District of Columbia background check laws for employers

At a glance

The District of Columbia rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.

When you may ask about criminal history

Who it covers: Any person, company, firm, labor organization, or association, including the District government but not the courts, that employs more than 10 employees in the District of Columbia.

In force since: December 17, 2014

The Fair Criminal Record Screening Amendment Act of 2014 covers employers with more than 10 employees in the District. An employer may never ask about an arrest, or about a criminal accusation that is not pending or did not end in a conviction. It may not ask about or require disclosure of a conviction until after a conditional offer. After the offer it may withdraw it or take adverse action only for a legitimate business reason that is reasonable in light of six factors: the specific duties of the job; the bearing of the offense on fitness or ability to perform; the time since the offense; the applicant’s age at the time; the frequency and seriousness of the offense; and rehabilitation and good-conduct evidence. Within 30 days of a withdrawal the applicant may request, and the employer must provide within 30 days, copies of all records it relied on and a notice of the right to file with the Office of Human Rights. Complaints go to OHR; there is no private court action.

Exceptions

• Where federal or District law or regulation requires consideration of criminal history for the job.
• Positions in a federal or District program designed to encourage employment of people with criminal histories.
• Facilities or employers that provide programs, services, or direct care to minors or vulnerable adults.

D.C. Code § 32-1342(a)-(b) · D.C. Code § 32-1342(d) · D.C. Code § 32-1341(6) · D.C. Code § 32-1343(b) · D.C. Code § 32-1344

Sealed and expunged records

Who it covers: All employers and the public lose access to sealed records; the exceptions in § 16-801(5) and § 16-807(d) name who keeps restricted access.

In force since: March 1, 2025

The Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-284), applicable since March 1, 2025, rewrote Title 16, Chapter 8. It provides automatic expungement of records for decriminalized or legalized conduct (§ 16-802), expungement and sealing by motion (§§ 16-803, 16-806), and automatic sealing of (1) citations, arrests, and charges that ended without a conviction and (2) misdemeanor convictions once 10 years have passed since the sentence was completed (§ 16-805), with listed exclusions. The Court must complete automatic sealing by October 1, 2027, or within 90 days of the disposition or waiting period, whichever is later. Sealing removes the record from public view; the person may deny it without risk of perjury. Nonpublic records remain available to prosecutors and law enforcement, to licensing agencies for disqualifying offenses, to schools and child-care facilities, and to government employers for judicial and senior executive positions, among others listed in § 16-807(d).

Exceptions

• Automatic sealing excludes intrafamily offenses, offenses against vulnerable adults and children, sex offenses and registrable offenses, dangerous crimes, crimes of violence, and DUI/OWI (§ 16-805(b)).
• Licensing agencies, licensed schools and child-care facilities, and government employers for judicial or senior executive positions keep access (§ 16-801(5)(D)-(F)); prosecutors and law enforcement may use records for employment decisions (§ 16-807(d)(1)(B)(vii)).

D.C. Code § 16-805(a)(2) · D.C. Code § 16-805(c)(2) (as amended by D.C. Law 26-52) · D.C. Code § 16-807(b) · D.C. Code § 16-808 and applicability note

Credit checks for employment

Who it covers: Employers in the District (Human Rights Act coverage).

In force since: December 13, 2017

Credit information is a protected trait under the D.C. Human Rights Act. An employer may not require, request, suggest, or cause an employee or applicant to submit credit information, or use, accept, refer to, or inquire into it, and may not discriminate on that basis.

Exceptions

• Where District law requires the employer to use credit information (§ 2-1402.11(d)(1)).
• Police officers with the Metropolitan Police Department, special or campus police officers, and positions with a law enforcement function (§ 2-1402.11(d)(2)).
• The Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the D.C. Retirement Board (§ 2-1402.11(d)(3), (3A)).
• Positions that require a security clearance under District law (§ 2-1402.11(d)(4)).
• Disclosures by District employees to the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability or the Inspector General (§ 2-1402.11(d)(5)).
• Financial institutions, where the position involves access to personal financial information (§ 2-1402.11(d)(6)).
• Credit information obtained under a lawful subpoena, court order, or law enforcement investigation (§ 2-1402.11(d)(7)).

D.C. Code § 2-1402.11(a)(1)(D) · D.C. Law 21-256, § 2(a)(3) (new § 2-1402.11(d)(6)) · D.C. Code § 2-1402.11(d)(6) · D.C. Code § 2-1402.11, applicability note for D.C. Law 21-256

Salary history questions

Who it covers: Any individual, firm, association, or corporation that employs at least one employee in the District; excludes the District and federal governments.

In force since: June 30, 2024

Since June 30, 2024, an employer may not screen applicants on wage history, require that history meet minimum or maximum criteria, condition an interview or continued consideration on disclosing it, or seek wage history from a prior employer (§ 32-1452(4)-(5)). The same act requires the minimum and maximum projected pay in every job listing and disclosure of health-care benefits before the first interview (§ 32-1453.01). Enforced by the Attorney General.

Exceptions

• The chapter’s exceptions in § 32-1453 concern employees with access to pay data and do not create a wage-history exception.

D.C. Code § 32-1452(4)-(5) · D.C. Code § 32-1451(2) · D.C. Law 25-138, § 3 · D.C. Code § 32-1453.01(a)(1)

Cannabis use and testing

Who it covers: If funded: any employer of one or more employees in the District, including the District government but not the courts or the federal government (§ 32-951.01(4)). Today: no private-employer off-duty cannabis protection.

Not in force. The Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-190) would bar most employers from refusing to hire, firing, or penalizing a worker for off-duty cannabis use, medical cannabis status, or a positive cannabis test alone. Its operative sections (§§ 32-951.02 through 32-951.08) apply only once the law’s cost is funded in an approved budget. As of October 20, 2026 that has not happened: the Council’s Code marks the sections ‘Not Funded’ and says the law ‘has not been implemented’, and the Office of Human Rights lists the Act among laws ‘awaiting funding’. The FY2026 Budget Support Act (D.C. Law 26-55) did not fund it. What does apply today: a pre-employment marijuana test may be given only after a conditional offer (see drug_testing). District government employees who are medical cannabis patients have separate protections under the Merit Personnel Act (D.C. Law 23-276); those do not reach private employers.

Exceptions

• Safety-sensitive positions as designated by the employer (§ 32-951.01(8): security and weapons, driving and heavy equipment, construction, utility lines, hazardous materials, care of dependent people, medical treatment).
• Compliance with federal law, federal contracts, or funding agreements.
• Use, possession, or impairment at the workplace or during work hours.

D.C. Code § 32-951.02 · D.C. Code § 32-951.01(8) · D.C. Law 24-190, § 401(a)(2) · D.C. Code § 32-951.02, applicability note · D.C. Office of Human Rights, Local Human Rights Laws (last updated October 15, 2025) · D.C. Code § 2-1402.11, applicability note for D.C. Law 24-190 § 201

Drug and alcohol testing procedures

Who it covers: Employers as defined in D.C. Code § 32-1101(6) (the Minimum Wage Act definition, not opened in this pass).

In force since: July 22, 2015

An employer may test a prospective employee for marijuana only after extending a conditional offer of employment, unless another law requires earlier testing. The employer may still deny the position based on a positive test and keep workplace drug policies.

Exceptions

• Testing otherwise required by law.
• Federal employment contracts are not affected.

D.C. Code § 32-931(a)

Where federal law alone applies

We found no District of Columbia rule for private employers on these topics. The FCRA and other federal laws still apply.

• Limits on what a report includes
• State consumer reporting law

Coming changes

Laws already passed that take effect later.

• From October 1, 2027. Court must complete automatic sealing of eligible non-conviction records and of misdemeanor convictions past the 10-year waiting period by October 1, 2027 (or within 90 days of disposition or waiting-period expiry, if later). D.C. Code § 16-805(c), as amended by D.C. Law 26-52 (Oct. 28, 2025)

Every state’s changes, in date order: What changed.

Adverse action notices

Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the District of Columbia requirements where they apply.

The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.

Paperwork at hire

Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, District of Columbia sets these for each new hire.

• State withholding. Have each new hire file a DC Form D-4 when they start work; employees who live outside DC may file Form D-4A (Certificate of Non-residence) when requested. Form D-4
• New hire report. Report each new hire to District of Columbia within 20 days. State new hire reporting
• Notices at hire. Notice of Hire (Employment Status and Acknowledgment of Wage Rates); DC Paid Family Leave employee notice; Pregnant and nursing worker accommodation notice.

Build the new hire checklist for District of Columbia, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.

Sources

• D.C. Code § 32-1342(a)-(b)
• D.C. Code § 32-1341(6)
• D.C. Code § 32-1343(b)
• D.C. Code § 32-1344
• D.C. Code § 16-805(a)(2)
• D.C. Code § 16-807(b)
• D.C. Code § 16-808 and applicability note
• D.C. Code § 2-1402.11(a)(1)(D)
• D.C. Law 21-256, § 2(a)(3) (new § 2-1402.11(d)(6))
• D.C. Code § 32-1452(4)-(5)
• D.C. Code § 32-1451(2)
• D.C. Law 25-138, § 3
• D.C. Code § 32-1453.01(a)(1)
• D.C. Code § 32-951.02
• D.C. Code § 32-951.01(8)
• D.C. Law 24-190, § 401(a)(2)
• D.C. Office of Human Rights, Local Human Rights Laws (last updated October 15, 2025)
• D.C. Code § 32-931(a)

Last reviewed October 20, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

After the hire

Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.