Sterling

Sterling (Sterling Check Corp) is a global background and identity screening provider offering criminal checks, employment and education verifications, drug and health screening, identity verification, and continuous (recurring) monitoring. The Sterling API is a documented RESTful, OAuth2-secured developer API that lets platforms, ATS/HRIS systems, and marketplaces initiate background checks, manage candidates and screening packages, retrieve results and reports (PDF/HTML), send candidate invites, and receive real-time status updates via webhook callbacks. Access is gated - developers request a Client ID and Client Secret per screening region (US, EMEA, Canada, or APAC) - and the docs are published via a Postman-hosted portal at apidocs.sterlingcheck.app with a developer portal at developer.sterlingcheck.app. Sterling was acquired by First Advantage Corporation for $2.2 billion, with the deal closing on October 31, 2024; Sterling now operates as "a First Advantage company."

Sterling publishes 7 APIs on the APIs.io network, including Authentication API, Candidates API, Invites API, and 4 more. Tagged areas include Background Screening, Identity Verification, Background Check, HR Tech, and Compliance.

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

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub

37.8/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 27/100 agent aware saas Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

AccessEnterpriseSelf serve

1 APIs

Background Screening Identity Verification Background Check HR Tech Compliance Gated API

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

Composite quality — 37.8/100 · thin

Contract Quality 12.1 / 23

Developer Ergonomics 5.6 / 18

Access Clarity 7.1 / 18

Operational Transparency 3.7 / 12

Contract Governance 0.0 / 11

Discoverability 6.2 / 9

Create-or-Update Ergonomics 0.0 / 10

Agent readiness — 27/100 · agent aware

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 6 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10

Idempotency 0 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8

Request/Response Examples 7 / 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/sterling-check: 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 7

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

Sterling Authentication API

OAuth2 token exchange using your Client ID and Client Secret.

Sterling Candidates API

Candidate (subject) records that screenings are run against.

Sterling Invites API

Candidate invitations to complete consent and data collection.

Sterling Packages API

Screening packages (groups of screening products) available to your account.

Sterling Reports API

Results of completed screenings, with per-item statuses (PDF or HTML).

Sterling Screenings API

Screening orders and their lifecycle, including recurring/continuous screening.

Sterling Webhooks API

Real-time screening status callbacks.

Scroll for all 7

Open Collections 9

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

API Collection

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Candidates API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Invites API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Packages API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Reports API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Screenings API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling Authentication Webhooks API

OPEN COLLECTION

Sterling API

OPEN COLLECTION

Scroll for all 9

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Sterling Check Plans Pricing

3 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Sterling Check Rate Limits

3 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

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

Sterling Check Finops

FINOPS

Security Posture 2

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

Sterling Check Authentication

http/oauth2 · 2 schemes

SECURITY

Sterling Check Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC

SECURITY

Scopes 1

OAuth scopes governing access to this provider's APIs.

Sterling Check Scopes

OAuth 2.0 · no documented scopes

0 scopes

SCOPES

Agentic Access 1

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

Sterling Check Agentic Access

15 operations · 8 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Get Started 1

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

DeveloperPortal

DeveloperPortal

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation

Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Access & Security 3

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity

DomainSecurity

Authentication

Authentication

OAuthScopes

OAuthScopes

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

Website

Website

Blog

Blog

Source (apis.yml)

aid: sterling-check
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/sterling-check/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Sterling
kind: company
description: Sterling (Sterling Check Corp) is a global background and identity screening provider offering criminal checks,
  employment and education verifications, drug and health screening, identity verification, and continuous (recurring) monitoring.
  The Sterling API is a documented RESTful, OAuth2-secured developer API that lets platforms, ATS/HRIS systems, and marketplaces
  initiate background checks, manage candidates and screening packages, retrieve results and reports (PDF/HTML), send candidate
  invites, and receive real-time status updates via webhook callbacks. Access is gated - developers request a Client ID and
  Client Secret per screening region (US, EMEA, Canada, or APAC) - and the docs are published via a Postman-hosted portal
  at apidocs.sterlingcheck.app with a developer portal at developer.sterlingcheck.app. Sterling was acquired by First Advantage
  Corporation for $2.2 billion, with the deal closing on October 31, 2024; Sterling now operates as "a First Advantage company."
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: enterprise
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Enterprise · Self-serve signup
  confidence: high
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/sterling-check.png
tags:
- Background Screening
- Identity Verification
- Background Check
- HR Tech
- Compliance
- Gated API
created: '2026-07-03'
modified: '2026-07-03'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
apis:
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-authentication-api
  name: Sterling Authentication API
  description: OAuth2 token exchange using your Client ID and Client Secret.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Authentication
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-authentication-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-candidates-api
  name: Sterling Candidates API
  description: Candidate (subject) records that screenings are run against.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Candidates
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-candidates-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-invites-api
  name: Sterling Invites API
  description: Candidate invitations to complete consent and data collection.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Invites
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-invites-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-packages-api
  name: Sterling Packages API
  description: Screening packages (groups of screening products) available to your account.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Packages
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-packages-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-reports-api
  name: Sterling Reports API
  description: Results of completed screenings, with per-item statuses (PDF or HTML).
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Reports
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-reports-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-screenings-api
  name: Sterling Screenings API
  description: Screening orders and their lifecycle, including recurring/continuous screening.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Screenings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-screenings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- aid: sterling-check:sterling-check-webhooks-api
  name: Sterling Webhooks API
  description: Real-time screening status callbacks.
  humanURL: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
  baseURL: https://api.sterlingcheck.app/v2
  tags:
  - Webhook
  tags_raw:
  - Webhooks
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/sterling-check-webhooks-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/services/api/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/sterling-check-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/sterling-check-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/sterling-check-authentication.yml
- type: OAuthScopes
  url: scopes/sterling-check-scopes.yml
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sterlingcheck
- type: Website
  url: https://www.sterlingcheck.com
- type: Documentation
  url: https://apidocs.sterlingcheck.app/
- type: DeveloperPortal
  url: https://developer.sterlingcheck.app/
- type: Plans
  url: plans/sterling-check-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/sterling-check-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/sterling-check-finops.yml
- type: Blog
  url: https://fadv.com/resources/news/
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

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