Published: 08/23/2024By: Claire Young
The National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) background check is required for most people who want to work for the federal government. It doesn’t matter if you want to work in Homeland Security or for a federal courthouse as a clerk, you’ll likely have to pass a NACI background check.
Like most other background checks, the NACI background check verifies someone’s identity by checking work history, education history, and criminal records. Depending on the industry, some NACI checks may look through driving records or financial records as well.
Overall, it’s important to understand what this background check entails if you’re about to go through one, or even if you’re hiring applicants for a government position. Fortunately, we’re here to help. Read on to learn everything you need to know about NACI background checks; this article covers what a NACI check is, what you need to complete one, and how you can prepare.
What Is a NACI Background Check?
A National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) background check is a type of federal background check. It’s a check that’s used by government bodies to learn more about potential employees. While it’s usually used for federal employees, it’s one of the more general background checks. This means that it’s not always used for people who need clearance for classified information.
NACI background checks can also change based on federal laws. For example, the government planned to revise the national investigation standards in 2010 and began to implement these new checks in 2015. Therefore, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the current practices that are used during NACI.
A NACI background check is only one portion of most government background checks, so it’s important to keep in mind that many industries will have additional processes. For example, most hospitals need to run OIG background checks to ensure that contractors and employees aren’t on the exclusion list.
What Roles are NACI Background Checks Used For?
NACI background checks are used for many federal employment roles and even for some contractors who work with the federal government. A great example of a role that requires a NACI background check is a job for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Other roles that may require a NACI background check include:
- People who work with the personal information of government employees or workers
- Federal prison workers
- Human resources for the federal government
- IT professionals who work for the government
- Federal doctors
Overall, any job that works for or with the federal government may require a NACI background check. If you’re ever unsure about the type of background check you’re going through, you can always ask the organization running the background check. They have to notify you about the type of background check and what it entails before you can go through it.
What Shows Up on a NACI Background Check?
A NACI background check includes a lot of information. While there is some unique information that shows up on these checks, you’ll also find that they have some things in common with other types of background checks. Additionally, NACI background checks may also be paired with drug tests and other checks to get a more complete picture of an applicant.
Still, because a NACI background check is required by the federal government, there is a lot of consistency in the information that shows up. You can expect a NACI background check to include:
- Office of Personnel Management’s Security/Suitability Investigations Index (SII)
- Defense Clearance and Investigations Index (DCII)
- FBI background checks for criminal records and fingerprints
- Employment history from the last five years
- Criminal convictions in the area where someone will work within the last five years
- Education verification
- Residence verification
A NACI background check will also check your personal and professional references, so keep this in mind as well.
How Long Does a NACI Background Check Take?
NACI background checks are very thorough compared to some other types of checks. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for a NACI background check to take a few months. In fact, they take around two to three months on average. However, if a position requires additional security clearances, it’s possible for a NACI background check to take between seven and nine months.
Other factors that influence how long a NACI background check takes include omissions, errors on the applicant or agency side, or criminal records. Other red flags can also result in a longer background check process, so keep this in mind.
What Are Red Flags on a NACI Background Check?
Red flags on a NACI background check vary depending on the industry. For example, some NACI checks will look through financial records, while others don’t. Therefore, red flags for positions that work with money or higher clearances may have different red flags.
That said, some common things applicants are flagged for during a NACI background check include:
- Criminal records within the last five years
- Violent criminal records within the last seven to ten years
- Sex offender status
- DUI or DWI
- Bankruptcies for financial positions
- Poor credit history for financial positions
- Inconsistencies in employment or education
- Failure of a drug test if one is required
Other red flags may include issues with your SSN or other background information. If other background checks are run in conjunction with a NACI check, more red flags may reach the surface.
How Far Back do NACI background Checks Go?
If you’re going through a NACI background check, you might be curious about how far they can go. While most background checks can go back for seven to ten years, this isn’t the case for a NACI background check. For these checks, only information from the last five years is valid. Anything else has to be found with a different type of background check.
How to Prepare for a NACI Background Check
The best way to prepare for a NACI background check is to use one of our people search tools. These are tools that allow you to enter someone’s first and last name, city, and state to find everything that’s publicly available about them. If you want to prepare for a NACI background check, or any other type of background check, it’s a great idea to check your records before applying.
Not only can we help you prepare for a NACI background check, but we can help you prepare for almost any other check. Whether you need to apply for a government position or a private company, we have you covered. With our people search tools, you can find the following information:
- Date of birth
- Court records
- Civil court records
- Criminal records
- Social media accounts
- Dating profiles
- Phone numbers
- Relatives
- Email addresses
- Education history
- Employment history
Aside from this information, you can find anything else that’s publicly available.
Another way to prepare for a NACI background check is to download the ST-85 form online and look over its contents. You’ll have to fill out the form anyway, so it doesn’t hurt to know what will be on the form before applying.
Being prepared for drug screening and other types of background checks will also make it easier to go through the process without issues.
Our Final Thoughts on NACI Background Checks
Whether you’re applying for a government position or you’re a hiring manager for a government agency, understanding what a NACI background check is and how it works is crucial.
As an applicant, we recommend getting your public records in order and using our background check tool to see if anything looks out of the ordinary before you apply. Once you know what your records will show, you shouldn’t have any issues during the background check process.
For employers, make sure you have the tools necessary to run a NACI background check. You may also want to consider running additional checks, like a drug test or social media background check, to make sure you get the full scope of an applicant’s records.
Once you know what a NACI background check is and how it works, you shouldn’t have any problems going through the process yourself or submitting the appropriate forms if you’re an employer.
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