We're happy to partner with you to make your background check process more efficient, reduce your compliance risk, and improve your candidates' experience. As you get started with Checkr, you'll probably be doing one of a few things:
- Running a report
- Managing candidate statuses
- Adjudicating/reviewing reports
This quick start guide outlines the steps required when using the Checkr Dashboard. Other articles in this section detail the steps below and link to more information in the Help Center.
Quick start guide
Use the Checkr Dashboard to order and process background checks.
- Get credentialed
- Set up your account
- Order a background check
- Track candidates on the Checkr Dashboard
- Review completed reports
- Hire/place or decline candidates
1. Get credentialed
Before a new account can request background checks, Checkr's Customer Success team must first credential the account. Checkr uses the information you provide to assess the validity of the business and its permissible purpose. This process generally takes less than 1 business day.
Work with a Checkr Account Executive or Customer Success representative to create and credential your account.
For more information, refer to Get credentialed to run background checks.
2. Set up your account
After your Checkr account is created and credentialed, your account's admin receives an email from Checkr with a link to access the account. Your admin then sets up your account, including your user roles and permissions, and your candidate work locations, programs, and Positive Adjudication Matrix.
For an overview of this process, refer to Set up your account.
If you have questions, need tips, or want access to advanced features, contact the Checkr Customer Support team.
3. Order your first background check
Users with admin or requester roles (usually recruiters at your business) can invite candidates to a background check.
To begin background checks for multiple candidates simultaneously, click Order background check.
Checkr emails your candidates a link to a Checkr-hosted page where they provide their personally identifiable information (PII) read the disclosure and authorization documents, including state-specific documents.
To learn more, refer to Order a report.
To learn more about running background checks, refer to How do I request a background check?
4. Track candidates and reports on the Checkr Dashboard
After you order the background check, the candidate takes the next steps in the process:
- The candidate enters their PII. Requested PII varies by screening. For more information about what your candidates will provide, refer to the Screening types section of the Checkr Help Center.
- The candidate reads the disclosures and authorizes that they consent to have a background report run.
After your candidate consents to the check, the report appears in the Dashboard with a Pending status. The Candidates page shows all report status changes. Click a report to read returned records or results.
You can receive email notifications when a report status changes. Use the Account settings page in the Checkr Dashboard to define your email preferences.
For more information about tracking report progress, refer to Review a completed report.
For more about report statuses, refer to What does the status of the report indicate?
5. Review a background report
All user roles can review background reports.
Checkr provdes a simple, linear, color-coded format to make reviewing and assessing reports more efficient.
After a report completes, click your candidate's name on the Candidates page of the dashboard to open the report. The report shows all screenings processed for that report. Color-coded formatting based on the results of a specific screening helps you quickly recognize which screening caused the Consider report status.
6. Hire/place or decline candidates
Based on the information in the report, use the report's Actions section to select one of the two options:
- Engage: indicate that you reviewed the report and intend to hire or place the candidate.
- Pre-adverse action: indicate that you reviewed report information with the Consider status and decided that you intend not to hire or place the candidate based on that information.
Clicking Engage changes the candidate's status in the dashboard and adds their data to the analytics charts. Clicking Pre-adverse action begins Checkr's pre-adverse action process, emails your candidate to notify them of their status, and provides guidelines to help you remain compliant through the process.
For more information, refer to The adverse action process: Deciding not to more forward with a candidate.