Postmates Background Check: How They Work and How To Pass

Are you looking for a side hustle that involves delivering food? Have you thought about joining the Postmates fleet of food delivery drivers?

If you want to join the Postmates delivery service, you’ll need to complete a Postmates background check.

In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about the Postmates background check process.

We’ll discuss what the checks look for, the documents required, how long the process takes, and how to appeal a failed check.

Does Postmates Require a Background Check?

Yes, Postmates requires all of their drivers to complete a background check.

Since Uber purchased the company in 2020, Uber Eats handles the background check requirements and policies of all Postmates drivers. The process is simple and only takes a few minutes to complete.

Like all food delivery, rideshare, and other gig economy companies, Postmates can’t hire you until they know about your past.

The company runs its background checks to ensure the safety of its customers and each Postmates courier.

With a background check, Postmates can verify that you are who you say you are, as well as also making sure you don’t have any prior convictions that could make you a danger to others.

What Does the Postmates Background Check Look For?

When running a check on your background, Postmates looks into your criminal and driving record histories.

Criminal Charges

The criminal record check will review any criminal convictions on your record to determine if you are likely to be a responsible employee of the company.

Not all crimes will stop Postmates from hiring you, but there are a few you should know more about if they appear on your criminal record.

Violent Crimes

Suppose you have a violent crime conviction on your record.

In that case, Postmates is unlikely to hire you because you will be delivering items to people at their residence.

The company needs to know that you will not put any of its customers in a potentially dangerous or violent situation.

Sexual Offenses

Sexual offenses are another conviction that will likely stop Postmates from hiring you as a driver.

As with violent crimes, the company does not want to hire drivers that might put their customers at risk or make them feel unsafe.

Theft

If a theft conviction appears on your criminal background check, the company will probably not hire you.

Postmates will provide you with a prepaid credit card to complete your deliveries.

Postmates does not want to risk you or other drivers stealing the card for personal use.

They also do not want to hire a driver that might steal a customer’s items they are meant to deliver.

Property Damage

Property damage is not listed on Uber’s categories of convictions that will immediately disqualify you from driving for Postmates.

However, serious property damage convictions or property damage related to a disqualifying conviction is likely to stop you from getting the job.

Felonies

A felony is a disqualifying conviction if you look for a position with Postmates.

The company states they will not hire felons for its delivery service.

If you have a pending felony conviction, the company will ask you to re-apply after resolving the charges.

Driving Violations

In addition to your criminal record, Postmates will check your driving record through the DMV.

The company will look at the following items when conducting a driving record check.

• Accidents
• Moving violations
• DUI/DWI convictions
• Reckless driving
• Driving while suspended or revoked
• Points on your driving record
• Driver’s license status

Similar to your criminal history, you should think about any major driving violations Postmates may see on your record.

Work hard now to clean those up before opening yourself up to a background check.

Postmates wants to make sure they hire safe drivers to deliver their customers’ items.

For this reason, your driving record must be clear of any significant violations.

One or two minor violations will likely be acceptable, especially if they occurred in the past.

However, a history of frequent or recent tickets will not look great on your background check.

License Status

You’ll need to ensure your license is valid and active.

Postmates will not hire you if you have a suspended license or do not have a valid license.

In addition to having an active license, Postmates will want to see at least three years of driving experience on your record if you are under the age of 25.

If you are 25 or older, you will only need to show one year of driving experience on your license.

License suspensions will make it difficult for you to get the job with Postmates, even if your license has been reinstated with no further incidents.

Multiple license suspensions may be grounds for disqualification from the Postmates job application process.

DUI

If a DUI shows on your background check, you are unlikely to become a Postmates driver.

The company does not want to risk hiring a delivery driver who might drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol during their shift.

Traffic Accidents

A history of frequent traffic accidents, even if some are no-fault accidents, can disqualify you from driving for Postmates.

Although Postmates will not provide you with a company vehicle, they still do not want delivery drivers that might be involved in accidents.

If you get into an accident while driving for Postmates, it can delay the delivery and lead to other complications during your shift.

Postmates will not like to see traffic accidents on your record.

Traffic Law Violations

Traffic law violations can result in disqualification from consideration for a position at Postmates, especially if you have many points on; your license.

Major moving violations will have the most significant impact on your background check. These include:

• Red light violations
• Hit and run
• Driving through a stop sign
• Texting while driving

If you are unsure if you have major violations on your driving record, you can check by creating an account at the DMV website for your state.

Most states allow you to order a copy of your driving record, called an Abstract, online for PDF download or postal delivery.

How Many Years Back Does a Postmates Background Check Look?

Like most companies, the background check for Postmates will look at the most recent seven years of history.

Information from earlier may show on your record, but the company will only consider the last seven years of activity,

While this varies by state, most employment background checks look back seven years.

However, no federal United States law restricts companies like Postmates from reviewing background information from longer than seven years ago.

How to Complete a Postmates Background Check

Here is the basic information you need to know about submitting to the Postmates driver review process.

When you’re ready to begin the background check process, you’ll need to have the following information handy.

• Full name
• Your Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Your driver’s license number
• Your state of residence

Do You Need to Give Permission to Run a Postmates Background Check?

Yes, you will need to give your permission for Postmates to run a background check on you.

The company will not conduct the check without your consent.

It’s required by law that all companies receive a signed authorization form. The form gives a company permission to check your criminal and driving records.

You won’t see any language about a credit check, by the way. The Postmates background check doesn’t involve looking at your credit report.

Who Runs Postmates Background Checks?

To understand the answer to this question, you first need to know that Uber purchased Postmates in 2020.

Uber finalized the deal in the summer of 2021. When you sign up for Postmates, you’re working for Uber Eats.

Uber uses a company called Checkr, LLC to perform all Uber driver and Postmates delivery driver background checks.

Checkr is a professional background check company.

Based in San Francisco, California, the company uses artificial intelligence to help automate the background check process.

Its AI process helps speed up the screening procedure so Uber can get the results back quickly.

Checkr is an FCRA-compliant company.

That means they follow all the rules and regulations dictated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The FCRA is a federal law that protects consumers’ rights when it comes to background checks.

How Can You Pass the Postmates Background Check?

The best way to pass your Postmates background check is to go into the process with a clean record.

In most states, Uber requires a clean record for the past seven years.

It means you cannot have any felony convictions, misdemeanor convictions, or moving violations during that period.

If you do have an issue on your record, you should find that driving for Postmates isn’t a challenge if it’s more than seven years old.

As well, you might discover that Uber overlooks a minor infraction committed within the last seven years.

Let’s say you have a moving violation that occurred six years ago.

Uber might look at that and say, “This person doesn’t have any other red flags and they’ve remained ‘clean’ for six years.

We’ll let them start driving with us.”

Keep in mind that every situation is different, of course.

Can You Pass the Postmates Background Check With a DUI?

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll pass the background check with Postmates if you have a DUI on your record.

DUIs are serious offenses.

They’re often seen as a sign that someone can’t handle their responsibility or they don’t make good decisions while entering into driving situations.

That’s why you should check with an attorney to see if your situation warrants an expungement.

How Long Does a Postmates Background Check Take?

It doesn’t take long to complete a background check.

Let’s look at the details.

How Long Postmates Background Checks Usually Take

Once a Postmates background check goes to Checkr, the process should complete within two to 10 business days.

Here’s what might cause delays.

• Incomplete information: You might have forgotten to include your middle name or you put the wrong date of birth.
• Outstanding warrants: If there’s an outstanding warrant for your arrest, that will cause a delay in the process.
• Inconsistencies: If there’s a discrepancy between the information you provided and what the various databases report back, that will cause a delay.
• Court records: Checkr checks court records in all counties where you’ve resided for the past seven years. If those counties don’t have electronic access to court records, Checkr has to request the information by mail. That can sometimes take a few weeks.

Different Statuses of Postmates Background Checks

Postmates and Checkr don’t offer many statuses during your background check.

You’ll typically hear back within 48 hours if there isn’t anything negative for the background check to pick up on.

If it’s taking a few days and you’re wondering what’s taking so long, you can check the status of your background check on the Checkr website.

Here are those steps.

• Go to checkr.com
• Look at the top right for “My Background Check” and click on it
• Click the button that says, “Get Status of Background Check”
• Fill in the form on the next page

The Checkr form asks for your email, social security number, phone number, and date of birth.

What Happens If I Get Denied From Postmates?

If you’re denied from Postmates, it means that Checkr found something on your background check that didn’t meet the company’s standards.

The good news is that you can appeal the decision.

Try appealing if you think the background check includes a mistake or if new information came to light since the initial check.

Why You Should Dispute a Rejected Background Check

You should dispute a rejected background check if you think the decision is unfair or if you’re fairly certain it includes a mistake.

Do you have a common name?

Checkr may mistake you for someone else.

Dispute the background check if you see infractions on your report that you know aren’t your issues.

Unless Checkr made an egregious mistake during its background check on you, you probably won’t see Uber reverse its decision.

Of course, it all depends on the specific situation.

How to Dispute a Rejected Background Check

Request a copy of the Checkr background check so you can understand why the check came back denied.

You’ll then want to reach out to Checkr and provide any additional documentation or information that might help your case.

Checkr can run a second check to see if the new report comes back clean.

If the new check comes back clean, reach out to Uber and explain the situation.

You should discover that Uber accepts the new background check and accepts you into its fleet.

If you can’t get accepted, don’t despair.

Work to remove any infractions on your record so you can try again.

It’s a good idea to wait about six months before applying again to drive for Postmates.

Wrapping Up

Postmates completes a background check on every driver to ensure they only hire individuals who are safe drivers and responsible employees.

The Postmates background check will consider the most recent seven years of history on your motor vehicle and criminal records.

Once the background check is complete, you will be able to begin accepting delivery jobs using the app.