Sterling

Who Sterling is Right For

Sterling is built for global enterprise hiring teams that run high-volume background checks across many countries and need a single screening partner integrated with their ATS. The sweet spot is healthcare systems, financial services, transportation (DOT and FMCSA), gig-economy marketplaces, large retail, hospitality, staffing agencies, and US public-sector adjacent buyers. Sterling now operates as part of First Advantage following the 2024 combination (announced February 2024, closed October 31, 2024), which gives buyers access to a combined screening platform covering 240+ countries and territories.

It is not the right fit for a single-state SMB hiring a handful of candidates per year; for that, look at GoodHire (starts at $29.99 per check) or Checkr (Basic+ at $29.99). If you are a large global employer who needs deep industry verticalisation (healthcare credentialling, DOT, financial services FFIEC), Sterling earns the shortlist.

Sterling Pricing in 2026

Sterling uses an enterprise quote-based model with volume-tiered pricing. The vendor does not publish a public per-check price list because contracts are scoped to package mix (criminal, identity, drug, MVR, education, employment), country coverage, ATS integration depth, and expected annual volume. Public 2026 benchmarks place Sterling per-check pricing from under $50 to several hundred USD depending on what is requested.

Verified at the official Sterling pricing flow on 2026-06-13.

Sterling vs background check competitors (per-check benchmarks)

Sterling pricing drivers and negotiation levers

• Package mix: criminal-only checks are cheapest; bundled criminal plus drug plus MVR plus employment plus education runs the full per-check rate.
• Country coverage: international checks add per-country surcharges, especially in Latin America and Asia.
• Volume discount: 500+ checks per month commonly secures meaningful per-check reductions.
• Multi-year contracts: typically 10 to 25% lower annual pricing than single-year deals.
• ATS integration depth: deeper Workday or iCIMS connectors increase implementation cost but reduce per-check overhead.
• Continuous monitoring: post-hire monitoring is usually a small per-employee per-month line item.

Sterling vs Direct Competitors (Head-to-Head)

Integrations and Ecosystem

Sterling publishes ATS integrations with Workday, iCIMS, Greenhouse, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, ADP, UKG, Lever, and others, plus an open API for custom hiring workflows. Continuous monitoring sits on top of the ATS event stream so post-hire flags trigger automatically. For enterprise buyers standardising on Workday or SuccessFactors, Sterling slots in cleanly.

Pros and Cons

What Real Buyers Say

Talent acquisition leaders on r/recruitinghell and HR-practitioner LinkedIn communities consistently flag two patterns for Sterling: the global reach and industry-specific compliance packages are real differentiators, and the post-merger Sterling / First Advantage account transition has occasionally caused customer-support friction.

For decision-stage research, ask Sterling for two reference customers in your industry (healthcare, transportation, gig economy, financial services), request a written SLA for turnaround times by check type, and confirm post-merger account ownership and customer success continuity in writing.

Sterling Field Guide for Buyers

Buyer Action Plan

1. Map your hiring volume by check type (criminal, drug, MVR, employment, education) and country.
2. Benchmark against the competitive grid: GoodHire ($29.99 starting), Checkr ($29.99-$79.99), HireRight ($39.95-$79.95), Sterling (custom, under $50 to several hundred).
3. Confirm ATS integration requirements (Workday, iCIMS, Greenhouse, SAP, Oracle, ADP, UKG, Lever).
4. Run a 30 to 60 minute discovery call and request a written quote with turnaround SLAs per check type.
5. Ask for two reference customers in your industry at similar headcount and hiring volume.
6. Confirm post-merger Sterling / First Advantage account ownership and customer success continuity in writing.
7. Plan 4 to 12 weeks for implementation depending on ATS integration depth.

2026 Updates and What is New

Sterling continues to operate as part of First Advantage following the October 2024 combination. During 2026 the combined platform has expanded continuous criminal monitoring, deepened healthcare credentialling automation, broadened DOT consortium services, and added new global identity verification packages. The Sterling brand remains in use for legacy customers during the transition window. New enterprise contracts are increasingly signed under the combined First Advantage identity.

Security and Compliance

Sterling is FCRA compliant, PBSA accredited, and aligned to HIPAA, FFIEC, DOT, EEOC, and GDPR. Continuous monitoring and post-hire flag alerts are bundled. ATS event streams are processed in encrypted pipelines, and data residency options are available for regulated buyers.

Customer Support

Support is delivered by phone at 800-899-2272 during US business hours, with named account managers for enterprise contracts. Post-merger account transitions are managed by a dedicated First Advantage customer success function. Premium support tiers are scoped per contract. Note: post-merger account-handoff friction has been reported in buyer commentary; confirm continuity in writing during procurement.

Who Can Use Sterling

Mid-market and enterprise hiring teams in healthcare and life sciences (credentialling, license monitoring), financial services (FFIEC), transportation (DOT consortium, MVR), gig economy (continuous monitoring, identity verification), retail and hospitality (high-volume hourly), staffing agencies, government and public sector adjacent, and global technology employers. Single-state SMB hiring is better served by GoodHire.

Mobile App Experience

Sterling provides a mobile-optimised candidate experience for ID capture, document upload, and e-signature flow. Recruiter and admin workflows live in the web console (or in your integrated ATS). There is no published native mobile app for recruiters; the candidate-side mobile flow is the primary mobile surface.

How to Get Started with Sterling

1. Submit a contact request via the Sterling website or call 800-899-2272.
2. 30 to 60 minute discovery call covering hiring volume, check mix, ATS, and countries.
3. Receive a written quote with per-check pricing and turnaround SLAs within 5 to 10 business days.
4. Sign a master service agreement (typical 1 to 3 year term).
5. Kickoff implementation with ATS connector (4 to 12 weeks depending on depth).
6. Roll out continuous monitoring after initial backfill completes.

Top Alternatives to Sterling

How to Cancel or Switch from Sterling

Cancellation follows the signed master service agreement; standard notice is 90 days before renewal. Before switching, export your historical check records, candidate data, and adverse-action workflow templates. Confirm post-merger Sterling / First Advantage record portability with your account team in writing. Plan a 90 day overlap with your new screening vendor to maintain continuous monitoring continuity.

Bottom Line on Sterling

Sterling is the right shortlist add for a mid-market or enterprise employer running high-volume, multi-country background checks in healthcare, financial services, transportation, gig economy, or staffing. Per-check pricing typically runs under $50 to several hundred USD depending on depth; competitors GoodHire ($29.99 start), Checkr ($29.99-$79.99), and HireRight ($39.95-$79.95) publish lower entry points but lose to Sterling on global 240+ country coverage and regulated-industry depth. The 2024 combination with First Advantage extended global coverage but introduced short-term account-transition friction worth verifying during procurement.

Verified on 2026-06-13. Information drawn from the official Sterling Check website (now operating as part of First Advantage) and public 2026 background-check vendor pricing benchmarks.