As you get ready to start running background checks, or if you'd like to make updates to the background checks you've already run, you'll need to configure at least one criminal history policy for your business. If you don't understand what a policy is, read this article first.
Where to go to set up the background check
First, go to the Evident Dashboard. You'll arrive by default on the Dashboard when you first log-in to the Evident platform. From the Dashboard, navigate to the “Administration” section on the left hand side of the page. 
When you click on this button, you’ll be taken to the first section of the Administration tab, which is called “API.”
From there, navigate to the section called “Criminal History Policy." You can see this section outlined in black below. This is where you will configure unique settings of your policy.
When you click on this section, you'll be taken to the screen where you can begin configuring a criminal policy, or modifying an existing criminal policy. If you've never configured a criminal policy before, you will see a screen that looks like this:
If you've already created a criminal policy, you'll be taken to the page that contains the criminal policies you've already made so that you can edit them:
Now that you've navigated to the Criminal History Section of the Administration tab, you're ready to create and configure your policy.
How does policy configuration work?
Configuring your policy consists of six (6) distinct steps. Five (5) of these steps are required and the final step is optional. When you are creating a policy for the first time, you will need to complete the steps in the consecutive order they are listed below.
Once the policy has been created and saved, you may go back and update most of the elements of the policy, like the quantity of offense groups included, turning on or off Preadverse & Adverse action, or adjusting the level of crime severity that will trigger a policy violation. However, once you’ve selected the background check product that you will use with the policy, it cannot be changed.
- Step 1: Name the policy
- Step 2: Configure the elements of a background check
- Step 3: Select the background check product associated with this policy.*
- Step 4: Create the first offense group of the policy & define the criteria that will result in a policy violation.
- Step 5: Identify which crimes will belong to this offense group.
- Step 6: (Optional) Create additional offense groups to allow further configuration of the policy.
*Note that the background check product associated with the cannot be changed once it has been created and saved for the first time. Therefore, if you want to run a different background check product after the policy has already been created, you will need to configure a new policy.
You can click this link to continue to the instructions for how to complete Step 1.