Payment and billing

For information on how to add and update payment methods, refer to Set up payment information.

When am I charged for a report?

Reports that complete with a status below results in a charge to your account

• Clear
• Consider
• Canceled (including any reports that the customer cancels)
• Suspended

Subscriptions appear on your invoice when you enroll candidates.

Checkr won't charge for expired invitations. If an invitation expires, simply send a new invitation to initiate a new report.

Note

If a report is suspended or upgraded and then completed in a later month, any additional charges will appear on the invoice both in the month of suspension/upgrading and the month of completion. There is no charge for expired reports.

Does Checkr charge monthly or annual service fees?

No, Checkr does not charge monthly or annual subscription or service fees. You are only charged for the reports you order.

To learn more about Checkr pricing, visit the Checkr Pricing and Packages page. You can also learn more about recurring background check subscriptions by checking out the Subscribe to recurring background checks article.

Why was I charged additional fees for aliases?

We recently improved our background checks to include aliases. An alias is a name a person uses in addition to their legal name and can consist of name variations such as legally changed names, nicknames, or shortened names.

This improvement was made to ensure that you receive the most comprehensive results possible. Without aliases, your reports return about 75% of records. By including aliases, we can increase the comprehensiveness by about 20%.

The "Add aliases" box is preselected when you order new background checks through your Checkr dashboard. This new feature cannot be turned off. To disable it on a report, you must deselect the checkbox.

Does Checkr offer refunds?

Checkr doesn't offer credit back to credit cards or bank accounts. Credit memos can apply only to your next invoice, and Checkr can't update invoices after they're sent.

Credit memos are PDFs that show the credit that will apply to your next invoice.

Will I be charged if my candidate misses their drug test?

If the candidate does not show up for their test or never books a test, the drug test portion of the report will suspend, and you will not be billed for it.

Why am I being charged for a background check in a county/state where my candidate never lived?

Your invoice might show a charge for a search in a county that differs from the candidate-provided addresses. The Social Security number (SSN) trace searches for the address history of the candidate-provided SSN. The address history determines the counties and other databases to search for additional public records.

For more information about SSN traces, refer to Social Security number (SSN) trace.

New York passthrough fees

New York has 13 counties that are a part of the Office of Court Administration (OCA). These counties have pooled their criminal records into one system of record. Searches in any of these 13 counties appear on your invoice as a "State Fee. The OCA set the cost at $95.

What are the different fees on our invoice?

Package fees 

Checkr charges package fees to compile and deliver the consumer report your company ordered. Package fees vary.

Passthrough fees

Checkr also charges passthrough fees.

Why am I being charged a county service fee for my basic search?

After a national criminal search identifies a potential record, Checkr automatically completes a county criminal search for found records if your package doesn't already include a county criminal search. The county criminal search finds the information below:

• Additional identifiers to confirm that the criminal record belongs to the individual
• Complete and up-to-date case information

A county service fee is the report upgrade charge. 

Why was I just charged for a report I ran years ago?

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Checkr is required to investigate the accuracy of consumer reports at the consumer's request. To ensure maximum possible accuracy Checkr must update all reports that may contain inaccurate or outdated information. In cases where fees are incurred, Checkr passes those fees directly to the customer.

Why did I incur a $95 charge titled "NY State Fee?"

New York has 13 counties that are a part of the Office of Court Administration (OCA). These counties have pooled their criminal records into one system of record. If a search is conducted in any one of these 13 counties, it is billed as a “State fee'' which has been set at $95 by OCA. County court searches that are not part of the OCA will be listed as separate charges. Checkr passes on these fees to your organization with no additional surcharge or processing fee. For a full list of passthrough fees, see Checkr's additional pricing information page.

13 counties in the Office of Court Administration (OCA)

As of April 8, 2024, the 13 counties in the OCA are:

• Allegany
• Bronx
• Cayuga
• Chemung
• Erie
• Fulton
• Kings
• Montgomery
• Nassau
• New York
• Orleans
• Queens
• Richmond

Why was our employment verification charge higher than expected?

If your company verifies employment history, you third-party passthrough fees associated with these verifications. Industry verification databases charge these fees to verify employment history automatically. Checkr lists employment verification passthrough fees. 

Please note that Checkr partners with multiple vendors, so charges may vary based on the vendor conducting the service. The fees are specifically called out in line items on the Checkr invoice. Checkr first searches available databases, such as The Work Number for Everyone, that charge a fee when the verification is successfully completed by way of checking that database. You may find a separate fee assigned for each place of employment being verified for the candidate. Rest assured, Checkr does not mark up any fees; instead, we send them in your invoice at cost.

Note

Though multiple database searches for each employment history may lead to multiple charges, the fee for The Work Number is restricted to a single charge per candidate.

Note: If you do not see a Payment & billing tab in the navigation pane of your Checkr Dashboard, it's likely due to your user permissions. Contact your account admin for more information.

Update your billing email address

Use the steps below to update your billing email address:

1. In the Checkr Dashboard, select the "Payment & billing" page.
2. Select the Payment tab.
3. In the "Bank contact information" section, select Edit.
4. Update the email addresses.
5. Select Continue to save your changes.

Autopay

Autopay requirements

If your monthly invoices are less than $2,500, Checkr requires a payment method for automatically paying your account's invoices each month.

You can't turn off or disable autopsy if your account's monthly invoices are less than $2,500.

Autopay billing

Accepted payment methods (you can add one of each):

• Bank account
• Credit card 

For accounts with autopay, Checkr collects the full invoice amount around the 5th of each month. 

Troubleshoot autopay issues

If your account uses autopay but the dashboard shows a Pay Now button, your payment method might have had an issue.

For help submitting payments, email payments@checkr.com.

Add bank account information

Checkr can process invoices through a linked banking account, called an Automated Clearing House account. To allow Checkr to process invoices through a bank account:

1. In the Checkr Dashboard, select the "Payment & billing" page.
2. Select the Payment tab.
3. Scroll down to the "Payment methods" section.
4. In the "Bank accounts" section, select Add.
5. Enter bank account details:
   • Account holder’s name
   • Routing number
   • Account number
6. Verify your bank account.
   • After your account information saves, your bank account will show two microdeposits in 2-4 business days. To verify your bank account, enter both deposit amounts in the Payment tab. Checkr can process payments only for verified bank accounts.

Add credit card information

To allow Checkr to process invoices through a linked credit card, enter the information below:

1. In the Checkr Dashboard, select the "Payment & billing" page.
2. Select the Payment tab.
3. Scroll down to the "Payment methods" section.
4. In the "Credit and debit cards" section, select Add.
5. Enter the card details: 
   • Credit card holder’s name
   • Card number
   • Security code
   • Expiration date

To verify your credit card, Checkr places a temporary hold based on your first order:

• Fewer than 10 background checks: The temporary credit card hold is for 1 USD.
• At least 10 background checks: The temporary credit card hold is for the price of 10 checks.

Update payment information

To update your payment method:

1. In the Checkr Dashboard, select the "Payment & billing" page.
2. Select the Payment tab.
3. Scroll down to the "Payment methods" section.
4. Select the actions (...) menu next to the payment method you need to update.
5. Select "Remove" to delete the payment method, or select "Make default" to make it the default payment method.  

Note: You must keep at least one payment method on file.

Checkr might deauthorize or cancel your account for these reasons:

• Payment method missing
• Non-payment
• Insufficient funds

Nonprofits and tax-exemption

If your organization is tax-exempt, email tax@checkr.com with your W-9 and Certificate of Tax Exemption.

Video overview

Play the Checkr Academy video below to learn about Checkr's monthly billing process and how to set up your organization's bank account for payment.

At the beginning of each month, Checkr sends an invoice for the previous month's completed background checks. Invoices are due upon receipt.

For help reading your invoice CSV, use Invoice CSV by column.

What's included

Invoices include fees for checks with a status below:

• Canceled
• Clear
• Complete
• Review
• Suspended

Checkr doesn't charge for expired invitations.

Invoice status

Invoices can have a status below:

• Pending: Checkr hasn't received payment yet.
• Paid: Checkr received payment.
  Checkr emails payment receipts using Stripe. If you didn't receive a receipt from Stripe, contact Checkr. If you need to, you can update your billing email address.

Read an invoice

You can access invoices from the Checkr Dashboard:

1. Select "Payment & billing."
2. Select Invoices, and then select from the items below:
   • Invoice CSV: From the Reports column, select "reports_usage.csv."
   • Invoice PDF: From the Invoice column, select "invoice.pdf."
   • Subscription CSV: Select “See more files.”

If you receive invoices from Checkr, play the Checkr Academy video below to learn about Checkr's monthly billing process and how to interpret your Checkr invoice, including passthrough fees.

Invoice CSV

The invoice CSV specifies fees for every part of each person's background check. For column-by-column descriptions of the invoice CSV, use How to read your invoice CSV. 

If your account has a hierarchy with at least one node, your CSV invoice describes each node as a "cost center." For questions about your account's hierarchy, contact Checkr.

Invoice PDF

The invoice PDF lists packages and fees for the month and includes the information below:

• Address: Checkr's address and your organization's address
• URI: Your organization's unique Checkr ID
• PO #: The auto-generated purchase order number
• Invoice date: Invoice creation date
• Due date: Payment due date
• Item: What your organization ordered
• Quantity: How many items your organization ordered
• Unit price: Individual item price
• Amount: Total item price

Subscription CSV

Subscriptions appear on your invoice when you enroll the person.

The background checks and packages Checkr offers have set prices. Sometimes courts, departments of motor vehicles (DMVs), or verification databases charge Checkr to complete a check.

Checkr recovers these fees from customers as passthrough fees. Passthrough fees such as those below can appear on your monthly invoice:

• County surcharge: Criminal records are public, but counties that house them can charge a fee to access them. About 10% of United States (US) counties charge a fee to access criminal records. The county surcharge is multiplied by the number of candidate aliases checked.
• DMV access surcharge: DMVs charge a fee to retrieve a motor vehicle record (MVR). The fee amount varies by state.
• Professional license verification fee: Industry verification databases and licensing bodies charge a fee when they verify a candidate's professional license information.
• State surcharge: These fees appear on your invoice in the situations below:
  • The state collects its county records in a single statewide database.
  • You order a state search for a state that charges a fee to access statewide data. The state surcharge is multiplied by the number of candidate aliases checked.
• Verification fees: These fees appear on your invoice in the situations below:
  • You order an employment verification: Checkr verifies employment using databases, such as “The Work Number,” which charge fees.
  • You order an education verification: Checkr verifies education using databases, such as the National Student Clearinghouse, which charges fees.

Play the Checkr Academy video below to learn what a passthrough fee is and how to identify it on your Checkr invoice.

You can access tax documents from the "Payment & billing" page of the Checkr Dashboard. The Documents tab has two download links:

• Checkr's W-9 form: PDF of Checkr's most recent W-9 for tax purposes
• Checkr Customer Payment Information: PDF of Checkr's ACH information

Play the Checkr Academy video below to learn how to access tax documents in the Checkr Dashboard.