First Advantage Background Checks for Growing Businesses

Is First Advantage a good fit for a growing business?

First Advantage may be a strong fit for businesses that have outgrown occasional, basic background checks and need a program that can scale. For employers with 100 or more employees, its primary strengths include fast U.S. criminal background checks, services across the employment lifecycle, mobile-first candidate technology, HR-system integrations, and dedicated support.

Employers can begin with criminal history and employment verification, then add identity verification, drug and occupational health screening, motor vehicle records, fingerprinting, Form I-9 and E-Verify, social media checks, international checks, or post-hire monitoring as their hiring needs expand. Working with one provider can also reduce the effort required to manage several screening vendors.

Background check experience and scale from First Advantage

First Advantage serves more than 80,000 customers, conducts 200 million-plus screens annually, offers coverage in more than 200 countries and territories, and works with more than 100 ATS and HCM integration partners.¹ That reach may be useful to companies planning to hire in more locations, increase screening volume, or manage more complex requirements. Watch how Compass Group transformed their hiring volume with First Advantage.

Jay Singh, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Compass Group, said, “It’s important to work with partners like First Advantage and Paradox that will continue to evolve with you and the market.”

In 2026, TIME and Statista ranked First Advantage No. 1 in background screening and identity verification on TIME’s list of America’s Best Companies. First Advantage also received HR.com’s Most Innovative Screening Technology Award, was recognized by Marketplace Risk for screening and background checks, and was named Overall Digital Identity Solution Provider of the Year by FinTech Breakthrough. Explore additional First Advantage awards and recognition.

How long do First Advantage background checks take?

Speed is one of the clearest reasons to consider First Advantage. The company reports that 90% of U.S. criminal screens close within one day.¹ Published average turnaround times include about one day for U.S. criminal and motor vehicle record (MVR) searches, one to three business days for employment and education verifications, 30 seconds for identity verification, and two to 96 hours for drug screening, depending on the specimen and result.⁴ Actual timing can vary because courts, schools, employers, laboratories, jurisdictions, and candidate responsiveness affect completion.

HR teams also need to see which items are pending, why a search is delayed, and whether the candidate must provide more information. That visibility can reduce unnecessary follow-up when a search takes longer.

First Advantage reports that organizations using identity verification before the background check reduced overall turnaround time by up to 35% in certain industries. Verifying identity early can create cleaner data inputs, reduce manual follow-up, and help prevent avoidable downstream delays.⁵ This is especially relevant to lean HR teams, where each exception or recruiter touch consumes limited capacity.

See what AdventHealth experienced with faster turnaround times by working with First Advantage. As Pamela Renzulli, Preboarding Supervisor with Advent Health, puts it, “It’s a really great partnership that contributes to the success that we’ve had.”

What background check services does First Advantage offer?

First Advantage offers more than criminal background checks. Available services include:

• Criminal background checks
• Employment, education, and credential verifications
• Identity verification
• Drug and occupational health screening
• Motor vehicle records and driver solutions
• Fingerprinting
• Financial checks where appropriate
• Social media screening
• Sanctions and watchlist searches
• Form I-9 and E-Verify
• International screening
• Post-hire monitoring

For a growing business, the practical benefit is flexibility. Background check packages can align with the responsibilities and risks of different roles, rather than applying an unnecessarily broad or identical package to every candidate. A company can also expand its program as it enters a regulated industry, hires drivers, adds international employees, or begins monitoring selected roles after hire.

What is the First Advantage candidate experience like?

The First Advantage candidate experience is designed for mobile completion and includes intuitive navigation, pre-populated information, accessibility features, and real-time status tracking. This can reduce repeated data entry and give candidates more visibility into their progress.

ClearlyRated reports a 4.5 out of 5 First Advantage candidate rating based on 58,827 ratings and a 4.3 out of 5 customer rating based on 19,542 ratings.²

Support matters most when a search is delayed, a candidate needs help, or a program must change. One health system described its partnership with First Advantage as “the gold standard that we hold all vendors to.”⁶ Buyers should ask who will manage implementation, escalations, ongoing program reviews, and candidate inquiries.

What ATS and HCM platforms integrate with First Advantage?

First Advantage offers more than 100 integration options, including Workday, iCIMS, Bullhorn, and other widely used ATS and HCM platforms. Integrated workflows allow recruiters to initiate checks, receive status updates, and access results from the system they already use. Candidate information can be pre-populated to reduce duplicate entry and potential errors, while a dedicated technical team supports setup.

These integrations allow recruiters to manage more of the background check process within their ATS or HCM. Buyers should ask to see the specific integration they plan to use, including candidate invitation and consent, status updates, review, and returned results.

How does First Advantage background check pricing work?

While First Advantage does not publish a single universal price list for configurable, growing business programs, pricing generally varies according to the searches included, screening volume, hiring locations, integration requirements, and other program factors. This custom-quoted structure can provide flexibility for employers that need role-based packages, multiple service lines, or integrated workflows. It also means buyers should request a detailed proposal and compare total program costs, not only a per-check starting price.

What customer and candidate support does First Advantage provide?

Support is a meaningful differentiator for organizations with lean HR teams. First Advantage offers customer and candidate support channels, technical expertise for integrations, and service resources that combine self-service information with live assistance.

The value of the support provided by First Advantage is reinforced by ClearlyRated with a 4.5 out of 5 candidate rating based on 58,827 ratings and a 4.3 out of 5 customer rating based on 19,542 ratings.² The company’s support model has also received outside recognition. In the 2026 American Business Awards, First Advantage received Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards in the categories of Multilingual Customer Support, Customer Service Executive of the Year, Customer Service Department of the Year, and Customer Service Innovation of the Year. For a small- to medium-sized business, support should extend beyond a help center. During evaluation, ask whether implementation has a named owner, how candidate inquiries are handled, what escalation path applies to delayed or disputed searches, whether integration support is included, and how often the program is reviewed as hiring needs change.

The value of support becomes most visible when a search is delayed, a candidate needs help, or a program must change. One health system described its relationship this way: “The partnership with First Advantage is now the gold standard that we hold all vendors to.”⁶ Growing companies should ask who will own implementation, escalation, ongoing program reviews, and candidate issues before signing.

What should businesses compare when choosing a background check provider?

Some background check providers are positioned primarily around self-service purchasing, entry-level price visibility, or a technology-first experience. First Advantage combines modern workflows with a broad portfolio of employee lifecycle screening solutions, global reach, vertical expertise, and a more service-led model.

A self-service provider may appeal to a company seeking straightforward online purchasing and immediately visible entry-level pricing. First Advantage may be the better fit when the organization needs customized role-based packages, identity verification, drug and occupational health services, fingerprinting, Form I-9 and E-Verify, monitoring, international screening, social media checks, or more hands-on support. Providers should be evaluated using the organization’s actual ATS, screening mix, candidate population, and hiring locations.

Background check provider checklist for growing businesses

Before choosing a background screening provider, small- to medium-sized employers should ask:

• Which checks are required for each role, location, and regulated function?
• What is the typical (not just fastest) turnaround time for the searches we order most often?
• Can candidates complete the process easily on a mobile device, and can they track their status?
• Does the provider integrate natively with our ATS or HCM, and what does implementation require?
• Who owns onboarding, candidate support, escalations, and ongoing program changes?
• How will pricing change as hiring volume, geographies, and screening needs expand?
• What compliance, adverse-action, data-security, and international-screening requirements apply to our program?

Is First Advantage right for your business?

First Advantage is worth considering for businesses with 100 or more employees whose hiring program is becoming more complex. Its strongest advantages are its reported screening speed, broad service portfolio, candidate-facing technology, HR-system integrations, and support model.

Organizations that need configurable role-based background checks, multiple services under one provider, or a program that can expand with their workforce may find its custom approach a good fit.

Before selecting any provider, request a workflow demonstration and compare turnaround time, candidate completion, recruiter effort, support responsiveness, and total cost using the checks the business actually orders. For organizations that expect continued growth or greater hiring complexity, First Advantage merits consideration.

Frequently Asked Questions