---
title: "Index a criminal-record disclosure against the federal reporting limits"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/privacy-data-protection-and-cyber/index-a-criminal-record-disclosure-against-the-spent-convictions-scheme/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A25-QU20261022-10-US"
practice_area: "Privacy, Data Protection & Cyber"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Index a criminal-record disclosure against the federal reporting limits

> Separate arrests from convictions. For an arrest, record the date of entry and whether seven years have passed. For a conviction, do not apply that seven-year drop-off.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/privacy-data-protection-and-cyber/index-a-criminal-record-disclosure-against-the-spent-convictions-scheme/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Privacy, Data Protection & Cyber](https://ailawframework.com/practice/privacy-data-protection-and-cyber.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Separate arrests from convictions. For an arrest, record the date of entry and whether seven years have passed. For a conviction, do not apply that seven-year drop-off. If an employer will use a background-check company, list the stand-alone notice and the adverse-action steps. |
| What the lawyer must review | There is no national spent-convictions scheme on the pages opened for this task. 15 U.S.C. § 1681c excludes arrest records that antedate the report by more than seven years, or until the governing limitation period has expired if that is longer, and it excludes other adverse information after seven years other than records of convictions of crimes. Convictions are carved out of that seven-year adverse-item limit. The limits in paragraphs (1) through (5) do not apply to a report used for employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more. The FTC's Background Checks guide says an employer that gets a criminal-record report from a company in the business of compiling background information must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act: a stand-alone written notice before the report, and, before an adverse action, a notice that includes a copy of the report and the further FCRA steps the guide describes. The same guide says some states and municipalities regulate use of criminal records, and that a policy which disadvantages people of a particular race and is not job related and consistent with business necessity raises a Title VII problem. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Index a criminal-record disclosure against the spent convictions scheme](https://ailawframework.com/practice/privacy-data-protection-and-cyber/index-a-criminal-record-disclosure-against-the-spent-convictions-scheme.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Separate arrests from convictions. For an arrest, record the date of entry and whether seven years have passed. For a conviction, do not apply that seven-year drop-off. If an employer will use a background-check company, list the stand-alone notice and the adverse-action steps.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The FTC guide says it is not illegal, by itself, for an employer to ask about a criminal record, apart from the medical and genetic limits it flags.
- Do not tell a client that a conviction disappears from a consumer report after seven years.

## Sources

- [15 U.S. Code § 1681c - Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681c) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/background-checks-what-employers-need-know) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*