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 deal breakers, profile verification, 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, 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:
- Find someone you like in the app, or hand someone a Skip Date Card in person
- Match
- They pass your deal breakers at 100 percent
- They complete and pass a background check
- 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.
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.
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 you do not pass a background check, your account will be disabled for 12 months. After that period, you may be able to take another background check and try again. This is part of how Skip works to help keep the community safer and reduce risk before people meet in person. If you believe there is an error in the screening result, you should follow the dispute or support steps provided during the background check process.
Background Checks and Skip Date Cards
Background checks are not limited to online profiles. They can also be used for offline connections through Skip Date Cards. Date Cards help turn an offline connection into a safer first date by guiding the other person through your required safety steps on Skip, including background checks and boundary deal breakers, before you go on a date.
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, 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.
