What Does Uber Look for in a Background Check?

You finally have some free time, and between pressure from your creditors and life in general, you decide it’s time to get a second job to bring in some extra income. You’ve applied to a few places but to no avail-nothing. That’s when your friend mentions driving for Uber. He’s putting himself through graduate school with earnings from driving for Uber and you decide to give it a go. Feeling confident about your application process takes a hit when you come across the requirement of a background check. You recall a driving incident several years ago that ended in a fender bender and now you're concerned if that situation could potentially present on an Uber background check and affect your chances of being hired by the ride sharing platform. This situation is unfortunate and one that many people can relate to. Driving for Uber and other ride sharing platforms seems like a great idea. But the reality of Uber’s background check requirements can be daunting. Don't worry! You have questions regarding what Uber checks. We have answers. Let’s delve into them!

What does Uber look for in a background check? An Uber background check focuses on two major components.

Learn what kinds of background checks Uber will run on potential employees.

If you’re searching for employment or looking for an apartment to lease, it’s typical for the prospective employer or landlord to inquire into your background for information about you.

Conducting a background check is essential for a variety of reasons. Above all, it identifies whether or not you’ll be a good fit for the job or tenancy.

This post discusses what the popular ride-hailing company Uber looks for when conducting background checks on candidates. So keep reading to be fully informed. Then call Consumer Attorneys today if you’ve been the victim of Uber background check errors. Our highly experienced legal team includes attorneys for identity theft, credit mistakes, criminal history misrepresentations, and more. And best of all, federal law requires the companies we sue to pay the legal costs and fees for you to get help.

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What Does Uber Background Check for?

Uber’s background check on its candidates consists of two main elements, namely:

• A Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) that inquires into the candidate’s driving history
• The candidate’s criminal history

Surprisingly, there is no credit background check. This is good news to candidates who do not have the best credit history.

It’s noteworthy that in conducting background checks, Uber strictly follows the relevant laws of each state.

Let’s consider the two elements of a background check by Uber.

Motor Vehicle Report

What is a motor vehicle report? A motor vehicle report, also known as an MVR, looks into a candidate’s driving record to determine if the candidate should be a driver for Uber. Examining a candidate’s driving background is important since drivers will be required to use their vehicles to transport people and sometimes food to different places around their city and state. Uber has to take precautions to make sure their drivers are qualified and do not have outstanding driving tickets and offenses that may cause them to be unsafe on the roads or put Uber in situations that may jeopardize its business practices. Therefore, conducting a very thorough MVR or driving assessment of each driver is of utmost importance.

Any job that requires a high level of trust will require you to prove that you are fit before you are offered the job. For instance, if you apply for a job as a bank teller, it is likely a criminal background check will be conducted because the bank will need to know it can trust you with its customers’ money. The same goes for Uber. Before Uber can hire you, they have to conduct an Uber background check to ensure that you can be trusted driving their customers.

Additionally, the Motor Vehicle Report pays attention to the candidates’ driver’s license details and every bit of information contained on their overall driving record.

Thus, Uber states that for a candidate to qualify as a driver, a person must:

• Have a valid United States driver’s license
• Possess at least one year of licensed driving experience in the US if they’re 23 years old or older
• Possess at least three years of licensed driving experience in the US if they’re under 23 years of age
• Have an active driver’s license without any disqualifying restrictions
• Have a clean driving record without any major moving violation, such as driving under the influence or reckless driving, within the past seven years
• Not have exceeded three minor violations, such as overspeeding, no-fault accidents, or failing to obey traffic laws, within the past three years

If there are major driving violations or recent cases of multiple minor driving violations, a candidate might be disqualified.

Criminal History

In addition to the MVR or driving background check, Uber also conducts a criminal background check.

A criminal background check inquires into the candidate’s criminal history in search of various forms of criminal misconduct, whether misdemeanors or felonies.

In keeping with the relevant local laws, some convictions might lead to disqualification of the candidate. It’s noteworthy that the background checks conducted by Uber are heavily influenced by the laws in each state.

If a candidate’s record shows criminal convictions like sexual assault, murder, terrorism-related offenses, felonies, violent crimes, sexual offenses, registered sex offender status, and other forms of serious criminal convictions, they may be disqualified. This is the case regardless of when the conviction occurred.

Even if there is no conviction yet for those categories of crimes and the charges are only pending, it might also result in a disqualification of the candidate. This is the case except when the charge is resolved in the candidate’s favor.

You may be asking why does Uber conduct a criminal background check? Similar to the MVR check, Uber must conduct a criminal background check to make sure you are trustworthy. Most of Uber’s business deals will be catering to the public and customers either by providing rides to different locations or by delivering food to them. Both driving people around and handling their food requires a high level of trust.

Again, we can revisit the bank teller example mentioned above. If a bank decides to hire a bank teller, a bank would make sure they conduct a criminal background check to hire a trustworthy person. If the bank is torn between hiring two people, the candidate with a clean background check, with no fraud or theft charges would most likely be an ideal candidate as opposed to someone with multiple offenses for theft. It does not mean, the individual with the theft charges hasn’t had time to change their practices for the better, it simply means that Uber must be safe in its business dealings and will hire the person who is most suitable. To figure out who is most suitable Uber background checks must be conducted, including criminal and driving history.

If you or someone you know is thinking of being an Uber driver, then pay attention to the details here to get an idea of what to expect. Thankfully, your credit doesn’t seem to matter so much to Uber. Background checks are part of regular business life and so are background check errors.

If you encounter any form of background check errors, we’ll be happy to help you out. Let us know right away.