HireRight provides tailored Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-compliant employment screening services, including criminal background screening, employment experience checks, identity verification, I-9 and E-Verify, drug testing, and health screening. With a broad range of screening services available to clients in over 200 countries, it’s a flexible option for HR managers in many industries.
It scored 3.81 out of 5 in our evaluation of the best background check companies. It did not make our guide because it doesn’t have transparent pricing or offer bulk background checks. It also received low ratings on popular third-party review websites.
Pros
- Global reach; employment screening services cover more than 200 countries and territories
- Robust ATS integration options
- Easy to use
Cons
- Customer support isn’t always helpful
- Release of results is sometimes delayed
- Pricing not transparent
Deciding Factors
- Pricing: custom priced
- Ease of use:
- Setup does not require technical knowledge
- Seamless integration with ATS and HR software
- Easy-to-understand UI
- Customer support:
- Phone support
- 24/7 live chat
- Key features:
- Industry-specific background checks
- International screenings
- ATS integrations
- HR teams needing integrations to payroll and HR platforms: HireRight has partnered with top HR and payroll companies, like BambooHR, ADP, and Paychex, so it’s easy to manage data and make the hiring process smooth.
- Businesses in the transportation industry: HireRight offers various transportation-related screening solutions—such as drug and health services, motor vehicle records, physical exams, and alcohol testing. It also has solutions for different transportation segments, including trucking, mass transit, aviation, rail, and pipeline.
- Finance-related businesses: HireRight helps financial institutions make good hiring decisions through specialized screening services, such as credit history checks and global screening.
- Businesses in the healthcare industry: HireRight offers several healthcare screening packages, including ones for physicians, nurses, home health aides, medical assistants, and EMTs/paramedics. Its screening solutions include SSN traces, criminal background checks, education verifications, professional qualifications, and drug tests.
- Freelancers and self-employed individuals needing background checks: HireRight is a business-to-business provider and does not serve individuals. For personal background checks, you can try ShareAble for Hires.
- Businesses that want a background check with transparent pricing: You need to talk to a sales representative to know how much HireRight’s screening services cost. If this is important for you, check out Trusted Employees, which has straightforward pricing. Besides having transparent pricing, Trusted Employees has flexible background check services.
- Companies that are bulk-hiring: As mentioned above, HireRight’s pricing plan isn’t as transparent as those of some competitors. If you are looking for a provider that offers volume discounts, Checkr is a good alternative, which starts at $29.99 per check. It also offers discounts if you are conducting more than 300 checks annually.
The Fit Small Business editorial process follows strict standards to ensure that our best answers are founded on the basis of accuracy, clarity, authority, objectivity, and accessibility.
With over two decades of human resources and payroll expertise centered around small businesses, I bring a unique perspective on determining background check software. Additionally, I have over three years of expertise in evaluating HR and payroll software.
For this article, 13 of the top background check software providers were evaluated and compared to HireRight. An extensive evaluation of 23 data points was done to determine affordability, background check features, and how easy each was to use. See my full methodology below.
How HireRight Compares to Top HireRight Alternatives
Best For | Per-report Fees Starting Price | Key Feature | Our Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Companies looking for specialized background checks | Custom priced | Variety of checks to fit every industry | |
 | Businesses doing bulk hiring | $29.99 | Integrates with popular HRIS and ATS software | |
 | Businesses looking for a provider with transparent pricing | $29.95 | Customizable scoring models and color coding tools for faster applicant screening | N/A |
 | Companies conducting individual background checks | $25.00 | Offers instant criminal reports | |
To better understand the hiring process, and when you should conduct background checks, read our guide with tips and strategies.
Based on my inquiry, a sales representative at HireRight indicated that they do not advertise their pricing. Prospective clients are required to get assigned to a product specialist to discuss pricing and packaging.
Because pricing is not transparent and I was unable to get a quote, the provider received a 1.5 rating out of 5 in this criterion.
HireRight has the following checks in place, although I was also unable to determine if these solutions were all included in one price, or if they are priced separately.
- Global ID Check
- US Employment Eligibility Verification: Form I-9 and E-Verify
- Global Employment Verification
- Global Criminal Search
- Health Care Sanctions Check
- Drug & Alcohol Testing
- Extended Workforce Screening
- County Criminal, Felony, and Misdemeanor
- Arrest Records
When hiring employees, you must ensure that you get the right person for the job. HireRight offers a suite of background check solutions, such as criminal background checks and drug tests, to help businesses during the hiring process. Overall, HireRight earned a 4.13 out of 5 rating for its functionality.
Background Check Services
Businesses usually include background screening as part of their applicant screening process. With HireRight, you can access more than 50 background check services covering more than 200 countries and territories.
Here are some of its services:
These include searching through federal, county, and state criminal databases. HireRight also conducts sex offender registry searches and fingerprint-based criminal history checks, ideal for regulated job roles such as those in the education and financial services industry.
HireRight reports show searches for up to 7 years for criminal history. (Source: HireRight)
HireRight partners with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-certified laboratories and device manufacturers to offer a comprehensive selection of drug and health tests.
- Alcohol screening devices and evidentiary breath alcohol testing
- Laboratory-based oral fluid, urine, and hair drug testing
- Physical exams and wellness services that follow client-specific and Department of Transportation (DOT) exam protocols
- Point-of-collection (instant) drug testing devices
- Pre-employment medical assessment and questionnaires
You can check a candidate’s education history, such as the school’s name and degree earned. For employment verifications, HireRight will validate the candidate’s current and previous employment details, from job titles to dates of employment. In accordance with labor laws, HireRight does not ask candidates to disclose salary information or report salary history.
HireRight will verify employment information input by the candidate. (Source: HireRight)
You can verify whether the candidate’s government-issued identification number and Social Security number is valid. Moreover, HireRight can confirm a candidate’s identity by validating the information indicated on their passport. This is excellent for both US-based and global identity verification.
HireRight allows you to check valid government-issued passports in over 200 countries. (Source HireRight)
Apart from checking the validity of a candidate’s professional licenses (such as driver’s and medical-related licenses), HireRight will search for any derogatory records.
HireRight will validate the license information directly with the issuing institution, licensing board, or agency. Once verified, the report will show license dates, status, expiration date, and any reportable disciplinary actions.
If you want to gain insight into a candidate’s character and work ethic, then you may want to consider getting this service. After a candidate has identified a person as a professional reference, HireRight will ask several standardized questions and document the responses. For reference, some questions include asking about the candidate’s strongest attributes, professional motivations, and interpersonal skills.
E-Verify & Electronic Form I-9 Solution
This solution, which complies with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements, is designed to help you streamline employment eligibility verification processes for new hires. It lets you create, download, store, print, and electronically sign digital Form 1-9s.
HireRight allows you to E-verify, upload, and check I-9 documentation. (Source: HireRight)
HireRight earned a 4.38 out of 5 rating in this category because it helps businesses mitigate risks by ensuring that your HR team is compliant with FCRA and similar laws. It didn’t get a perfect score because you must pay extra for this service.
Some of the features included in the compliance service include:
- Applying adjudication guidelines to your screening results
- Providing pre-screening disclosures to applicants and asking for their consent before answering the background check forms
- Streamlining the pre-adverse and adverse notification process
- Compliance Workbench services that assist employers with jurisdiction-specific ban the box regulations.
HireRight received a perfect score in this criterion due to its robust reporting capability. It offers self-service management reports that are readily available online and allows users to track the turnaround time, cost, prevalent adverse records, and more. The reports are also customizable and can be downloaded.
Plus, HireRight offers workforce monitoring services. These are post-hiring monitoring and reporting alerts to help you verify that your workforce continues to meet your requirements, such as in the healthcare industry to ensure licenses are valid. It includes scheduled and random monitoring including:
- Arrest records
- Criminal records
- Occupational licenses and certifications
- Healthcare sanctions and actions
- Candidate assistance
- Customer portal
- Resource Library
- Phone, live chat, and email support
- List of offices in different locations
HireRight scored 4.25 out of 5 in this criterion because it is easy for both clients and candidates to access their respective portals. It also provides a resource library for candidates and clients to learn more about background screening. However, it did not get a perfect score because it does not support bulk background checks.
This provider makes accessing their separate portals easy for clients and candidates. It provides a resource library for candidates and clients to learn more about background screening. Should users have immediate concerns, they can contact HireRight via phone or email. Users also love its live chat function, which helps them when they need immediate assistance and eradicates their need to make a call. HireRight also lists its office locations all over the world.
Many reviewers love HireRight’s user-friendly platform, which helps them quickly navigate the features. Some also commented that the reports look neat and organized, and others like the dedicated customer support.
Users noted some delays with the live chat response, however, in my inquiry the response time was immediate. Others also called out the slow turnaround times of some criminal background checks, however oftentimes government agencies can be slow at no fault of the background check company. The negative feedback and the small number of reviews on popular third-party websites greatly impacted HireRight’s score in this criterion, which is why it only scored 3.38 out of 5.
At the time of writing, HireRight received the following scores on popular review websites:
- G2: 3.3 out of 5 stars based on over 125 reviews
- TrustRadius: 7.7 out of 10 ratings based on over 75 reviews
- Capterra: 3.8 out of 5 stars based on over 15 reviews
Methodology: How We Evaluated HireRight
We looked at HireRight’s general background check functionality, reporting capabilities, and compliance features. If it offered special screenings like drug testing and international checks it received a higher score. We also considered user reviews, ease of use, and pricing in the evaluation process.
Click through each tab to look at the details of our evaluation:
10% of Overall Score
Providers with straightforward and transparent pricing received a higher score in this criterion. Those that did not require a set-up fee also received additional points.
25% of Overall Score
The best background check services offer international, national, and local searches. Providers with county-level and niche background checks like professional and educational verifications received a higher score.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at several compliance features, such as pre-adverse and adverse action notices and dispute documents in this criterion. We also considered whether these forms are available online or can be downloaded. Providers that have these features scored higher.
15% of Overall Score
Aside from compliance and background check features, we considered whether both applicants and employers could access the reports. We also checked to see if the reports were compliant with the FCRA.
10% of Overall Score
For this criterion, we looked at the real-world users on popular third-party review websites like Capterra, TrustRadius, and G2. Those that received a 4+ star rating and have more than 100 reviews received a higher rating.
20% of Overall Score
Background check services with automated workflows, status tracking, and a mobile version received extra scores. We also considered those that offer bulk screenings.
HireRight Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Like most background check companies, the length of time it takes to produce results depends widely on the type of check you are conducting. For simple background checks, HireRight typically produces results within two to four business days.
A green circle on a HireRight background check means that no discrepancies were found. In other words, the information provided by the applicant matches the information found during the background check.
Yes. HireRight checks credit history, as well as employment history, criminal history, and education. However, if the position you are hiring for doesn’t require a credit check, you can select only the types of background checks you need. Asking for superfluous information during a background check can inadvertently lead to biased hiring decisions.
Bottom Line
HireRight is a background screening service for companies of all sizes. It helps businesses manage pre-employment screening, identity verification, drug testing, and education verification. Hiring professionals using top HR and payroll software will love HireRight’s seamless integration capability.