Checkr’s expungement service
At Checkr, we believe a criminal sentence should never be a life sentence to unemployment. We believe human potential should not be limited by the past, and we work to expand people’s opportunities.
To promote our mission of fair-chance hiring, we built an affordable end-to-end expungement process for candidates, which leads them from qualification to completion.
We currently support expungements in California. If you have a charge in California you think qualifies, start our process.
What are expungements?
An expungement removes or “seals” prior criminal records from public access. Individuals with expunged records have low subsequent crime rates and huge increases in wage and employment trajectories. Because of these benefits, many states are passing legislation that mandates expungements of certain records.
Unfortunately, that process can take years due to court backlogs and administrative barriers. Among those legally eligible for expungement, only 6.5% obtain it within five years. Those impacted by prior records are denied key opportunities, including access to employment, housing, and licensing.
The Checkr and Lawyaw difference
We remove the burden from the job-seeker by making expungements financially accessible and understandable. We do not make any revenue off these services—all costs go directly towards court filing fees and preparation of the expungement petition.
Checkr has partnered with Lawyaw, a trusted company that offers automation technology for legal services. Together, we have created an end-to-end expungement service, which is one of the simplest, fastest, and most affordable in the nation.
Here’s how it works
1. Educate
Job-seekers are proactively alerted that they have a potentially expungeable charge through email, SMS text, and in-context on their background check.
2. Qualify
Eligible job-seekers fill out a questionnaire to determine if their record qualifies for an expedited expungement through our service.
3. Pay
If they qualify, they may choose to pay the legal and processing fees required to file their petition for expungement. We also have sponsorship programs for these expungements.
4. File petition
Working with Lawyaw, Checkr creates and files the job-seekers’ petition and communicates results generally within 30 days.
5. See results
Checkr emails job-seekers when their expungement is complete and when their conviction is no longer a barrier.
Customer education about expungements
We educate our customers on potentially expungeable charges, as well as pending expungements, to help them avoid dismissing qualified candidates.
Interested in getting involved?
We are looking for partners to explore pathways for scaling this solution and co-addressing some of the systemic issues around the impact of having a criminal record. Let’s talk about how we can work together.