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

38.0/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 34/100 agent ready Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-08-21 · rubric v0.12.0

AccessEnterpriseSelf serve

7 APIs

Background Screening Identity Verification Background Check HR Tech Compliance Gated API

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-08-21 · rubric v0.12.0

Composite quality — 38.0/100 · thin

Contract Quality 13.8 / 25

Developer Ergonomics 4.8 / 20

Access Clarity 7.9 / 20

Operational Transparency 4.1 / 13

Contract Governance 0.0 / 12

Discoverability 7.4 / 10

Agent readiness — 34/100 · agent ready

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

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. 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. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 7

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

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.

Scopes 1

OAuth scopes governing access to this provider's APIs.

Sterling Check Scopes

OAuth 2.0 · no documented scopes

0 scopes

SCOPES

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."
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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