What’s the Difference Between “Clear” and “Complete” on Checkr?
“Complete” means the check is finished processing
When Checkr says Complete, it’s telling you that the background check (or a specific section of it) has reached an endpoint. In other words, Checkr isn’t still waiting on a court, DMV, or database response for that part of the report.
Important detail: Complete is not necessarily a pass. It’s more like “the homework is turned in,” not “you got an A.”
“Clear” means no reportable issues were found
When Checkr says Clear, it’s closer to what most people think of as “passed.” It generally means Checkr completed the search and didn’t find any reportable records for that portion of the report.
This is why you’ll sometimes see a check that’s “Complete” but not labeled “Clear”, because the outcome may be “Consider,” “Review,” or something else depending on what was found and how the employer platform interprets it.
Why you might see “Complete” but not “Clear”
This can happen for a few different reasons:
Sometimes, Checkr finishes the check and finds an item that requires review (even if it’s minor, old, or belongs to someone else). Other times, certain sections of the report don’t really get a “Clear” label because they’re informational—so they show as completed without implying a pass/fail result.
It’s also common to see mixed statuses across sections. For example, one part might be “Clear,” while another part is “Complete” or still “In Progress,” depending on what information is being verified.
What should you do if your status says “Complete” and you’re still not approved?
First, look at the section-level results if you can (not just the overall status). If the report is complete but you’re blocked, it usually means one of three things: the report contains something that triggered review, the platform hasn’t processed the finished report yet, or there’s an unrelated account/identity verification issue.
If the report contains incorrect or misleading information, that’s when you should dispute it with Checkr and document the impact on your job opportunity.