New Hampshire
Employers that are either located in New Hampshire or hiring New Hampshire residents must abide by the Federal FCRA, and they should consider the following state laws. For more information on New Hampshire state laws, please visit the state legislature.
Background check laws in NH:
359-B:5 - Obsolete Information
Except as authorized under paragraph II, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:
(e) Records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime which from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than 7 years. II. II. The provisions of paragraph I are not applicable in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in connection with:
- (a) A credit transaction involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of $50,000 or more;
- (b) The underwriting of life insurance involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of $50,000 or more; or
- (c) The employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal, $20,000 or more.
In other words:
Background checks cannot include criminal information that is older than 7 years, unless the consumer report is used in connection with: (1) a credit transaction that involves or is expected to involve $50,000 or more; or (2) a life insurance policy of $50,000 or more; or (3) the employment of an applicant whose annual salary will equal or is expected to equal $20,000 or more.
How to Dispute Your Records:
Criminal Records:
If you find that your criminal records are incorrect or incomplete and you would like to take action, you should contact the specific jurisdiction in which the records were originally filed.
Feel free to take a look at some of these resources for more information:
Criminal Record Release Authorization Form
Instructions for record release
Civil Records:
All of the following are included in civil records: judgments, liens, evictions, family and small claims cases. If you would like to dispute a record, contact the court in which the record was filed.
List of all New Hampshire Circuit Court District Divisions and their contact information
Contact State Law Officials
New Hampshire Department of Safety
Division of State Police
Central Repository for Criminal Records
33 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03305
Phone: (603) 223-3867
Support Services Bureau, Criminal Records Unit website
New Hampshire Administrative Office of the Courts
Two Charles Doe Drive
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-2521
website
National Laws and Resources
In order to set a standard around hiring policies, the federal government has created the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA to monitor and protect both employers and job seekers. With this law, individuals are protected from unfair workplace discrimination and data breaches of their private, sensitive information. Interested in learning more? Check out GoodHire’s 10-step process for legally obtaining background reports. Be sure to read the official FCRA full text or summary legal document for more details.
Find any court in the USA: Court Locator Tool http://www.uscourts.gov/court_locator/CourtLocatorSearch.aspx