If the applicant has a criminal history record per their system which qualifies as being reportable to the submitting institution. In the area of criminal history records, it is relevant to note that applicants cannot be asked about prior criminal arrests. Only information regarding convictions can be sought. Your legal counsel should be involved to answer questions about other circumstances that might arise, such as pending court appearances, that an applicant might mention. Your application form should also require the applicant to disclose if he or she has ever been convicted, found guilty, or pled guilty to a crime other than a minor traffic violation.
Many persons believe that a plea of guilty to a crime is different that being found guilty.
However, both carry the same consequence. For certain crimes such as dishonest acts, it is also irrelevant whether or not the incident was at the felony or misdemeanor level. In addition to fingerprint checks, criminal history information should also be sought at the local criminal justice level. Department of Justice records usually only indicate felony events and not those at the misdemeanor level. However, many misdemeanor crimes such as larceny, assault, driving while intoxicated, prostitution, drug related offenses, etcetera, could be relevant to your hiring evaluation process.