People have been hearing about a new Texas law regarding background checks and are asking, “But what does that even mean?”
A friend of mine, a small business owner with about twenty employees, texted me about this new law, “Do I have to change my application form again? Texas is doing ban-the-box now?” I’m sure most of you are thinking, “Texas? Ban-the-box? When?”
I became incredibly interested in this, I read summaries and legal overviews to try and rephrase everything in a way the average person would understand. This is what I put together to explain the relevant parts, the changes starting in 2025, and the things employers and applicants need to consider.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary: Key Takeaways
First, What Counts As A Texas Background Check?
A Texas background check usually means an employer (or landlord, licensing board, etc.) is verifying some mix of:
For a Texas background check for employment, most employers focus on criminal history plus identity and work history basics. Higher-risk roles (management, finance, healthcare, caregiving, driving) tend to involve deeper screening.
And yes, individuals can also run a kind of “self-check” to see what might appear, which can be incredibly useful if you’re job hunting and don’t want surprises.
What Is The New Law on Background Checks in Texas?
Most of the circulated legislative overviews indicate that the most important change for 2025 is a statewide process rule for hiring that is similar to ban-the-box.
Basic Principle: Postpone Inquiries Regarding Criminal History
Covered employers are generally required to postpone inquiries regarding an applicant’s criminal history until some time after the hiring process begins, typically after an interview or after a conditional offer.
The concept is straightforward: direct people to focus on capabilities and culture fits, rather than being preemptively eliminated because they marked a box.
Who Is Covered?
If you are a small shop with, for example, 5–10 employees, you may not be covered by the 15 or more employee threshold, but you are still subject to federal requirements if you use a consumer reporting agency.
What Jobs Are Excluded?
The primary exception is jobs for which a criminal history background check is mandated by law. These include some healthcare, childcare, law enforcement, and security-sensitive positions, as well as regulatory positions.
The law is not saying “don’t do background checks.” The law is saying “don’t do background checks first,” unless you are required to by law.
Why Texas Is Doing This
This part is less legal and more human.
I’ve known people who did not apply for certain jobs because they thought they would be rejected, sometimes they were, but sometimes they weren’t, but the fear of rejection is what caused the most damage.
Policies like these are to help people gain a footing in the job application process and to show that they have the opportunity to explain themselves and give details about their past.
The law helps employers to be consistent and to manage their risk. A rushed “nope” on an old record can lead to claims of unfairness or discrimination, especially if decisions aren’t applied uniformly.
What Still Shows Up On Background Checks In Texas?
Here’s where expectations get real. Even with timing changes, background checks can still reveal a lot, depending on what the employer requests and what’s legally reportable.
Criminal History
A criminal history report commonly includes:
Employers typically use this to assess whether a record is job-related and whether it raises workplace safety concerns.
Employment Verification
Often shows:
This is where employers spot gaps or inconsistencies. (And yes, plenty of honest people have gaps, caregiving, layoffs, illness, so it’s not automatically a red flag.)
Education Verification
Can confirm:
SSN Trace
Shows whether the SSN is valid and can surface:
It’s not a “gotcha” tool, more like a map that helps screeners look in the right counties/states.
License Verification
For licensed roles, it can show:
Sex Offender Registry Search
Can show identifying information and registration address details.
Drug Testing and MVR checks
Drug tests are typically a “snapshot in time.” MVR checks list license status, violations, suspensions, and related data.
The 7-year Reporting Limit: Important, But Often Misunderstood
You’ll see people say “Texas has a 7-year limit.” The reality is more nuanced.
Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) are typically constrained by federal FCRA rules that often limit reporting of certain negative information older than seven years, especially for jobs under a certain compensation threshold (commonly referenced as $75,000 in FCRA discussions).
Two important notes:
If you’re an applicant, this is why two employers can see different things depending on how they run checks.
How the Death Star law (2023) Fits In
Texas’s 2023 law, often nicknamed the Death Star bill, is relevant because it limits how cities and counties can impose their own employment regulations on private employers.
In normal-person terms: if you’re a private employer operating in multiple Texas cities, you’re less likely to face a patchwork of local ban-the-box rules. The state-level approach becomes the main rulebook.
That said, public employers and certain local policies can still matter in specific contexts, so it’s not “nothing local ever matters,” but it does shift the center of gravity.
What This Means For Employers
If you’re responsible for Texas pre-employment background checks, the 2025 change is mostly about process design.
1. Update The Job Application And Early Screening Steps
If your application currently asks: “Have you ever been convicted…?” right up front, you may need to remove it (or move it later) if you’re covered by the 15+ rule or you’re a public employer.
A practical approach:
2. Tighten Your FCRA Compliance
If you use a background check provider (a CRA), you must:
This isn’t optional, and it’s one of the most common areas where employers get sloppy because they’re moving fast.
3. Avoid Blanket “No One With A Record” Policies
Aside from being blunt (and often unfair), blanket bans can create legal exposure. Best practice is to evaluate records individually, considering:
Think of it like this: a driving-related conviction matters a lot more for a delivery driver than for a back-office role with no driving.
4. Train Whoever Actually Does Hiring
In many small businesses, the “HR department” is… the owner. Or the office manager who also orders toner and runs payroll.
If that’s you, you’ll want a simple internal checklist so decisions stay consistent and documented.
5. Handle Data Like It Matters
Overviews of the new standards mention explicit permission and secure handling of candidate data. Even where the law isn’t crystal-clear in summaries, the direction is obvious: don’t treat sensitive reports like casual paperwork. Limit access, store securely, and keep retention policies.
What This Means For Applicants And Employees
If you’re applying for jobs and worried about your criminal background Texas record showing up, here’s the practical shift:
You may get further in the process before the record is discussed
That’s huge psychologically, and sometimes materially, because you can demonstrate your skills before the toughest conversation happens.
You still should be prepared for the background check
The check may still come. The timing just changes.
A good strategy:
Example That Comes Up A Lot
Imagine two candidates for a warehouse supervisor role:
Under an early “check the box” system, Candidate A might never get an interview. Under the new timing approach, Candidate A has a chance to show they’re the stronger hire, then the employer can evaluate whether the record actually matters for the job.
Best Practices For Compliance: Simple, Usable Checklist
If you take nothing else from this, take this:
How State Rules Interact With Federal Law
Texas’s new background check law doesn’t change the federal underpinnings of most employer background checks:
Texas can change the timing and structure of your hiring questions, but Texas doesn’t eliminate federal mandates.
A Personal Note
What surprised me about the Texas change was the number of employers that seem oblivious to the fact that they already have process problems.
My friend with the 20-person company? He wasn’t being discriminatory. He just downloaded some form a few years ago, added a criminal history box, and left it. No discrimination. Just inertia. It’s what so many businesses do to get themselves in trouble with the law: not with bad intent. Just old habits.
Texas is essentially saying, “After the 2025 changes, we’re going to tap some employers on the shoulders and tell them to deliberate. It’s time for an update to your process.”
