How long does a reference check take?
Most of a reference check is waiting. A day-by-day timeline, the delays you can remove and what to send when a reference goes quiet.
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Book a 30-minute demoKey takeaways
- The questions take minutes; most of a reference check is waiting for people to reply.
- Plan on about a working week from the candidate’s consent to a complete set of answers.
- Send every request at once with a deadline, and remind on day two or three and the day before the deadline.
- If a reference stays silent, ask the candidate to give them a nudge or to name a replacement. Silence is not a verdict.
The answer depends less on the questions than on the people. By OPM’s estimate a structured telephone reference check takes about twenty minutes per contact, and a written questionnaire takes a reference about ten. The rest of the time goes to waiting: for the candidate to send names, for references to open the request, and for the last one to reply.
A working week from the candidate’s consent to a complete set of answers is a realistic plan for most roles. Here is where that time goes, and how to keep it from stretching into three.
A realistic timeline
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The candidate gives consent and names references, by role. |
| Day 0 or 1 | Every reference gets the same request and questions, with a deadline. |
| Day 2 or 3 | A short reminder to anyone who has not answered. |
| Day 4 | A call or text to anyone still silent, and a note to the candidate. |
| Day 5 | A final reminder, or a request for a replacement reference. |
| Day 6 | Answers reviewed and the decision made. |
What slows a reference check down
- Waiting for names. Candidates often send references a day or two after you ask. Ask for them, with consent, at or before the final interview.
- One reference at a time. Contact everyone on the same day, not in sequence.
- Phone tag. Each call needs two free calendars. Written answers from a link remove the scheduling.
- A request that is easy to put off: no time estimate, no deadline, no reason it matters this week.
- Wrong contact details. Ask for a work email and a phone number for every reference.
- Unclear sign-off. Decide before you start who reads the answers and who makes the call.
How to make it faster without cutting corners
- Collect consent and references at the final interview, or in the invitation to it.
- Send every request the same day, with the time it takes and the deadline in the first lines.
- Let references answer in writing from their phone, and offer a call to anyone who prefers one.
- Send reminders on a schedule, not when someone remembers.
- Keep the questions to six to ten. Short requests get answered sooner.
Reminders that send themselves
ReferenceCheck sends every reference a unique link at once, reminds anyone who has not answered on a schedule and shows you who has responded in one place. Candidates and references do not need accounts.
See plans for employersWhen a reference does not respond
Silence is rarely a refusal. The request went to spam, the reference is traveling or it arrived in a bad week. Work through these steps in order.
- Check the details. Confirm the email address and phone number with the candidate.
- Change the channel. If you emailed, call or text; if you called, send a short email with the questions.
- Ask the candidate to give the reference a heads-up. A short message from the candidate is often all it takes.
- Set a final date, and say what happens after it.
- Ask for a replacement in the same role, such as another supervisor from the same job.
Subject: Quick reminder: reference for [Candidate name] Hello [Reference name], [Candidate name] has named you as a reference for the [Role] position at [Organization]. The questions take about [number] minutes, and we would be grateful for your answers by [day, date]. [Link to the questions] If a short call suits you better, reply with a time and a number. Thank you, [Your name], [Title], [Phone]
Subject: Your references for [Role] Hello [Candidate name], We have not yet heard from [Reference name]. Could you let them know to expect our request, and confirm their email address and phone number? If they are not available this week, please send us another reference who supervised your work, ideally from the same job. Thank you, [Your name]
What silence does and does not tell you
A reference who never replies has told you nothing about the candidate, so do not read silence as a negative answer. Some employers do not let staff give references beyond confirming dates and title; reference checks vs. employment verification explains how to handle that. Ask the candidate for someone else who saw the work, and decide on the answers you have.
Common questions
How long should you wait for a reference to respond?
Give references three to five working days with a clear deadline, a reminder after two or three days and a final note the day before. If a reference is still silent after that, ask the candidate to nudge them or to name another reference in the same role.
Is it a bad sign if a reference does not respond?
Not on its own. Requests land in spam folders, people travel, and some employers bar staff from giving references. Confirm the contact details, try another channel and ask the candidate for help before you read anything into it.
How long does a reference check take after the final interview?
If you collect consent and references at the final interview and send every request the same day, most checks finish within a working week. The usual delays are waiting for names, contacting references one at a time and phone tag.
Can you make a hiring decision with only two references?
You can, if your policy allows it. Make sure the two include a recent supervisor and that both answered the questions that matter most for the job. Write down why the third could not be reached, and apply the same rule to every candidate.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Reference Checking. Checked October 8, 2026.
About this guide
Written and kept up to date by Never Ending Solutions, the company that builds NES ReferenceCheck. Outside facts are cited with the date we checked them, and the advice works with or without our software. Read our editorial standards.