What information cannot be included in a private background check/tenant report in California?
The following information cannot show up in a private background check report in California:
- Lawsuits or judgments from more than 7 years ago;[1289]
- Criminal convictions from more than 7 years ago;
- Any information about arrests or formal charges from more than 7 years ago;
- Criminal convictions that have been fully pardoned, dismissed, expunged, eradicated, or sealed under court order;
- Any information about arrests or formal charges that did not result in conviction, no matter how recent (unless your judgment is still pending);[1290]
- Any information about referrals to, or participation in, any pre-trial or post-trial diversion programs (court-mandated programs which function as a form of alternative sentencing);
- Paid tax liens from more than 7 years ago;[1291]
- Accounts placed in collections from more than 7 years ago;
- Bankruptcies from more than 10 years ago;
- Evictions actions (“unlawful detainers’) that you won or resolved with a settlement agreement;
- Any other negative information like repossessions, foreclosures, check verification reports, motor vehicle reports, or drug test results[1292] from more than 7 years ago.[1293]
- 1289
Unless governed by a longer statute of limitations, which extends the time in which a suit, judgment, or arrest remains effective. ↑
- 1290
EXCEPTIONS: An agency can report these kinds of arrests or charges if judgment is still pending. ↑
- 1291
When a tax debt is not timely paid, the government’s legal claim against your property is considered a “tax lien.” http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Understanding-a-Federal-Tax-Lien. ↑
- 1292
Consumer Data Industry Association, http://www.cdiaonline.org/HTC/htc.cfm?ItemNumber=1080 ↑
- 1293
Cal. Civ. Code § 1786.18. ↑