In most cases, the final candidate for a university position is required to undergo a criminal background check prior to beginning the duties of the new position. 

Review the chart below to determine if your new hire needs to complete a criminal background check (CBC):

Required* Not required
  • New hires and rehires for academic appointment, both benefit-eligible and non-benefit eligible
  • New hires and rehires for administrative, service and support staff positions, both benefit-eligible and non-benefit eligible 
  • Employees who have a break in service and return to the university
  • Current employees transferring into a position involving responsibility for patient care (e.g. MU Health Care transfers or promotions)
  • In other instances as required by federal or state law, by contract or agreement, or as determined by the university
  • Student employment positions
  • Current academic staff appointments and administrative, service and support positions transferring positions, departments or Universities.

* There are situations where criminal background checks may be required due to other criteria, such as (but not limited to) grant, credentialing and licensing requirements. In these instances, a department may work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol or set up an account with the university’s criminal background check administrator, Sterling.

If you have specific questions, please contact the Office of Human Resources. Thank you for your cooperation as the university works to ensure a process that is consistent, timely and efficient.

The steps to initiate a background check are the same for both academic and staff positions, but vary depending on whether the position is recruited through the university’s recruitment platform, eRecruit, or not.

Positions recruited through eRecruit

  1. The hiring administrator provides the finalist with their offer letter and updates the candidate's disposition to Offer Accepted in the recruiting module.
  2. The HR recruitment team receives notification of the accepted offer and sets the finalist up for a pre-employment CBC through the recruiting module.
  3. The university’s background check administrator, Sterling, will email the candidate an invitation to create a username and password as well as enter their personal information to initiate the CBC.

Positions not recruited through eRecruit

  1. The hiring administrator completes the Request to Initiate Criminal Background Check for Part-time Positions form in Qualtrics, which includes the candidate's name, email address, title, department and hiring manger information.
  2. Upon submission, an email notification is sent to the Office of Human Resources. The HR recruitment team submits the candidate’s information to the CBC administrator, Sterling.
  3. Sterling will email the candidate an invitation to create a username and password and provide their personal information to initiate the CBC.

International Scholar Positions

  1. The hiring administrator asks the candidate to complete the Criminal Background Check Checklist for International Scholars (PDF) form.
  2. If the completed checklist indicates the candidate is required to undergo a criminal background check, follow the instructions above as suits the position.
  3. If the checklist indicates a criminal background check is not required, departments should provide the completed checklist form to HR alongside the usual new hire paperwork.

Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. The university participates in E-Verify and provides information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to the government to confirm work authorization. View the posters below for additional details.

Para informacion en español, visite ftc.gov/credit o escribe a la FTC consumer Response Center, Room 130-A 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

Summary of Rights

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to ftc.gov/credit or write to:

Consumer Response Center,
Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580.

  • You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
  • You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security Number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
    • a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
    • you are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
    • your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
    • you are on public assistance;
    • you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
    In addition, all consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See ftc.gov/credit for additional information.
  • You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
  • You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See  ftc.gov/credit for an explanation of dispute procedures.
  • Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
  • Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
  • Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need – usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
  • You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to ftc.gov/credit.
  • You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
  • You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
  • Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit.States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General.