Background checks for service hosts

Helping to keep our Airbnb community safe is a top priority. That’s why we may limit or remove a user’s account when we receive information that the user has a criminal conviction. We perform background checks on users who apply to offer select types of services in Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Learn more about the background checks we may also perform on US-based users and India-based hosts.

How background checks work and what they entail

1. After you submit a service listing for approval, you will be invited to complete additional verification tasks. One of these tasks may include a criminal background check if you are proposing to offer certain types of services in Australia, Canada, Mexico, or the United Kingdom.
2. If a background check is required, you will be taken to a third-party site to fill in the necessary details. This may include submitting government-issued identification to validate your identity, signing authorization forms to allow third party providers to perform the check, and (in some jurisdictions) sharing personally obtained background check information for the service provider or Airbnb to validate. Make sure your legal name on Airbnb (under “Personal Information”) is accurate before initiating the background check.
3. Once submitted, you can track the status of background checks along with your other required tasks by visiting your listings page.

Airbnb’s agents review background check records and may take action on an account and, in accordance with our policies, may take action on an account.

What background checks mean for affected users

We may restrict or remove user accounts depending on the severity of and time since the criminal behavior. For less severe convictions, we may take no account action. For more serious convictions, we may remove the user’s account for a period of time after the offense. For severe convictions such as murder, we may remove a user’s account permanently.

Appealing account actions

If you receive a removal notice as a result of a background check finding and you’d like to appeal it, you can appeal by challenging the accuracy of the report of criminal behavior with the appropriate authorities or through the background check provider, or by providing us with more context about the criminal offense and/or evidence of rehabilitation after your conviction(s).

We appreciate that there are many factors that could lead someone to have a criminal record. That’s why we make space for people to appeal, and have a rigorous approach to assess whether someone can be reinstated.

How we manage your data

Background check records are handled according to our Privacy Policy and are never shared with other users. Only authorized Airbnb personnel and approved third-party service providers may access this type of information. We only keep this information for as long as needed to support the original purposes for which it was collected, subject to any retention required for legal compliance purposes.

Limitations on background checks

Background checks have limitations and don’t guarantee that a person won’t break the law in the future. So, while they may help identify past criminal conduct or other red flags where records are available, please keep in mind:

• Local laws may limit the public records that are available for review, or the ability to access or use those records for background checks
• There may be gaps in record searches due to the way certain sources are maintained
• Criminal data might only be updated periodically by local governments—which Airbnb doesn’t control or direct

As a result, these checks may not reveal all or recent criminal record activity.