GoodHire Criminal Background Check: Everything You Need to Know

What Is GoodHire?

GoodHire is an employment background screening platform designed to help businesses verify candidates through criminal background checks, employment verification, education verification, and more. Now owned by Checkr, GoodHire operates as a standalone service that focuses on simplicity and compliance for small to mid-sized businesses.

The platform offers over 100 screening services and has built its reputation on fast turnaround times—90% of nationwide criminal checks are delivered in under one minute. For HR professionals and hiring managers who need reliable screening without enterprise-level complexity, GoodHire hits a sweet spot between affordability and thoroughness.

GoodHire Criminal Background Check: What's Included

Criminal background checks through GoodHire search multiple databases to identify potential red flags in a candidate's history. Here's what each tier typically covers:

Basic Plan ($29.99 per check)

• Social Security Number (SSN) trace
• Sex offender registry search
• Global watchlist records
• National criminal database search

The Basic plan has a turnaround time of approximately one business day and works well for low-risk positions where you need fundamental screening without extensive depth.

Standard/Essential Plan ($54.99 per check)

• Everything in Basic
• Domestic watchlist search
• County criminal court search (past seven years, up to three counties)

This tier takes 1-2 business days and adds crucial county-level searches. National databases can miss records that only exist at the county level, making this plan significantly more thorough for most hiring scenarios.

Professional/Premium Plan ($79.99-$89.99 per check)

• Everything in Standard
• Employment verification
• Education verification
• Unlimited county criminal search

The Premium tier extends turnaround to 2-4 business days due to the verification calls required. This is ideal for management positions, roles handling finances, or any position where credential verification matters.

Understanding GoodHire's Criminal Record Searches

GoodHire criminal background checks can reveal misdemeanor convictions, felony convictions, pending criminal cases, and instances of incarceration. The scope depends on your chosen plan and the specific searches you select.

Types of Criminal Searches Available

National Criminal Database: Searches aggregated criminal records from across the United States. While comprehensive, this database may not include every county courthouse record—some jurisdictions don't report to national databases.

County Criminal Court Search: Direct searches of county court records, which often catch records missed by national databases. GoodHire searches the past seven years of court records based on the candidate's address history from the SSN trace.

Federal Criminal Search: Searches U.S. district and appellate court records for federal offenses like tax evasion, embezzlement, identity theft, and crimes committed on federal property. Federal searches don't include state or county crimes.

Sex Offender Registry: Checks against national sex offender registries, typically included in all GoodHire plans.

What GoodHire Can't Report

Background check reporting is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and various state laws. GoodHire follows these guidelines, which means certain records may not appear:

• Arrests that didn't lead to convictions (in many states)
• Convictions older than seven years (in some states)
• Sealed or expunged records
• Juvenile records

Ban-the-box laws also affect when you can run background checks and how you can use the results. GoodHire automatically adjusts its requirements based on your business location to help maintain compliance.

GoodHire Setup and One-Time Fees

New GoodHire users pay a one-time setup fee of $49.99 for account verification. This verifies your business as a legitimate employer—a requirement for accessing consumer reports under FCRA regulations.

Additional third-party fees may apply for certain searches, particularly county court searches that require manual retrieval. GoodHire won't charge these fees without your permission, but they can add to the total cost of more comprehensive checks.

For businesses running more than 10-25 checks annually, GoodHire offers custom pricing. If you're doing high-volume screening, contact them directly for a quote that may reduce your per-check costs.

How Long Does a GoodHire Criminal Background Check Take?

Turnaround times vary by plan and search type:

• Basic Plan: Typically 1 business day
• Standard Plan: 1-2 business days
• Premium Plan: 2-4 business days

However, certain factors can extend these timelines. When records are sourced from county courts that require clerk assistance, GoodHire must sometimes visit the courthouse in person and make an appointment with the county clerk. This can introduce substantial delays that are outside GoodHire's control.

For context, 89% of GoodHire's criminal checks complete within one hour, and 90% of nationwide criminal checks return in under one minute. The delays typically occur with county-level searches in jurisdictions with limited digital access.

GoodHire vs. Running Your Own Background Checks

Some businesses consider running background checks internally rather than using a service like GoodHire. Here's why that's usually a mistake:

FCRA Compliance: Consumer reporting agencies like GoodHire must follow strict procedures for obtaining consent, reporting results, and handling adverse actions. DIY background checks can expose your business to significant legal liability.

Database Access: GoodHire has access to court records, criminal databases, and verification networks that aren't available to individual employers. Your Google searches won't cut it.

Adverse Action Workflow: If you decide not to hire someone based on their background check, federal law requires specific steps—pre-adverse action notices, waiting periods, and final notices. GoodHire builds these workflows into the platform.

If you need quick preliminary research before engaging a paid service, Galadon's free Background Checker can help you gather initial information and generate trust scores. This is particularly useful for sales professionals vetting potential clients or partners before investing significant time in a relationship.

When to Use GoodHire vs. Alternative Tools

GoodHire excels at formal employment background screening with FCRA compliance. But not every background check scenario requires that level of formality:

Use GoodHire When:

• Making employment decisions that require FCRA compliance
• Hiring for positions with access to sensitive data or vulnerable populations
• You need court-verified criminal records
• Your industry requires documented screening (healthcare, finance, education)

Consider Alternatives When:

• Researching potential business partners or clients
• Vetting freelancers or contractors for non-sensitive work
• Doing preliminary research before formal screening
• Building prospect lists and wanting to verify identities

For B2B research scenarios—like vetting a potential client before a major deal or checking out a vendor before signing a contract—a free tool like Galadon's Background Checker gives you useful preliminary data without the cost of a formal employment screen.

Common GoodHire Issues and How to Handle Them

Delayed County Court Searches

Some counties still operate with limited digital infrastructure. When GoodHire can't access records electronically, they must physically retrieve records from the courthouse. This can take days or even weeks in extreme cases.

Solution: Set candidate expectations early. If you're hiring in regions known for slow court systems, build extra time into your hiring process.

Alert Flags on Reports

When a background check returns an alert, GoodHire provides guidance on next steps, including how to proceed with the adverse action process if you decide not to hire. Take time to review the actual details—not all alerts are disqualifying, and individualized assessment is both legally required and practically wise.

Candidate Disputes

Candidates have the right to dispute inaccurate information on their background check. GoodHire handles these disputes and will investigate claims of incorrect data. The dispute process can add time to your hiring decision, but it protects both you and the candidate from acting on bad information.

Building a Complete Candidate Verification Process

Criminal background checks are just one piece of candidate verification. A thorough process might include:

1. Identity Verification: Confirm the candidate is who they claim to be
2. Employment Verification: Validate work history claims
3. Education Verification: Confirm degrees and certifications
4. Criminal Background Check: Search for relevant criminal history
5. Reference Checks: Speak with former colleagues and managers
6. Skills Assessment: Verify they can actually do the job

For recruiters building candidate pipelines, combining background screening with contact discovery tools creates an efficient workflow. You can use Galadon's Email Finder to locate candidate contact information, then move qualified candidates into your formal screening process with GoodHire.

The Bottom Line on GoodHire Criminal Background Checks

GoodHire delivers a solid employment screening solution with user-friendly workflows, built-in compliance tools, and reasonable pricing for small to mid-sized businesses. The tiered pricing model lets you match your screening depth to your actual needs—basic checks for low-risk roles, comprehensive packages for sensitive positions.

The main limitations are cost (which adds up with high-volume hiring) and occasional delays on county court searches in less-digitized jurisdictions. For formal employment screening, GoodHire remains one of the most accessible options in the market.

For preliminary research, prospect vetting, or situations where you need background information without formal FCRA compliance, complement GoodHire with free tools that give you faster initial insights before committing to paid screening services.