Does Uber hire people with felonies?

What Uber has said

Uber says every U.S. driver and courier must pass identity and criminal background checks, plus a driving-record check for anyone driving or delivering by vehicle, run by accredited third-party providers before their first trip, and that checks are rerun every year with continuous monitoring in between. Uber publishes the offenses that disqualify: the most serious crimes at any point in a person's life, and other felonies generally for 7 years after conviction or while charges are pending. In June 2026 Uber said it widened its lifetime list to all violent felonies and sexually related crimes, plus stalking and strangulation offenses, and moved to a lifetime Social Security number trace, replacing the 7-year trace it had used where state law didn't set a limit. Uber says local and state laws can limit how far back it looks.

• Signed the 2016 Fair Chance Business Pledge

  The April 11, 2016 White House fact sheet lists Uber among the first companies to sign the Fair Chance Business Pledge. We found no Uber page since then restating it, and Uber has since widened the offenses that disqualify drivers and couriers.¹

• Publishes what disqualifies

  Uber's driver screening page lists the offense categories that disqualify drivers and delivery people, the 7-year window for other felonies, and its annual reruns and continuous monitoring.²

• Policy change

  In a June 26, 2026 newsroom post, Uber said it was expanding to a lifetime SSN trace for new drivers and couriers (and existing drivers at annual rescreening) where state law doesn't set a limit, and adding all violent felonies, sexually related crimes, and stalking and strangulation offenses to its disqualifying list. It said long-tenured drivers with no serious safety complaints could keep driving if a non-sexual felony conviction is more than 15 years old.³

Does Uber do background checks?

Uber runs background checks during onboarding. Uber verifies identity (SSN validated with the IRS, government ID, live photo), then reviews the motor vehicle record, then runs a criminal check that includes county courthouse searches. Uber says its providers also search federal court records and the National Sex Offender Public Website, and that a decision to disqualify always gets human review.^2,3,4

• Identity
• Driving record
• Criminal history
• Sex offender registries

• How long a background check takes

Uber's published screening rules

Criminal history lookback

Usually entire adult history; lifetime SSN trace where state law doesn't set a limit (Uber says state and local law can limit this)

Minimum age

18

Checks after you start

Yes, records are re-checked

At any point in life: sexual assault and other sex offenses (including against minors), murder or homicide, kidnapping, terrorism, violent felonies such as armed robbery, aggravated assault and arson, child abuse or endangerment, and (since June 2026) stalking and strangulation offenses whether misdemeanor or felony. Other felonies such as fraud, property damage and harassment generally disqualify for 7 years after conviction or while charges are pending. Driving record violations such as DUI and reckless driving also disqualify. Uber says rules can differ under state and local law.^2,3,5

Read Uber's full criteria

Does Uber drug test?

Uber hasn't published a drug testing policy. Some job postings say whether a test is required, so check the listing for the role you want.

Rules for specific jobs

• Rideshare drivers

  Uber's U.S. requirements page says new drivers must be at least 23, with at least one year of U.S. licensed driving experience (three years if under 25). Sign-up includes a screening of driving record and criminal history.⁶

• Uber Eats couriers (bike, foot, scooter or car)

  Uber says U.S. delivery people must pass a background screening. Minimum age is 18 for bike or foot delivery and 19 for motorbike, scooter or car, except 21 for motor-vehicle delivery in California and New York State. Uber's screening page says couriers who deliver by vehicle also get a driving history check, and couriers' criminal and driving records are rechecked annually, as drivers' are.⁵

• Drivers in New York City

  Uber's screening page says its annual driving-history rerun does not apply in NYC, where local rules govern screening.²

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.^7,8,9
• 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."^7,8
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^7,10
• 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.^11,12
• 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).^11,13

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.^7,10,14
• 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.¹⁵
• 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.^16,17

See whether you can clear your record in your state