Sterling background check

Sterling is an employment background screening company that is now part of First Advantage, which completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp. on Oct. 31, 2024.^1,2

Sterling's candidate help site is titled "Sterling, a First Advantage company." First Advantage valued the deal at $2.2 billion, including Sterling's outstanding debt.

Sterling Check Corp.'s list of subsidiaries names Sterling Infosystems Inc., a Delaware company that does business as "Sterling" and "Sterling Volunteers."³

This is the company named in the federal consumer-protection action described under Government actions below.

Sterling's candidate help site has a "Check My Status" service at sterlingcheck.app/candidate-check-my-status. You enter the email address used for the background check plus the last four digits of your Social Security number, and Sterling emails you the status.^2,4,5

Sterling says to use it if it has been more than one week since you finished the data collection step. It says the service supports only candidates in the United States. The status page itself says you will get an email only if First Advantage finds a screening performed within the last 30 days. Sterling's older candidate page, sterlingcheck.com/candidates, now sends people to First Advantage's candidate help center at help.fadv.com. Its United States page lists Candidate Hub (sterlingdirect.com) among its login choices.

Sterling says "your background check may take 3-5 business days to be processed," depending on the screenings requested. It also says 90% of its criminal and public record searches are completed within one business day, and that education, employment, credential and reference verifications can take three to five business days.²

Sterling's page says the exact time depends on what the check includes, and that things like record availability can cause delays. These are Sterling's own figures.

Sterling explains that a pre-adverse action notice means a company found a potentially disqualifying result and is giving you a chance to review the report and respond before it decides.²

Sterling says the notice includes a copy of your report, so you can review it and dispute anything inaccurate. The company then waits at least five business days, or longer if state or local law requires, before taking final action. If it decides not to hire based on the report, it must send a final adverse action notice.

Sterling says that if it prepared a consumer report in your name, you are entitled to a free copy of the completed report during each 12-month period. You request it through the online contact form on its candidate help site.²

Sterling's page cites the FACT Act (the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) as the basis for the free copy.

To dispute a Sterling report, Sterling's help site tells you to contact First Advantage at +1 844-468-6522 or email details of the disputed information to Dispute.Resolution@FADV.com. It says a consumer reporting agency generally has up to 30 days to resolve a dispute and that you will be notified by email of the result.²

Sterling says it generally handles disputes faster than 30 days.

Sterling's candidate help site sends people with other questions to care.fadv.com and lists a phone number of 1.800.899.2272.²

The site also has an online contact form for candidates.

On Nov. 22, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a proposed settlement with Sterling Infosystems, Inc. over Fair Credit Reporting Act violations. The court entered it on Nov. 26, 2019, and it requires $6 million in monetary relief to affected consumers and a $2.5 million civil money penalty.^6,7

The CFPB's complaint alleged that Sterling did not use reasonable procedures to make sure its reports were as accurate as possible, did not keep strict procedures to make sure public record information was complete and up to date, and reported criminal history and other adverse information outside the period the law allows. The CFPB says the judgment also bars the alleged conduct going forward.

If an employer turns you down because of information in a background report, the FTC says the employer must tell you that you have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the background reporting company, and the right to an additional free report if you ask within 60 days of the decision.⁸

The FTC says the employer must also give you the name, address and phone number of the background reporting company, and tell you that the company did not make the decision and cannot give reasons for it. Before deciding, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a "Summary of Rights".

The FTC says to dispute a mistake by contacting the background reporting company, explaining the mistakes and asking that they be fixed, with any supporting documentation.⁸

After the company revises your report, the FTC says to review it to make sure the mistakes are gone, ask the company to send a copy of the corrected report to the employer, and tell the employer about the mistake. The FTC also asks people to tell it if they think a background check company included errors in their report, and to report an employer that got a report without permission or turned them down without the required notices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer reporting agency must conduct a reasonable investigation within 30 days of being notified of a dispute, and the investigation is free.^9,10

The FTC's description of the law says the agency must record the status of the information or delete it, and must tell you the results in writing within five days of finishing. The CFPB says companies must investigate a dispute free of charge.