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Home > Guides > Faxing a background check authorization
Yes, you can fax a background check authorization, and many employers and screening firms still accept signed consent forms by fax. Sign the form, include a cover sheet with your name and the job or case reference, fax it to the number the employer or screener gave you, and keep the confirmation page as proof you sent it.
About LetterAgent faxing: fax is available in testing, with activation in progress. Do not count on a fax sending today, and never treat a fax as guaranteed delivered. For a hiring deadline, confirm with the employer or screener that your form arrived, whatever method you use.
Employers cannot run most background checks without your written consent. In the US, federal law requires a standalone disclosure and your signed authorization before a consumer report for employment is pulled, and many states add their own rules on top. The signature is the proof that you agreed, which is why a blank form, a typed name with no signature line, or a form signed by someone else will bounce back and slow a hire.
That consent also defines what the check covers. A general authorization is not a blank cheque for every record about you: the disclosure should say what kind of report is being ordered, such as criminal history, employment verification, or driving records. Read the disclosure before you sign, and keep a copy of both the disclosure and the signed authorization for yourself.
Send it to whoever asked for it, using the number they gave you, not a number you found elsewhere. Sometimes that is the employer's human resources office, and sometimes it is the screening company directly. Faxing to the wrong office is the most common cause of a "we never got it" reply, because a fax that lands on the wrong machine may sit unclaimed or get filed under the wrong name. A short cover sheet fixes most of that risk.
| On the cover sheet | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Your full legal name | Screeners match forms by name, and nicknames cause mismatches |
| Job title or requisition number, if given | Routes the form to the right hire file |
| Number of pages, including the cover sheet | The receiver can tell if a page went missing |
| Your phone number or email | They can reach you if the form is unclear |
| Date sent | Proves timing if a deadline is disputed |
Do not put your full Social Security number or full date of birth on the cover sheet. Those belong only on the authorization form itself, inside the fax, not on a page that may sit face-up on a shared machine. If the form asks for a partial identifier, give only what it asks for.
Fax machines turn everything black and white and soften fine detail, so a form that looks crisp on screen can arrive as a grey blur. Sign in dark ink with a pen, not a light pencil or a thin felt tip. If you filled the form in by hand, print rather than using cursive for names, dates, and numbers. Check that no signature or checkbox sits on a fold or at the very edge of the page, since edges are the first thing a fax cuts off.
Send a test page to yourself first if you have a fax number of your own, or ask the receiver to confirm the pages arrived legibly. A confirmation page proves the fax connected, but it does not prove the pages were readable. That distinction matters: a hiring manager can hold a confirmation page and still be unable to read your signature, and the delay will be yours to fix.
Keep three things: a copy of the signed form, the cover sheet, and the confirmation page showing the number dialed, the page count, and the result. Together they prove what you sent, where you sent it, and when. If the employer later says the authorization never arrived, those three pages settle the question in minutes. Store them until the hiring process is complete, and longer if the job involves a license or a security clearance, since those files can be revisited.
Follow up by phone or email the next business day if you have not heard back. A short message, such as asking whether the authorization arrived legibly, is normal and expected during hiring. It also protects you against a quiet failure: a fax that rang unanswered, a wrong number, or a machine out of paper all look identical from your side until someone checks.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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