Does Knight-Swift hire people with felonies?

What Knight-Swift has said

Knight-Swift hasn't published a policy on hiring people with criminal records that we could find, and it isn't on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. Its 2026 sustainability report says new drivers go through a qualification and onboarding process that includes background screening, and its 2025 report says it uses pre-employment hair follicle drug testing for driving and non-driving staff in safety-sensitive jobs. Swift job postings for shop mechanics list a comprehensive background check and a pre-employment hair drug screen.

We didn't find a public statement from Knight-Swift about hiring people with records: not on its careers site, in its reports, or in its announcements. That doesn't mean it won't hire you. It means there's nothing on the record to point to.

Does Knight-Swift do background checks?

Knight-Swift runs background checks for some roles. Knight-Swift's 2026 sustainability report says new drivers complete a qualification and onboarding process that includes background screening and regulatory compliance checks. Swift postings for body shop and diesel mechanics list passing a comprehensive background check, and a Swift transportation recruiter posting says recruiters review applicants' motor vehicle records. Knight-Swift doesn't publish what its background check covers, how far back it looks or which records disqualify.^1,2,3

• Driving record

• How long a background check takes

Does Knight-Swift drug test?

Knight-Swift drug tests for some roles. Knight-Swift's 2025 sustainability report says it uses pre-employment hair follicle drug testing for all driving and non-driving staff in safety-sensitive positions. Swift mechanic postings list a pre-employment hair follicle drug screen, and a Swift driver qualification posting describes collecting hair and urine samples and turning away applicants who don't meet the drug screen and hiring criteria. CDL drivers are also covered by federal DOT drug testing. The 2026 report doesn't repeat the hair-testing statement, but Swift mechanic and driver-orientation postings from September 2026 still describe hair testing.^2,4,5,6

Hiring programs

• Swift Academy

  Swift's truck driving school page says Swift Academy can help people earn a Class A CDL in four weeks, and that its tuition assistance requires committing to drive for Swift for 26 consecutive months after getting a license. Knight-Swift's privacy policy says it operates truck driver training academies. We couldn't read the school's admission requirements. It isn't described as a second-chance program.⁷

Rules for specific jobs

• Swift body shop and diesel mechanics

  Swift's mechanic postings list a valid driver's license, a comprehensive background check and a pre-employment hair follicle drug screen as requirements.²

• Swift driver applicants

  A Swift driver recruiting processor posting says the job includes reviewing driver files to verify three to five years of professional driving history and three years of clear drug and alcohol history. The posting doesn't say which driving jobs this applies to, so it may not cover every Swift fleet or entry-level drivers.⁸

• New Swift drivers at orientation

  A Swift driver qualification facilitator posting says the role runs orientation, collects hair and urine samples, checks references, and disqualifies applicants who don't meet the drug screen and hiring criteria.⁵

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  FMCSA says all CDL drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles on public roads are subject to DOT drug and alcohol testing, including pre-employment, random, post-accident and reasonable-suspicion tests, and an employer must receive a negative drug test before the driver operates a commercial vehicle.⁶

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  Federal rules require every motor carrier, within 30 days of a driver's start date, to get the driver's motor vehicle record for the past 3 years from each state that licensed them and to check their safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers over the past 3 years.⁹

• CDL truck drivers (federal rule)

  FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse says a driver must consent before an employer can view their Clearinghouse record, and a driver with a drug or alcohol program violation can't drive a commercial vehicle for any DOT-regulated employer until they finish the return-to-duty process.¹⁰

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^14,15,16
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^14,15
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^14,17
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^18,19
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^18,20

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^14,17,21
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.²²
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^23,24

See whether you can clear your record in your state