Short answer: no state bans employment credit checks outright for every job. Roughly a dozen states restrict how and when employers can use them, and New York just became the latest to extend its rule statewide. That number moves. By the time you're reading this, it may already be off by one or two.
I'm going to name the states that come up most often anyway, because a rough map beats no map at all. But I want to be honest about what this article can and can't do for you.
It can't replace your own state's current statute. It can't replace a lawyer or your background check company's compliance team either. Treat this as a starting point for your own research, not a finished answer.
These are the states you'll see cited again and again in industry roundups, employment law blogs, and compliance guides. I'm listing them because they're genuinely useful to know about, not because this is the whole story.
| State | General pattern usually cited |
|---|---|
| California | Restricts use for most jobs, with named exemptions for roles like management and finance |
| Colorado | Restricts use for most jobs, with named job-based exemptions |
| Connecticut | Restricts use for most jobs, with exemptions for certain regulated or financial roles |
| Delaware | Restricts employer use of credit history in hiring decisions |
| Hawaii | Restricts employer use of credit history for most positions |
| Illinois | Restricts use under its Employee Credit Privacy Act, with listed exemptions |
| Maryland | Restricts use of credit history in hiring for most positions |
| Nevada | Restricts use of credit reports in hiring decisions |
| New York | Extended its rule statewide this year, after years of only covering New York City |
| Oregon | Restricts use of credit history, with exemptions |
| Vermont | Restricts use of credit history, with exemptions |
| Washington | Restricts use of credit history, with exemptions |
| Washington, D.C. | City-level restriction on employer credit checks |
That's thirteen jurisdictions. Some sources will list ten. Some will list fifteen, once cities get counted separately from their states. None of them are wrong exactly. They're just drawing the line differently on what counts as a real restriction.
Almost none of these laws ban credit checks completely. They usually bar employers from requesting or using credit history, including reports and scores, for most hiring decisions. Then they carve out exemptions.
The exemptions tend to rhyme across states, even when the exact wording doesn't. Jobs with signing authority over money. Jobs requiring a license that itself demands a credit check. Law enforcement and some government roles. Positions needing a security clearance or a bond.
So to say that again a different way: the real question usually isn't "does my state allow this at all." It's "does the job I'm filling fall inside one of my state's exemptions." Two very different questions. Mixing them up is how employers get this wrong.
State law isn't the whole picture either. New York City had its own credit check restriction years before the state followed it. Chicago has its own rule too. A handful of other cities and counties layer restrictions on top of, or instead of, whatever their state does.
Checking your state's rule isn't the last step, then. You also need to check the city or county where the candidate will actually work, not just where your company is headquartered. That part's easy to miss if you're only skimming a state-level summary like the one above.
I've said something close to this in an earlier article on employment credit checks, and I'll say it again here because it matters more in a list format than almost anywhere else. State law in this area moves fast. New York changed this year. Other states have added or tightened rules more than once in a single year.
A list like this one is a snapshot, not a permanent record. A competitor's page that hasn't been updated since last year isn't lying to you on purpose. It's just old. Don't assume a page ranking on page one of a search means its list is current. Check the date, then check the actual statute anyway.
Don't build a hiring policy off the table above by itself. Use it as a starting point. Then confirm the current rule for the specific state, and city, where you're hiring, before you run a single credit check.
Ask your background check company how they handle this. A good CRA flags or blocks a credit pull in a restricted jurisdiction automatically, which catches a mistake your own team might otherwise miss. If a provider can't answer that question clearly, that's worth knowing before you sign anything, not after.
One rule doesn't move no matter which state you're in. The FCRA's authorization and disclosure requirements apply every time you run a credit check, restricted state or not. That part's not optional.
If you're not sure your current screening program handles jurisdiction-specific credit check rules correctly, All Screeners' matching tool can point you toward CRAs built with that compliance work in mind. Our True Fit consultation exists for exactly this kind of question, when you want a program built around it from the start.