Checkr offers both personal and professional reference verifications. You can order only 1 personal and 1 professional reference verification per candidate.
During reference verifications, Checkr uses the candidate-provided contact information to contact each reference once a day for 3 days. If the original reference refers us to someone else, we try to contact that person 2 more times over 2 days.
When we contact each reference, we ask standard questions for the reference type. To ensure consistent results, we don't change or customize the questions.
Personal reference verification
The goal of a personal reference verification is to learn about your candidate’s character.
We confirm the reference’s name and ask them the questions below:
- What is the nature of your relationship with the candidate?
- How long have you known them?
- Would you recommend them to an employer?
- Any additional comments?
Ordering
Personal reference verification is available as a standalone search. To add personal reference verifications to your background checks, contact Checkr.
Professional reference verification
The goal of a professional reference verification is to learn about your candidate’s qualifications and job history.
We confirm the reference’s name and ask them the questions below:
- What was/is the candidate's job and the nature of their duties?
- How would you describe their job performance including strengths and weaknesses?
- How did they get along with their associates?
- How did they show initiative on the job?
- How long have you known them?
- When they begin a task, would you say that they carry it through to completion?
- What could they do to improve their job performance?
- Are they dependable?
- In your opinion, have they ever shown a propensity for violence or dishonesty in the workplace?
- Any additional comments?
Ordering
Professional reference verification is available as a standalone search. To add professional reference verifications to your background checks, contact Checkr.
Results
After trying to contact the references, Checkr updates the candidate’s report. The verification’s status is either of the 2 below:
- Clear: Checkr contacted the reference and they replied, so the report has answers to the questions. You decide what to do with this information and decide what to do.
- Consider: Checkr couldn’t contact the reference or the reference didn’t reply, so the report has no answers. It is up to you to decide what to do next.
Candidate experience
The candidate provides the personally identifying information (PII) below:
- Birth date
- Email address
- Full name
- Phone number
- Social Security number (SSN)
The candidate then reads and acknowledges receipt of applicable forms and notifications:
- A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Disclosure Regarding Background Investigation
- Authorization for a background verification
- Other state and required disclosures as applicable
After the candidate signs the authorization form, Checkr starts the verification.
If you applied for a job and want to know your background check’s status, log in to the Checkr Candidate Portal.