Knowing which one you need takes about ten seconds and prevents most of the confusion.
Definition
Background check form
The document used to obtain written permission before running a check on someone through a screening company. For employment it is two documents: a standalone disclosure stating that a consumer report may be obtained, and an authorization in which the person consents and supplies identifying details. Also searched as a background check authorization form, consent form, or release form. It is distinct from the reference check you run yourself and from the forms an individual uses to request their own record from a government agency.
Who is running the check
What they need
What the form must include
Template below
Employer using a screening company
Disclosure plus authorization
Standalone disclosure, separate consent
Templates 1 and 2
Small business with no HR
One simple packet
Same rules, fewer moving parts
Template 3
Nonprofit screening volunteers
Disclosure plus authorization
The same federal rules apply
Template 4
Landlord screening a rental applicant
Disclosure and authorization
Credit, eviction, and criminal scope
Template 5
Employer calling references directly
A release to third parties
Permission for others to speak freely
Template 6
An individual requesting their own record
A government agency form
Fingerprints and a fee, usually
Not covered here
The last row is worth separating out, because a meaningful share of people searching this term want their own criminal history rather than a form for screening someone else. That request goes through a state identification bureau or a federal agency, involves fingerprint cards and a fee, and none of the templates here apply to it.
The rule that generates the lawsuits
Everything difficult about this form comes from one sentence in federal law, and understanding it takes less time than fixing a form that ignores it.
Before obtaining a consumer report for employment purposes, an employer must give the person a clear and conspicuous written disclosure, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, and must obtain written authorization. The Federal Trade Commission puts it plainly in its guidance for employers: the notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format, and it cannot be in an employment application. Minor additional information, such as a brief description of what a consumer report is, is permitted only if it does not confuse or detract from the notice. The written permission itself may be part of the same document as the notice.
What courts have actually struck down
A federal appeals court held in 2017 that including a liability waiver in the disclosure violates the requirement that the document consist solely of the disclosure. A 2019 decision from the same court went further, holding that any surplus language in a combined disclosure and authorization form is unlawful, and remarking that the employer's eight-point condensed font was inadvisably small. In a separate class action, a grocery chain agreed to pay $6.8 million covering more than 90,000 class members over a disclosure that bundled a release, with each member receiving roughly $75. None of these cases turned on the check itself being improper. They turned on what else was printed on the page. This is general information rather than legal advice.
The practical translation is short. Put the disclosure on its own page with a signature line and nothing else. Put the scope of the check, the identifying details, the state copy-request boxes, and any release language on the authorization. Use a normal font at a normal size. Never staple either one into the employment application.
6 background check form templates
Each template below is complete and ready to use. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your organization name, delete any scope items that do not apply to the role, and have counsel review the final versions before running them at volume.
All 6 background check form templates
Disclosure, authorization, small business packet, volunteer, tenant, and release, in one download.
Template 1: FCRA standalone disclosure. This is the page that has to be bare. It goes to the applicant on its own, before or alongside the authorization, and nothing else belongs on it. If you use only one document from this page, use this one correctly.
FCRA Standalone Disclosure
FCRA STANDALONE DISCLOSURE
DISCLOSURE REGARDING BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION
[COMPANY NAME] ("the Company") may obtain information about you from a consumer reporting agency for employment purposes. This means that the Company may request a consumer report or an investigative consumer report about you in connection with your application for employment, and, if you are hired, at any time during your employment, to the extent permitted by law.
These reports may contain information about your character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living, and may include information obtained from public records, previous employers, educational institutions, and other sources.
Applicant or Employee Name:
Signature:
Date:
NOTE TO THE EMPLOYER
This document must be provided on its own. Do not add a liability waiver, a release of claims, at-will employment language, state law notices, company branding beyond your name, or any other text. Do not include it in an employment application or an offer letter. Use a plain, readable font at a normal size. The authorization is a separate document.
Template 2: Background check authorization and consent. This is where everything else lives: the consent itself, the scope of what will be checked, the identifying details the screening company needs, and the check box that California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma residents use to request a free copy of the report.
Background Check Authorization and Consent Form
BACKGROUND CHECK AUTHORIZATION AND CONSENT
I have received and read the separate Disclosure Regarding Background Investigation provided to me by [COMPANY NAME].
I authorize [COMPANY NAME] and any consumer reporting agency it engages to obtain a consumer report or investigative consumer report about me for employment purposes, and to obtain information from the sources listed below.
SCOPE OF THE CHECK
The check may include, as applicable to the role:
•Identity and Social Security number verification
•Criminal records at the county, state, and federal level
•Employment history and dates of employment
•Education and credential verification
•Professional license verification
•Motor vehicle records, where driving is a job function
•Credit history, only where permitted by law and job related
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Full legal name:
Other names used:
Date of birth (for identification purposes only):
Social Security number:
Current address:
Previous addresses (last 7 years):
Driver license number and state, if applicable:
STATE NOTICES
California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma residents: check the box below if you would like to receive a free copy of any report obtained.
[ ] Yes, please send me a copy of any report obtained about me.
Email or mailing address for the copy:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I understand that a copy of this authorization is as valid as the original. I understand that nothing in this authorization is a promise of employment or a contract of any kind.
Applicant or Employee Signature:
Printed Name:
Date:
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Template 3: Small business packet. One document for an owner or manager with no HR department, keeping the disclosure on its own page while collecting everything else in one pass. The third part is an internal record you keep rather than something the applicant sees, and it is the part that saves you if anyone ever asks what you did and when.
Small Business Background Check Packet
SMALL BUSINESS BACKGROUND CHECK PACKET
Use this packet when you have no HR department and need one simple process. Print or send the three parts in this order. Part 1 goes out on its own page.
PART 1: DISCLOSURE (SEPARATE PAGE)
[COMPANY NAME] may obtain a consumer report or an investigative consumer report about you from a consumer reporting agency for employment purposes.
Name: Signature: Date:
PART 2: AUTHORIZATION
I authorize [COMPANY NAME] to obtain the reports described in the disclosure I received, and to verify the information below.
Full legal name:
Other names used:
Date of birth:
Social Security number:
Current address:
Addresses for the past 7 years:
Phone: Email:
Position applied for:
California, Minnesota, or Oklahoma resident? [ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, would you like a free copy of any report? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Signature: Date:
PART 3: EMPLOYER RECORD (INTERNAL, DO NOT GIVE TO APPLICANT)
Date disclosure provided:
Date authorization signed:
Screening provider used:
Date report ordered:
Date report received:
Job related reason for each item checked:
If adverse action considered:
Date pre-adverse notice sent, with copy of report and Summary of Rights:
Date of final adverse action notice, at least a reasonable interval later:
Reviewed by: Date:
Template 4: Volunteer consent. Organizations screening volunteers through a screening company are covered by the same federal rules as employers, which is regularly missed. This version keeps the disclosure separate and adds the questions a youth or vulnerable-adult program needs.
Volunteer Background Check Consent Form
VOLUNTEER BACKGROUND CHECK CONSENT
For use by nonprofits, congregations, youth programs, and community organizations. The federal disclosure and authorization rules apply to volunteers screened through a consumer reporting agency in the same way they apply to employees.
DISCLOSURE
[ORGANIZATION NAME] may obtain a consumer report or an investigative consumer report about you from a consumer reporting agency in connection with your volunteer role.
Name: Signature: Date:
Provide this disclosure on its own page. Do not combine it with a waiver, a code of conduct, or a volunteer agreement.
AUTHORIZATION AND VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
I authorize [ORGANIZATION NAME] to obtain the reports described in the disclosure I received.
Full legal name:
Other names used:
Date of birth:
Social Security number:
Current address:
Previous addresses (last 7 years):
Volunteer role applied for:
Will this role involve unsupervised contact with minors or vulnerable adults? [ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, note the additional state or program requirements that apply:
REFERENCES
Reference 1 name and phone:
Reference 2 name and phone:
Relationship to you and how long known:
Signature: Printed Name: Date:
Template 5: Tenant authorization. For landlords and property managers. The scope differs from employment screening because credit history, rental history, and eviction records carry more weight, and the applicant is entitled to notice if the application is denied based on the report.
Tenant Background Check Authorization Form
TENANT BACKGROUND CHECK AUTHORIZATION
For landlords and property managers screening rental applicants. Screening a tenant through a consumer reporting agency is a permissible purpose under federal law, and the applicant must authorize it.
DISCLOSURE AND AUTHORIZATION
[LANDLORD OR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT NAME] may obtain a consumer report about you, which may include credit history, rental history, eviction records, and criminal records, in connection with your application to rent the property described below.
Property address applied for:
I authorize [LANDLORD OR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT NAME] to obtain the reports described above.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Full legal name:
Other names used:
Date of birth:
Social Security number:
Current address and dates:
Previous address and dates:
Current landlord name and phone:
Previous landlord name and phone:
Employer and monthly income:
Application fee paid: Date:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I understand that if the application is denied based in whole or in part on information in a consumer report, I am entitled to notice identifying the reporting agency and to a free copy of the report from that agency.
Signature: Printed Name: Date:
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Template 6: Authorization for release of information. Use this when you are contacting former employers, schools, or licensing bodies yourself rather than through a screening company. It is addressed to those third parties and exists mainly to make them comfortable answering, since many will say nothing without a signed release in hand.
Authorization for Release of Information
AUTHORIZATION FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION
Use this when you are contacting former employers, schools, or licensing bodies directly rather than through a screening agency. This is a release addressed to those third parties, not a substitute for the federal disclosure and authorization.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
I, , have applied for a position with [COMPANY NAME].
I authorize any person, school, current or former employer, licensing authority, or other organization having information about me to provide that information to [COMPANY NAME] or its authorized representative.
The information released may include:
•Dates of employment, position held, and reason for separation
•Attendance, degrees earned, and dates attended
•Professional license status and any disciplinary history
•Job performance, where the source chooses to provide it
I release the persons and organizations providing this information from any liability arising from providing it in good faith, to the extent permitted by law.
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
Full legal name:
Other names used:
Date of birth:
Last four digits of Social Security number:
Employers to be contacted:
Schools to be contacted:
Licensing bodies to be contacted:
May we contact your current employer? [ ] Yes [ ] No
If no, at what stage may we contact them:
Signature: Printed Name: Date:
A photocopy or electronic copy of this authorization is as valid as the original.
State notices and timing rules
Federal law sets the floor. States and cities add two kinds of rule on top: what the form has to say, and when in the hiring process you are allowed to ask at all.
Rule type
What it changes
Where it commonly applies
What to do on the form
Free copy on request
The person may request a copy of the report
California, Minnesota, Oklahoma
Add a check box on the authorization
Ban the box timing
When you may ask about criminal history
Many states and cities
Remove the question from the application
Conditional offer requirement
Check runs only after an offer
Several states and localities
Sequence the form after the offer
Credit report restrictions
Limits credit checks to certain roles
Several states
Remove credit from scope unless job related
Individualized assessment
Requires weighing the offense against the job
Several jurisdictions plus federal guidance
Record the job related reason internally
Lookback limits
How far back records may be considered
Varies by state
Confirm with your screening provider
These attach to where the applicant lives or works rather than to where your business is registered, which surprises employers hiring remotely for the first time. If you hire across state lines, the practical approach is to run the strictest sequence everywhere: ask nothing about criminal history on the application, extend a conditional offer, then run the check. It costs nothing and removes most of the ban the box exposure at once.
How to run the process
The forms are one step in a sequence that has a legally defined beginning and end. Running them out of order is what turns a routine check into a claim.
1
Decide what the role actually requires
Write down which checks are job related before you order anything. A driving record makes sense for a delivery role and not for a bookkeeper; a credit check is restricted in several states and needs a genuine reason. Narrowing the scope reduces cost and removes the hardest questions later.
2
Extend a conditional offer first
Many jurisdictions require the check to come after a conditional offer, and doing it everywhere makes your process consistent. It also means you are only paying for checks on people you actually intend to hire.
3
Provide the standalone disclosure
Send the disclosure on its own page, with nothing else attached. This is the step that generates litigation when it is done casually, and it takes no more effort to do correctly than incorrectly.
4
Collect the signed authorization
Use the separate authorization to capture consent, scope, identifying details, and the state copy-request box. Store the signed copy where you can retrieve it years later, separately from the general personnel file.
5
Order the check and read the result properly
Match the record to the person before drawing any conclusion, since name-based records are a common source of mistaken identity. Consider the nature of the offense, how long ago it was, and its relationship to the job rather than applying a blanket rule.
6
Follow the two-step adverse action process
Before rejecting anyone based on the report, send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the federal summary of rights, wait a reasonable interval for a dispute, then send the final notice identifying the screening company. Skipping the first step is the second most common source of claims.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Five specific failures account for most of the trouble in this area, and all five are avoidable with a form that is laid out correctly.
Is there a liability waiver anywhere on the disclosure page?
This is the single most litigated defect. Any release, hold harmless clause, or waiver of claims on the disclosure page violates the requirement that the document consist solely of the disclosure. Move release language to the authorization or drop it. Check any form you inherited or downloaded, because the bundled version is extremely common online.
Did you build the disclosure into the application form?
The federal guidance is explicit that the notice cannot be part of an employment application. Employers combine them because it is one less document to chase, and it converts a routine hiring step into a claim. Keep the application, the disclosure, and the authorization as three separate documents.
Are you asking about criminal history too early?
Many states and cities prohibit asking on the application and require the question to wait until after a conditional offer. Since the rule follows the applicant rather than your office, an employer hiring in several states either tracks each one or simply removes the question everywhere and asks after the offer.
Do you send a pre-adverse action notice before rejecting anyone?
Two notices are required, not one. The first includes a copy of the report and the federal summary of rights and gives the person a reasonable interval to dispute an error, which matters because reports do contain records belonging to other people. The second confirms the decision and identifies the screening company.
Are signed forms and reports stored securely and disposed of properly?
These documents contain Social Security numbers and address history, so store them apart from the general personnel file and restrict access. Federal rules also require secure disposal of the report and anything derived from it, which means shredding paper and permanently deleting electronic copies rather than archiving them indefinitely.
If you are building a hiring process from scratch, the sequence that keeps all five in order is worth writing down once. FirstHR handles the surrounding paperwork for US teams of 5 to 50: sending documents for e-signature, collecting new hire forms, and keeping the signed record retrievable after the person who ran the hire has moved on.
Key Takeaways
A compliant employment background check form is two documents: a disclosure that contains nothing but the disclosure, and a separate authorization carrying everything else.
The written permission may sit in the same document as the notice, but a liability waiver may not. Bundling a release is the most litigated defect in this area.
Federal guidance states the notice must be in writing, in a stand-alone format, and never part of an employment application.
California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma entitle the person to a free copy of the report, so the authorization needs a check box for them to request it.
Ban the box and conditional offer rules follow the applicant rather than your office, so the simplest safe sequence is to ask after a conditional offer everywhere.
Rejecting someone based on a report requires two notices: a pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report and the federal summary of rights, then a final notice after a reasonable interval.
Volunteers screened through a screening company are covered by the same rules as employees, which nonprofits frequently miss when folding consent into a volunteer agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a background check form?
The document used to obtain written permission before running a check on someone through a screening company. In employment it is really two documents: a standalone disclosure stating that a consumer report may be obtained, and an authorization capturing consent plus the identifying details the screening company needs. Landlords and volunteer organizations use adapted versions of the same pair.
Does the disclosure really have to be a separate document?
Yes. Federal law requires it to be clear and conspicuous and in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, and federal guidance states it cannot be part of an employment application. Minor additional information is permitted only if it does not confuse or detract from the notice. The written permission itself may sit in the same document, which is why a compliant packet is a disclosure with an authorization beneath it and nothing else.
What is the most common mistake on these forms?
Adding a liability waiver. Federal appeals courts have held that a waiver bundled into the disclosure violates the consists-solely requirement, and that any surplus language in a combined form is unlawful. One grocery chain settled a class action over exactly this for $6.8 million covering more than 90,000 people. Check any form you inherited, because the bundled version circulates widely.
Do I need a signed form before running a background check?
For any check performed by a screening company, yes, and the provider will require you to certify that you obtained it. If you are calling a former employer yourself rather than using a screening service, that is not a consumer report and the federal disclosure rules do not apply the same way, though a signed release still makes former employers far more willing to answer.
Which states require extra notices on the form?
California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma entitle the person to a free copy of any report obtained, so include a check box on the authorization. Several states and many cities also restrict when you may ask about criminal history, commonly deferring it until after a conditional offer, and some limit credit checks to specific roles. These follow where the applicant lives or works, not where you are registered.
What do I do if the report contains something concerning?
Follow the two-step adverse action process. Send a pre-adverse action notice including a copy of the report and the federal summary of rights, wait a reasonable interval so the person can dispute an error, then send a final notice identifying the screening company and stating that it did not make the decision. Weigh the offense against the job rather than applying a blanket rule.
Do volunteers need a background check form too?
If you screen volunteers through a screening company, the same federal disclosure and authorization requirements apply. Nonprofits regularly fold consent into a general volunteer agreement, which recreates the exact bundling problem that generates claims against employers. Keep the disclosure separate, obtain a signed authorization, and follow the adverse action process if you decline someone based on the report.
How long should I keep signed background check forms?
Keep them as long as you keep other hiring records, which usually means at least a year from the decision and longer where state law or your own policy requires. Store them separately from the general personnel file, since they contain Social Security numbers and address history. Federal rules require secure disposal of the report itself, meaning shredding paper and permanently deleting electronic copies.
