Background Checks App Overview

Background Checks

1. What it is

Background Checks lets you order, track, and adjudicate candidate background screenings from inside the recruiting pipeline. It connects to your existing Checkr, Sterling, or HireRight account through a system integration and keeps results, adjudication decisions, and FCRA adverse-action notices in one place.

• Enablement: Background Checks is a pay-as-you-go app — every tenant can use it with no license decision. You are billed per check ordered. An admin must configure at least one provider integration before the app does anything.
• What it is not: Background Checks does not replace your provider account. Provider fees are billed by Checkr, Sterling, or HireRight directly. The app orders checks, receives results via webhook, and handles the FCRA paperwork — it does not run the screenings itself.

2. Standing it up

1. Go to Admin → Integrations and add a background-check integration for your provider (Checkr, Sterling, or HireRight). Enter the API key and webhook secret from your provider account. Use the Test Connection button to confirm the credentials work.
2. Go to Job Board → Settings → Integrations and confirm your preferred background-check integration is selected. If you have more than one provider, this page controls which one is used when a recruiter orders a check.
3. Background Checks is visible at Apps → Background Checks and inside Job Board → Background Checks. Both surfaces show the same data. Recruiting admins (admins, HR admins, and app admins for Job Board, Offer Manager, or Interview Scheduler) see every check. Recruiters see only checks for candidates they created or jobs they recruit.
4. To confirm setup, navigate to Job Board → Background Checks, click Request Background Check, and look for the candidate picker and package selector. If the page redirects with “Background checks are not enabled,” the integration is missing or inactive.

The app also surfaces inside Onboarding Hub plans. When a plan has a linked recruiting candidate, the Background Check tab lets an onboarding admin order a check or view existing results from the screening pipeline.

3. How it fits together

Check lifecycle — A background check moves through a fixed sequence of statuses. Understanding the sequence prevents the most common admin question (“where is this check stuck?”):

Example: Jane Doe, Senior Accountant, Comprehensive Background Check via Checkr.
Recruiter clicks Request Background Check → status is Pending → the provider creates the report and invites Jane → Invited → Jane authorizes and the screening runs → In Progress → Checkr returns a result → Clear (or Consider / Suspended) → if Clear and auto-adjudication is on, it is marked Approved and the process ends.

The eight statuses are:

• Pending — check requested but not yet sent to the provider.
• Invited — the provider created the report and invited the candidate to authorize.
• In Progress — the candidate authorized and the screening is running.
• Clear — no adverse items found.
• Consider — adverse items found; requires adjudication.
• Suspended — the provider paused the screening (e.g. unable to verify).
• Canceled — a recruiting admin canceled the check before it completed.
• Error — the provider reported a failure. The recruiter is notified by email.

Adjudication — When a check returns Consider or Suspended, it lands in the Awaiting Adjudication queue. A recruiting admin (an admin, HR admin, or app admin for Job Board / Offer Manager / Interview Scheduler) reviews the adverse items and picks one of four decisions:

• Approve (clear for hire)
• Reject (do not hire — triggers the FCRA adverse action flow)
• Conditional Approval
• Needs Additional Review

Only recruiting admins can adjudicate — the button does not appear for other roles. If the integration has Auto-adjudicate clear results turned on, checks that come back Clear skip the queue entirely and are marked Approved automatically.

FCRA adverse action — When an adjudication decision is Reject, the platform starts the two-step FCRA adverse action process:

1. A pre-adverse action notice is emailed to the candidate automatically (if they have an email on file). The notice includes the consumer report, the provider’s contact information, and the FCRA Summary of Rights.
2. A waiting period begins (5 days by default, configurable per integration). If the candidate files a dispute during this period, the final notice is held until the dispute is resolved.
3. After the waiting period elapses with no open dispute, a daily job sends the final adverse action notice to the candidate.

If the candidate has no email address on file, the automated notices cannot be sent. The recruiter receives an in-app notification explaining which steps must be completed manually.

Every step — adjudication decisions, notice timestamps, dispute events, and provider status changes — is recorded in the recruiting audit log.

Provider sync — Results arrive primarily through webhooks. As a backstop for missed webhooks, a scheduled sync polls the provider every 6 hours for any checks still in Invited or In Progress status. Checks older than 90 days are excluded from the sync. You can also sync a single check manually from its detail page.

Access control — Recruiting admins see every check across the business and can adjudicate, cancel, and manage disputes. Recruiters see only checks for candidates they created or jobs where they are the recruiter. On mobile, employees whose email matches a candidate record can view their own check status, but adjudication details are hidden from them to preserve the FCRA process.

Relationship to Job Board and Onboarding Hub — Background Checks is sold both standalone and bundled with Job Board. The check surfaces appear when either app is enabled. Each check is tied to a recruiting candidate and optionally to a recruiting job. The Onboarding Hub’s Background Check tab shows the same pipeline data and can order checks through the same integration.

4. Running it

Requesting a check

1. Go to Job Board → Background Checks and click Request Background Check.
2. Search for a candidate in the picker. Only candidates with an email address appear.
3. Select a screening package. Four default packages are available:
   • Basic Criminal Check — SSN verification, national criminal database, sex offender registry.
   • Pro Criminal Check — everything in Basic plus county and federal criminal searches.
   • Comprehensive Background Check — everything in Pro plus employment, education, and professional reference verification.
   • Executive Background Check — full comprehensive check plus credit report, civil court searches, media searches, and extended employment history.
     The integration can define custom packages that override these defaults.
4. Click Request Background Check. The candidate receives an FCRA disclosure and authorization email (when auto-send is on). The check starts once they authorize.

A candidate can have only one active background check. If one already exists, the request page redirects back to the candidate profile.

Reviewing results

1. Open a completed check from the list or click the email notification link.
2. The detail page shows the check status, adjudication status, provider, and timeline. If adverse items were found, they appear under Results with a count.
3. Sensitive fields (SSN, date of birth, driver’s license number) are stripped from the raw report data before display.

Adjudicating a check

1. Go to the Awaiting Adjudication queue (linked from the dashboard stat card) or open a check with a Consider or Suspended status.
2. Choose a decision from the dropdown: Approve, Needs Additional Review, Reject, or Conditional Approval.
3. Enter adjudication notes (required) and submit. The decision is recorded in the audit log and cannot be undone.
4. If you reject, the FCRA adverse action process starts automatically (see §3).

Managing a dispute

When a candidate disputes their report during the FCRA waiting period:

1. Open the check detail page, scroll to the FCRA Adverse Action section.
2. Click Record Candidate Dispute and enter the dispute details. This pauses the automated final adverse action notice.
3. After investigating, click Resolve Dispute & Resume. The final notice resumes its countdown.

Syncing status manually

If a webhook was missed, open the check detail page and click Sync Status. This polls the provider API for the latest report status.

5. Settings

Background check settings live on the provider integration, not on the app itself. Configure them at Admin → Integrations → (your background-check provider) → Edit.

Setting	Where	Default	What it changes
Auto-adjudicate clear results	Integration configuration	Off	When on, checks that return Clear are automatically marked Approved without entering the adjudication queue
Notify recruiter on completion	Integration configuration	On	Sends an email to the requester, job recruiter, and hiring manager when a check completes
Notify on adverse items	Integration configuration	On	Sends an email when a check requires adjudication (Consider or Suspended result)
Notify candidate on progress	Integration configuration	Off	Sends candidates an email when the check moves to In Progress. Off by default because providers usually email candidates directly
Notify candidate on completion	Integration configuration	Off	Sends candidates an email when a check completes with a Clear result. Off by default for the same reason
Auto-send FCRA disclosure	Integration configuration	On	Sends the candidate the FCRA disclosure and authorization request automatically when a check is ordered
FCRA waiting period	Integration configuration	5 days	The number of days between the pre-adverse action notice and the final adverse action notice
Enable AI Agent	Apps → Background Checks → Settings	On	Controls whether users can query background-check data through the Ask AI sidebar

6. More help

• Background Checks FAQ — specific setup and operating questions
• Job Board App Overview — the recruiting pipeline that feeds background checks
• Ask AI — the assistant answers questions about Background Checks from these articles.