Yes, in most states, unless it has been expunged or sealed. A DUI conviction is a criminal record entry, and most employer background checks pull from criminal record databases rather than from your driving record.
Those are two different systems. Which one matters to you depends on what kind of check is being run and what the job involves.
Two different checks, two different answers
A criminal background check looks at conviction history. This is the check most employers run. In most states a conviction stays on your criminal record indefinitely unless you actively do something about it, so it will keep appearing on this check for as long as it is there.
A motor vehicle report looks at your driving history: license status, points, suspensions and driving-related convictions. This is a separate system, used mainly by employers who care specifically about driving, most obviously trucking and delivery companies, and by insurers.
The distinction matters because the two records can tell different stories at different times. A conviction can drop off your driving record on your state's own schedule while remaining on your criminal record permanently. People who check one and feel relieved are sometimes checking the wrong one.
More on how long a DUI stays on each record →
An arrest is not a conviction, and the difference shows
If your case was dismissed, or resolved without a conviction, what appears on a background check is a different question from what appears after a conviction.
Arrest records exist separately from conviction records. Depending on the state and the type of check, an arrest that never became a conviction may still surface somewhere, and clearing it can be its own process with its own rules.
Many states also limit what employers may consider or ask about, particularly for arrests that did not lead to conviction. Those rules vary considerably and some cities have their own on top of the state's.
If your case ended without a conviction, that is worth confirming precisely rather than assuming. What the record says is not always what you remember happening.
Commercial drivers face a separate set of rules
If you hold a commercial driver's license, this is the highest-stakes version of the question.
A conviction, including one that happened while you were driving your own car on your own time, typically triggers disqualification from operating a commercial vehicle for a period set by federal and state regulation.
That disqualification is its own thing. It sits on top of any suspension of your ordinary driving privilege and on top of any criminal penalty, and it follows a separate set of rules that a general answer cannot cover.
For anyone whose income depends on a CDL, this belongs at the very top of the list of things to ask a lawyer about, ideally before the case resolves rather than after.
Check your state's licensing consequences →
Professional licenses and the duty to disclose
Many professional licenses carry a requirement to report criminal convictions to a licensing board, sometimes within a set window after the conviction.
This covers more fields than people expect. Healthcare, education, law, financial services, real estate, insurance, aviation, childcare, security work, and anything requiring a government clearance.
Whether a DUI specifically triggers the requirement, and what the board does about it, depends entirely on the profession and the state body involved.
One point is close to universal and worth taking seriously. Boards frequently treat a failure to disclose as worse than the underlying offense. The original matter might have drawn a note on a file. Concealing it becomes a question about honesty, which is much closer to the thing a licensing board actually regulates.
If you hold a license, find out what your board requires, in writing, from the board or from a lawyer who handles that profession. Do not rely on a colleague's recollection.
What a background check actually shows
Most standard employer checks show the fact of the conviction, the date, and the charge. More detailed checks may show case disposition.
What they generally do not show, unless specifically requested and lawfully available, is the underlying detail of the arrest. Your test result, what the officer wrote, what happened at the roadside. The check reports an outcome, not a story.
That is worth knowing because people often over-explain in interviews, volunteering details the employer was never going to see and could not have asked about.
How the question gets asked on applications
Application forms ask this in several different ways, and the wording decides your answer.
Some ask about any criminal conviction. Some ask only about felonies, which for many first offenses means the honest answer is no. Some ask only about offenses within a lookback window. Some ask about convictions relevant to the role.
Read the actual question. Answer that question accurately, rather than the question you assumed it was going to be.
Many places also restrict when in the hiring process the question may be asked at all, so it may not come up until after an offer. That is a legal restriction on the employer, not an invitation to answer inaccurately when it does arrive.
Your rights when a check is run
Background checks for employment are regulated, and the protections are more substantial than most applicants realize.
An employer generally must get your written permission before running a check through a screening company. If they intend to reject you because of what the check found, there is normally a process: you are told before the decision is final, given a copy of the report, and given a chance to respond.
That step exists for a reason. Background check reports contain errors more often than people expect. Wrong person, wrong charge, a case shown as a conviction when it was dismissed, a matter reported twice so it looks like two.
If a report about you is wrong, you have the right to dispute it with the screening company, and they have to investigate. Get your own copy first and read every line of it.
If you are worried about a check right now
Find out what your record actually says. Request your own criminal record and your own driving record, and read both. Guessing is worse than knowing, and the two may not match.
Find out whether you are eligible for expungement or sealing. Where it is available and complete, an expunged conviction generally does not need to be disclosed on most applications and generally will not appear on a standard check. Eligibility and timing are state questions. More on whether and when a DUI can be expunged →
If expungement is not available yet, prepare a short answer. Two or three sentences. What happened, when, what you did about it, and what has been true since. Do not narrate the evening. Employers who ask are generally listening for whether you take it seriously, not for the details.
Be straightforward when a question genuinely covers it. Being caught in an inaccurate answer later is usually treated as a worse problem than the conviction, and it converts something explainable into something disqualifying.
If your case is not resolved yet
Then you are in the best position you will ever be in, because how a case resolves affects everything above.
Whether it ends in a conviction, what it is finally recorded as, and whether it stays eligible for later clearing are all things that get decided during the case rather than afterward.
If your job, your license or your ability to drive commercially is on the line, say so early and explicitly. It is one of the few pieces of information that can genuinely change how a case is approached.
Find your state
Pick the state you were arrested in, not the one you live in.
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All states →This is general information about how background checks and disclosure typically work, not legal or employment advice about your situation. Rules differ by state, by profession and sometimes by city. Confirm anything you rely on with a lawyer licensed in your state or with your licensing board.