Payment & billing FAQs

This article will help answer the following questions:

• How do I access our invoices?
• When’s the due date for the invoice?
• What month is this invoice for?
• Why is my invoice pending?
• Who can I contact about my invoice?

How do I access our invoices?

Each month a copy of your invoice is sent to your account’s billing contact email address. This invoice includes charges related to background checks that were completed in the previous month.

Admins can also access both current and previous invoices on the Invoices tab of the Payment & billing page in the Checkr Dashboard. Here you’ll find both a summary PDF and a detailed CSV for each invoice, both of which you can download and review. 

Related articles: 

• Set up payment information
• How do we update our billing contact email address?
• Payment & billing

When’s the due date for the invoice?

Invoices are sent out at the beginning of each month and have the due date listed on the PDF copy. Your invoice includes charges and fees for usage during the previous month.

What month is this invoice for?

Your invoice includes charges and fees for usage during the previous month. For example, you will receive an invoice for all January activity at the beginning of February.

Why is my invoice pending?

A pending invoice indicates that no payment has been made. If you have paid this invoice, let us know! Otherwise, please reach out to payments@checkr.com for help completing the missing payment.

Who can I contact about my invoice?

Contact Checkr Customer Support for questions about what appears on your invoice.

Contact Checkr Payment Support: payments@checkr.com for questions about updating and submitting payments.

Checkr sends invoices at the beginning of each month. This invoice will show as “due upon receipt.” If your account is set up to use auto-pay, Checkr will automatically draw payments from your account around the 7th of every month. This invoice includes charges and fees for usage during the previous month.

Once your account has been charged, the invoice status in your Checkr Dashboard will be updated to “Paid.”

A report is billed to the account upon completion of a report with any of the following statuses: "Clear," "Consider," "Canceled," or "Suspended." This includes any reports that are canceled by the customer.

Our subscription products (i.e. Continuous MVR) will be added to your invoice upon subscription enrollment.

In addition to the cost of the background check, your reports may be subject to various third-party access fees, including county and state court access fees, DMV access fees, and employment/education verification fees. Rest assured, Checkr does not mark up any fees; instead, we send them in your invoice at cost.

Related articles:

• Checkr's additional pricing information
• What are the different fees on our invoice? 

Checkr offers "credit memos," which are PDFs that show the credit that will be applied to the customer's next invoice. Two important notes: 

• The credit will appear on the invoice, and Checkr cannot update any invoices once they've been issued.
• Checkr does not offer credit back to credit cards or bank accounts. Credit can only be applied to the customer's next invoice.

Related articles:

• Help me understand Checkr invoices
• Payment & billing

Upon running your first background check order using a promotional credit, that credit will automatically apply to your invoice. To view this credit, navigate to the Payment & billing tab in your Checkr Dashboard and download the PDF or CSV file.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Checkr is required to investigate the accuracy of consumer reports upon the request of the consumer. 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.

Checkr only supports one payment option for your account. However, your invoice will have a column delineating the node. Download the CSV version of your invoice to filter the charges by node.

Related articles:

• Will I get separate invoices for each Node if I am enabled for Account Hierarchy?

Customers ordering drug and occupational health screenings through multiple partner integrations may be charged different prices based on the software application the screening was ordered from. Some Checkr partners have prenegotiated pricing with Checkr, and shared customers receive that special pricing when ordering screenings through that partner’s application. 

You may see a charge for a search in a county that differs from the address(es) provided by the candidate. The SSN trace searches various databases to find address history associated with SSN provided by the candidate. The address history it returns is then used to determine the counties and/or other databases which are then searched for additional public records, in line with your package settings.

For more information about SSN traces, refer to: 

• Social Security Number (SSN) Trace
• Why is a Social Security Number (SSN) required, and what does Checkr do with it?

New York pass-through fees

New York has 15 counties that are 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 15 counties it is billed as a “State Fee'' which has been set at $95 by OCA. 

Related articles: 

• What are the different fees on our invoice?
• Why is there a $95 charge titled "NY State Fee" on my invoice?

You can find an itemized breakdown of your bill/invoice by following these steps:

1. Open the Checkr Dashboard
2. Select Payment & billing
3. Select Invoices
4. Select reports_usage.csv from the Reports column to download an itemized invoice 
5. To view your PDF invoice, select "invoice.pdf"
6. Select “See more files” to download a CSV version of any subscription activity for the month

Related article:

• Help me understand Checkr invoices

To locate Checkr's W-9 information: 

1. From the Checkr Dashboard, select Payment & billing.
2. Select the Documents tab.
3. Select Checkr's W9 form to view and download the PDF.

To locate Checkr's payment options (including ACH information): 

1. From the Checkr Dashboard, select Payment & billing.
2. Select the Documents tab.
3. Select Checkr Customer Payment Information to view and download the PDF.

Related article:

• Payment & billing

Once a potential record is identified in the National Criminal Database, Checkr automatically performs a County Level Verification if a county check is not already part of your package. This means that Checkr conducts research at the county where the national criminal search shows a possible record.

The research includes

• Additional identifiers to confirm it belongs to the individual in question, and
• Complete and up-to-date case information (e.g., disposition, status)

A county-level verification fee is the report upgrade charge.

Related articles:

• What happens when there is a hit on a National Criminal Records Check? 
• What are the different fees on our invoice? 

Fees you may see on your Checkr invoice include

• Package fees 
• DMV access fees
• County fees
• State fees
• Verification fees
• Professional license verification fees

Package fees 

These are the fees assessed by Checkr to compile and deliver the consumer report your company has ordered and will vary based on the type of package ordered. Visit Help me understand Checkr packages for further details.

In addition to the cost of the background check, your reports may be subject to various third-party pass-through fees, including county and state court access fees, DMV access fees, and employment/education verification fees. Such fees are outlined as follows.

DMV access fees

DMVs across the US require payment to pull a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR); the specific fee will vary from one state to the next.

County fees

Even though criminal records are a matter of public record, jurisdictions that house the records have the right to charge a fee to access the data. Of the 3,200 counties in the United States, roughly 10% charge a fee. Most counties’ charges are between $2-$10, though some charge $25 and more. 

State fees

In states like New York, many counties pool their criminal records in one system of record, so the county fees in these cases are billed as a “State Fee.” Additionally, if your company conducts State Criminal Records Checks, some states charge a separate fee for accessing criminal data at the state level.

Report upgrade: County-Level Verification fee

Once a potential record is identified in the National Criminal Database, Checkr automatically performs a County Level Verification if a county check is not already part of your package. This means that Checkr researches the county where the national criminal search shows a possible record. A county-level verification fee is the report upgrade charge.

Verification Fees

If your company verifies employment and/or education history, you will see third-party access fees associated with these screenings. These fees are assessed by industry verification databases to automatically verify either employment or education history.

• For employment verifications, 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.
• For education verifications, Checkr searches known education databases, such as National Student Clearinghouse.

We cannot provide a fee list for employment and education pass-through costs because they vary so widely. The fees are, however, specifically called out in line items on the Checkr invoice.

See Checkr's additional pricing information page for more details. 

Professional license verification fees

If your company verifies whether a candidate’s professional license is active and in good standing, you may see third-party access fees on your invoice. These fees are assessed by industry verification databases or the licensing body directly to verify the data provided by the candidate.

If your company verifies employment history, you will see third-party pass-through fees associated with these screenings. These fees are assessed by industry verification databases to automatically verify employment history. Refer to Checkr Employment and Education Verification Passthrough Fees for a list of employment verification pass-through 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.

Related article:

• What are the different fees on our invoice?

This article will help answer the following questions about payment processing:

• Where can I review or update my account’s payment information?
• Am I automatically charged each month?
• How are payments made if my account is enrolled in AutoPay?
• How can I tell if AutoPay is enabled for my account?
• How does the bank account verification process work?

Where can I review or update my account’s payment information?

Admins or billing users can go to Payment & billing in the Checkr Dashboard to review account payment settings. 

Am I automatically charged each month?

If your monthly invoices are less than $2,500, Checkr will ask that you provide a checking account or credit card, which will be used to automatically pay your account's invoices each month. 

How are payments made if my account is enrolled in AutoPay?

At the beginning of each month, Checkr sends a copy of your invoice for orders completed in the previous month to your account’s billing contact email address. This invoice includes charges related to background checks completed in the previous month. When the invoice is coming due, the credit card or bank account on file will be automatically charged. If there are any issues with the payment, Checkr notifies the billing contact.

How can I tell if AutoPay is enabled for my account?

Whether or not AutoPay is enabled for your account can be found on your invoice. For information on how to access your invoices, refer to Help me understand Checkr invoices.

How does the bank account verification process work?

This process verifies that you are the account owner by confirming two micro-deposit amounts sent from Stripe, our payment processor, to your bank. It can take several days for the microdeposits to appear. After the microdeposits appear in your account, return to the Payment & billing page of the Checkr Dashboard to verify the account. After the account is verified, the reminder at the top of the page disappears.

An admin on your Checkr account can update payment information at any time. Refer to Set up payment information.

Most likely, you ran a basic criminal package and the fee was incurred when a county check was initiated from a pointer in the National Criminal Records Checks. 

See What are the different fees on our invoice? for types of fees you may see on your invoice and/or Checkr’s additional pricing information page for a breakdown of county court, state DMV and state court fees.

New York has 12 counties that are 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 12 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. These fees are passed on by Checkr to your company with no additional surcharge or processing fee. For a full list of pass-through fees, see Checkr's additional pricing information page.

The 12 counties part of the Office of Court Administration (OCA) are:

• Allegany

• Bronx

• Cayuga

• Chemung

• Fulton

• Kings

• Montgomery

• Nassau

• New York

• Orleans

• Queens

• Richmond

For more information on Checkr fees, see: What are these fees on my invoice?

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. 

A report is only added to your invoice if it completes as "Clear," "Consider," "Canceled," or "Suspended." If an invitation expires, you will not be charged for that report. Simply send a new invitation out to initiate a new report. 

Though opting into the Previous License History Collection feature is free, running additional licenses will result in additional service and pass-through fee(s). Rest assured, Checkr does not mark up any fees; instead, we send them in your invoice at cost.

Related articles: 

• Court and DMV Pass-Through Fees
• What are the additional or “pass-through” fees on my invoice?

No, only one invoice will be received when enabled for Account Hierarchy. The invoice will have a column delineating the Cost Center (node), which can be used to filter the charges.

To comply with sales tax regulations, please email tax@checkr.com with your W-9 and Certificate of Tax Exemption. From there, we will review the documents provided and update your account accordingly. 

Please submit your organization’s 501(c)3 to Checkr Customer Support. Our team will review the provided documentation for a potential discount on criminal packages. 

Payment receipts are emailed to customers via Stripe. If you did not receive an email from Stripe, please reach out to Checkr Customer Support.

For information on how to update your billing email, refer to Manage account settings.

Checkr provides a "Pay Now" link on customer invoices in the Checkr Dashboard, downloaded PDFs, and invoice emails. You may choose to use this option when you have an outstanding balance that you would like to pay outside the Checkr billing cycle.

Customers with Auto-Pay enabled should not see the “Pay Now” option on their invoices. If your account was initially set up with Auto-Pay, but you see the “Pay Now” option, it’s possible that there is an issue with your payment method. Common issues include unverified payment methods and declined credit card payments.