Background Check
How Background Checks Help Make First Dates Safer
On Skip, background checks can help make first dates safer by adding an extra screening step before someone moves toward an in-person date. They help reduce risk before meeting and work alongside Skip’s other safety features, like date cards, deal breakers, profile verification, age verification, ID review and date reviews.
How Background Checks Work on Skip
You can choose to require a background check before your match can propose a date, so anyone you go on a first date with through Skip has already passed a background check before the first date happens. This added screening step helps create a safer dating experience.
Skip’s background check flow includes SSN verification and an ID review step, which helps reduce fraud risk compared with name-only screening. The ID review requires a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, and helps confirm that the background check submission matches the user’s submitted information, including their name, age, profile photos, and profile verification selfie. This extra step helps ensure the person who matched with you is the same person completing the check, reducing the risk of impersonation or using someone else’s information.
A typical flow looks like this:
- Meet someone you’re interested in (a connection can start anywhere)
- Send a Digital Date Card, hand them a Physical Date Card in person, or like their profile if they’re already on Skip.
- Match (If you both like each other, it’s a match)
- They pass your deal breakers at 100 percent
- They complete and pass a background check (also inlcudes age verification and ID review)
- They propose a date
- You confirm a time and location or suggest a new one
- Go on the date
- Leave anonymous reviews
This timing is intentional. Skip does not require people to complete or pay for a background check upfront before there is mutual interest and compatibility. A match first passes your deal breakers, then completes the background check before moving forward toward a date.
Most background checks are completed in about 24 hours, but some can take longer. In some cases, the process may take 3 to 5 business days depending on record availability, review needs, or whether additional information is required.
What’s Included in the Background Check?
Skip partners with Checkr, a background check provider trusted by 100,000+ customers and used by companies like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and Instacart. Screening may include, where available:
- Sex offender registry search: Searches registries from all 50 states, Washington DC, and US territories.
- Global watchlist search: Searches a comprehensive network of domestic and international government watchlists for criminal history.
- National criminal search: Searches county records that query up to 900 million public records.
Skip does not publicly display your background check report to your matches. Matches may only see status information or a badge related to background check completion.
What may affect background check approval?
What Skip checks for
- Any arrest, charge, conviction, sex offender registry listing, or other record that may affect eligibility
- A DUI or DWI within the past 5 years
- Two or more DUI or DWI records at any time
Usually okay
- Minor traffic tickets, such as speeding, parking, or equipment violations
- One DUI/DWI older than 5 years, with no additional DUI/DWI records
Only approved members receive background check verified status.
Who Can Require a Background Check
Who can require a background check depends on match type and the user’s selected experience.
- In women-seeking-men matches, women can require men to complete a background check before proposing a date.
- In all other match types (including same-gender), the person who chose the ‘screen others’ experience can require the background check.
- Anyone can also choose to complete a background check voluntarily from Settings.
There is no charge to require the background check. If a background check is required, the person completing the background check is responsible for the cost. Pricing may vary and will be shown during the background check flow before completion. A passed background check is generally valid for 12 months, so users do not need to repeat the process for every date during that valid period. If the background check expires, a new one may be required before moving forward with a future match.
What Happens If Someone Does Not Pass
If someone does not pass a background check, their account will be disabled for 12 months. After that period, they may be able to complete another background check and try again. This is part of how Skip helps support a safer community and reduce risk before people meet in person. If there may be an error in the screening result, the person should follow the dispute or support steps provided during the background check process.
Background Checks and Skip Date Cards
Background checks work the same way for connections made through Digital or Physical Date Cards as they do for matches made directly on Skip. If you require a background check, Date Card matches and app matches must complete and pass it before they can propose a date.
What is the difference between profile verification, age verification, ID review, and a background check?
Skip has four account verification badges that help you make more informed decisions before meeting someone in person.
- Background check (green badge): Means the user completed a Skip background check through our partner, Checkr, and received a passed status based on the screening sources used for that check, where available.
- Profile verified (blue badge): Means the user passed Skip's profile verification, which asks users to take a guided selfie to help confirm the person using the profile appears to match their profile photos.
- Age verified (dark blue badge): Means Skip reviewed a government-issued ID, such as a driver's license or passport, to confirm the date of birth shown on the ID. This helps give you more confidence that the age shown on the person's profile is accurate.
- ID reviewed (gray badge): Means Skip reviewed a government-issued ID and compared the ID photo with the user's profile photos and live verification photo. This helps give you more confidence that the person you're meeting matches the person shown on their profile.
Background Checks Are One Part of Safer First Dates
Background checks can help reduce risk before the first date, but they are only one part of staying safer on a date. They work best alongside Skip’s other safety tools, like deal breakers, profile verification, age verification, ID review, date reviews, sharing your date details with someone you trust, and meeting in public places.
Even if someone passes a background check, behavior still matters. If they pressure you, ignore your boundaries, or make you feel uncomfortable, take that seriously. No background check, badge, or app feature can guarantee safety. Your judgment, your boundaries, and the choices you make before and during a date still matter.
For more practical safety guidance before, during, and after a date, see our Dating Safety Tips guide. For background check details, timing, and common questions, see our FAQ.
