Guides on choosing, evaluating, and working with background screening providers, from the All Screeners team.
Tagged “getting-started” · Clear filter
Before you can run a background check, federal law says you have to give the applicant a disclosure form that stands completely alone. Mix it into your job application or add extra legal language, and you've built a template that can turn into a class action.
ComplianceA step-by-step order of operations for a company that's never run background checks before: write the policy, pick a provider, build your forms, train your team, and set up adverse action before you need it.
Industry VerticalDispensary and cultivation hires usually go through two separate background checks, a state cannabis licensing check and a normal employment check, and they're not the same process. Here's how the two layers fit together and why you need to confirm the current rules with your own state.
Choosing a ProviderSOC 2 is a real, independent audit of a vendor's security controls, not a marketing buzzword. Here's what the report actually proves, what it doesn't, and the specific questions to ask before you hand a background check company your candidates' Social Security numbers.
PricingUnder $20 usually buys an SSN trace and a national database search, not a real background check. Here's what that actually covers, what it misses, and why the gap can cost you more than the $20 you saved.
Choosing a ProviderNo, not always. ATS integration saves real time once you're hiring in volume, but if you make a handful of hires a year, ordering checks by hand is usually less trouble.
Report TypesYou verify a license by checking it directly with the state board that issued it, not by trusting the copy a candidate sends you. Here's the actual process, and which roles can't skip it.
ComplianceYes, in most cases, through a genuinely conditional offer. Here's what makes an offer conditional instead of conditional in name only, and why you still can't fire someone on the spot if the report comes back bad.
PricingFive hires a year, fifty, and five hundred don't just cost different amounts. They call for different pricing models entirely, and the math behind each one is different too. Here's what to actually budget at each size.
ComplianceFCRA doesn't let anyone pull a background check for any reason they like. There's a specific, legally defined list of permissible purposes, and employment is one of them, but only when the disclosure, authorization, and actual purpose all line up.
Report TypesIdentity verification confirms a candidate is who they say they are, before any other check runs. Skip it or rush it, and every other report on file could be checking the wrong person.
ComplianceYes, the same FCRA rules apply to a teen hire as any other candidate. But there's usually a lot less to find: juvenile records are sealed in most states, and most 16 and 17-year-olds don't have an adult criminal record yet. Here's what to actually expect.
ComplianceNo, not if a third-party company is running the report. FCRA requires a standalone written disclosure and the candidate's signed authorization before you pull anything. Calling a reference yourself is a different, narrower rule.
ComplianceA copy-and-fill background check policy template covering purpose and scope, who gets checked by role, consent, adverse action, record retention, and who owns it, from someone who ran this process for 30 years.
Choosing a ProviderA short expectations email, sent the moment a candidate signs consent, heads off almost every anxious follow-up. Two copy-paste templates for the first update and for a delay, plus what you can legally say about timing.
Choosing a ProviderA first-timer's walkthrough of running a background check the right way: write the policy first, get consent right, pick a provider that acts like a partner, and know exactly what to do if a report comes back with something on it.
Report TypesEmployment verification usually confirms dates, title, and rehire eligibility, nothing more. Here's why so many verification calls come back thin, and what to do about it.
Report TypesThe quickest way to catch a fake degree is to stop trusting the diploma and verify the record straight from the school. Here's what a diploma mill actually looks like, and how education verification really works.
ComplianceWhether a role is paid has nothing to do with the FCRA's rules. What matters is whether you use a background check company to screen the person, and that applies to interns and volunteers too.
Choosing a ProviderSix things that actually separate good background check companies from bad ones, plus a simple scoring rubric to compare your shortlist, from someone who bought these for a living for 30 years.
Report TypesMost companies only need three or four check types, not the whole menu. A fast reference for matching checks to the actual role.
PricingReal 2026 price ranges for every major background check type, broken down by what actually drives the cost, from someone who bought these for a living for 30 years.
Report TypesA plain-language breakdown of the most common background check report types employers use, and what each one actually checks.
AboutAll Screeners helps HR teams find the background check provider that actually fits their needs, free to browse, with free and paid ways to get a personalized match.