If you’re looking to hire new employees for your business, you may ask yourself at some point: Should I be running a background check on candidates?
Conducting background checks on your potential hires can help you verify someone’s credentials, make sure there is no history of criminal activity that could negatively affect your line of business and even protect your company. Plus, background checks aren’t only for large corporations and small businesses — even property owners run background checks to make sure they’re renting to creditworthy applicants with clean tenant records.
If you’re looking to add background checks as an extra safeguard for your business, here are some of the best services on the market right now.
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Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.09% with a daily balance of $5,000,000 or below; 3.90% with a daily balance above $5,000,000
Best background check sites for businesses
Best for fast results
GoodHire
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Cost
$29.99/check for Basic+ plan; $54.99/check for Essential plan; $89.99/check for Complete plan
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Background check services
Criminal record, driving records, civil court checks, drug screening, employment verification, education verification, county criminal checks, state criminal checks, global watchlist search, SSN trace, sex offender registry search and more
Pros
- Pricing can vary depending on volume of checks you need. If you perform fewer than 50 checks per year, you can choose between the Basic+, Essential and Complete plans. If you need more than 50 checks per year, you’ll need a custom quote
- Offers over 100 background check services
- Allows job candidates to run a background check on themselves
- Received high ratings from the Society for Human Resource Management
Cons
- Personal background checks start at $49.99, which is a bit expensive
Who’s this for? According to GoodHire’s website, the background check service can provide results in under one minute for 90% of criminal checks. It also boasts the ability to get started quickly, which can be a huge draw if you need to run a background check in a pinch and don’t want to wait days or even weeks for results.
Standout features: GoodHire’s website offers a wealth of resources to support businesses, including infographics, blog posts and state-by-state guides for record-checking.
Best for property owners
TransUnion SmartMove
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Cost
$25 for SmartCheck Basic plan; $40 for SmartCheck Plus plan; $47 for SmartCheck Premium plan
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Background check services
ResidentScore®, criminal background report (including multi-state reports and sex offender registry check), credit report, eviction related report (including judgments, unlawful detainers and small claims), income insights report and identity check report
Pros
- Offers the option to have the property owner cover the cost of the service or to have the tenant pay for the cost
- Offers reasonable pricing compared to some other background check services
- Proprietary ResidentScore® helps property owners predict eviction risk 15% more often than a regular credit score, according to SmartMove’s website
- Credit reports come directly from TransUnion
Cons
- Not BBB accredited
- Works best for residential properties
Who’s this for? TransUnion SmartMove offers background screening services for landlords who are vetting tenants. Reports come directly from TransUnion and also leverage a database of credit histories and criminal records. Property owners can view tenant credit reports, criminal background reports, eviction-related reports, income insights and identity check reports.
Standout features: TransUnion SmartMove’s technology determines a ResidentScore® that property owners can use to predict the eviction risk of a potential tenant.
Best for ATS integrations
HireRight
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Cost
Must contact for a custom quote
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Background check services
Global ID check, U.S. employment verification, global employment verification, global criminal search, healthcare sanctions check, drug and alcohol testing, extended workforce screening, county criminal, felony and misdemeanor screening, financial background services, compliance and due diligence and identity services
Pros
- Offers 70+ ATS integrations
- Offers compliance services
- Offers due diligence services spanning registry, media and civil records
Cons
- You must contact them for a custom quote and they don’t offer pricing range transparency on their website
- Not BBB accredited
- Has a number of low star ratings on the BBB, though, many reviews seem to be from job candidates submitting verification through HireRight rather than HireRight customers
Who’s this for? HireRight offers integrations with over 70 ATS (applicant tracking system) platforms to help businesses move through the hiring and screening process more efficiently. Some ATS platforms you can integrate with include ADP, Greenhouse, Lever, Oracle, SmartRecruiters, Spark Hire, Workday, Paradox and more.
Standout features: In addition to some standard screenings, HireRight also offers a healthcare sanctions check, extended workforce screening and global ID check for authenticity.
Best for industry-specific screening
First Advantage
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Cost
Small business background checks cost as little as $29/check; customized pricing available upon request
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Background check services
Criminal background checks, drug and alcohol screening, employer tax credit screening, executive screening, fingerprinting, identity services, investigative due diligence, oral fluid drug screening, verification screening, online background checks and more
Pros
- Pricing starts at $29/check, which may be more affordable than some other services
- Offers a mobile app for iOS and Android phones
- Support offered through phone, email and chat
- Supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese
- Is BBB accredited and rated A+
Cons
- Charges a one-time setup fee of $175
Who’s this for? Different industries and enterprises may have different background screening needs — some more complex than others. First Advantage has provided screening services for a variety of industries, including financial services, gig work, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, staffing technology and transportation.
Standout features: First Advantage’s screens span over 200 countries and territories. According to their website, 90% of criminal screens are completed within one day.
FAQs
Do small companies run background checks?
Small companies certainly run background checks. They may not all check for the same thing, but one of the most common things to screen for is a criminal background check.
How much does it cost a business to run a background check?
The cost for running a background check can range anywhere from $0 to $100 per check, and sometimes even more. Businesses that are able to run a background check at no cost to themselves may choose to pass the cost onto their candidates. However, there are also customizable pricing options tailored to your business.
How long does it take for a business to run a background check?
It can depend on the background check service you use and how in-depth of a check you’re looking to run, but some services aim to provide you with a criminal background check within one day.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every business article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of business products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best background check sites for businesses.
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Our methodology
CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S.-based background check sites. We ranked our picks by best for fast results, best for property owners, best for ATS integrations and best for industry-specific screening.
We compared each background check site on a range of features, including:
- Pricing structure
- Customer ratings where available
- BBB (Better Business Bureau) rating where available
- ATS and HR support tools offered
- Types of background check services offered
- Turnaround time
- Industries served
- Learning resources offered
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
