Certn website screenshot

Certn

Certn is a Canada-based, globally operating background check and identity verification platform. Its RESTful API lets HR, property management, gig, and marketplace platforms order and retrieve criminal record checks, identity verification, credit, employment, education, credential, and reference checks across 200+ countries, then receive results and adjudicated reports. The API authenticates with OAuth 2.0 client credentials (Client ID / Client Secret exchanged for a Bearer token) and pushes status updates via signed webhooks. The original api.certn.co v1 REST API is deprecated (discontinued 2026-08-05) in favor of the newer CertnCentric APIs; both are modeled here honestly.

Certn publishes 6 APIs on the APIs.io network, including Applications API, Checks API, Packages API, and 3 more. Tagged areas include Background Checks, Identity Verification, Criminal Record Check, Screening, and HR Tech.

Certn’s developer surface includes authentication, documentation, engineering blog, and 9 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub
34.2/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 20/100 agent aware saas Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-09-14 · rubric v0.22.0
AccessPaid
1 APIs
Background ChecksIdentity VerificationCriminal Record CheckScreeningHR TechComplianceTrust and Safety

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-09-14 · rubric v0.22.0
Composite quality — 34.2/100 · thin
Contract Quality 8.4 / 23
Developer Ergonomics 5.8 / 18
Access Clarity 7.1 / 18
Operational Transparency 4.0 / 12
Contract Governance 0.0 / 11
Discoverability 6.2 / 9
Create-or-Update Ergonomics 0.0 / 10
Agent readiness — 20/100 · agent aware
Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10
Documented Reversibility 0 / 6
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Delegated User Identity 0 / 6
Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5
Registration Without a Human 0 / 6
Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5
Create-or-Update Ergonomics applies to this provider. This API accepts writes, so it carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from the published contracts themselves: whether a caller can create-or-update in one call, whether the write accepts a key the caller already holds, and whether the response says which branch ran. Without that, every write needs a search-and-branch in front of it, and the first time that check is skipped a duplicate record is created. Scored against the observed mean rather than raw — a provider at the catalog average is unchanged by this facet, not penalised by it.
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/certn: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

APIs 6

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Certn Applications API

Invite or instantly screen applicants and list applications (HR and PM surfaces).

Certn Checks API

Individual check types requested and returned within an application.

Certn Packages API

Predefined bundles of checks and application upgrades.

Certn Reports API

Consolidated applicant screening reports and results.

Certn Teams and Users API

Organizational hierarchy - Superteams, Teams, Users, reference templates.

Certn Webhooks API

Signed server-to-server callbacks for screening status updates.

Open Collections 8

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

API Collection

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications Checks API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications Packages API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications Reports API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications Teams and Users API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn Applications Webhooks API

OPEN COLLECTION

Certn API

OPEN COLLECTION

Scroll for all 8

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Certn Plans Pricing

4 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Certn Rate Limits

3 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Certn Finops

FINOPS

Security Posture 3

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Certn Authentication

http · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Certn Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Certn Vulnerability Disclosure

security.txt · contact published

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Certn Agentic Access

14 operations · 6 acting

14 operations · 6 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation
Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess
AgenticAccess

Build 1

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHubOrganization
GitHubOrganization

Access & Security 3

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

VulnerabilityDisclosure
VulnerabilityDisclosure
 DomainSecurity
DomainSecurity
 Authentication
Authentication

Operate 1

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

RateLimits
RateLimits

Commercial 2

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Plans
Plans
 FinOps
FinOps

Company 3

The organization behind the API

LinkedIn
LinkedIn
 Website
Website
 Blog
Blog

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: certn
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/certn/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Certn
kind: company
description: Certn is a Canada-based, globally operating background check and identity verification platform. Its RESTful
  API lets HR, property management, gig, and marketplace platforms order and retrieve criminal record checks, identity verification,
  credit, employment, education, credential, and reference checks across 200+ countries, then receive results and adjudicated
  reports. The API authenticates with OAuth 2.0 client credentials (Client ID / Client Secret exchanged for a Bearer token)
  and pushes status updates via signed webhooks. The original api.certn.co v1 REST API is deprecated (discontinued 2026-08-05)
  in favor of the newer CertnCentric APIs; both are modeled here honestly.
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: high
  source:
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: paid
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Paid
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  - security
  generated: '2026-09-03'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/certn.png
tags:
- Background Checks
- Identity Verification
- Criminal Record Check
- Screening
- HR Tech
- Compliance
- Trust and Safety
created: '2026-07-03'
modified: '2026-07-03'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
apis:
- aid: certn:certn-applications-api
  name: Certn Applications API
  description: Invite or instantly screen applicants and list applications (HR and PM surfaces).
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Application
  tags_raw:
  - Applications
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-applications-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
- aid: certn:certn-checks-api
  name: Certn Checks API
  description: Individual check types requested and returned within an application.
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Checks
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-checks-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
- aid: certn:certn-packages-api
  name: Certn Packages API
  description: Predefined bundles of checks and application upgrades.
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Packages
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-packages-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
- aid: certn:certn-reports-api
  name: Certn Reports API
  description: Consolidated applicant screening reports and results.
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Reports
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-reports-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
- aid: certn:certn-teams-and-users-api
  name: Certn Teams and Users API
  description: Organizational hierarchy - Superteams, Teams, Users, reference templates.
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Teams and Users
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-teams-and-users-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
- aid: certn:certn-webhooks-api
  name: Certn Webhooks API
  description: Signed server-to-server callbacks for screening status updates.
  humanURL: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  baseURL: https://api.certn.co/api/v1
  tags:
  - Webhook
  tags_raw:
  - Webhooks
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/certn-webhooks-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/api-reference/hr
  - type: PostmanCollection
    url: collections/certn.postman_collection.json
  - type: OpenCollection
    url: collections/certn.opencollection.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://certn.co/background-screening-api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/guides/use-the-api/webhooks
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.certn.co/api/start/demo-account/understand-your-general-resources
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/certn-agentic-access.yml
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/certn-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/certn-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/certn-authentication.yml
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/Certn
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certn
- type: Website
  url: https://certn.co
- type: Documentation
  url: https://docs.certn.co/api
- type: Plans
  url: plans/certn-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/certn-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/certn-finops.yml
- type: Blog
  url: https://certn.co/blog/feed
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

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