Hire with fewer surprises.
File.Business does not run background checks. We connect you to FCRA-compliant partner providers for criminal history, employment verification, education verification, motor vehicle, and credit reports.
Background Checks, plainly.
Background checks are part of careful hiring for many roles, particularly anything involving money, vulnerable people, vehicles, or sensitive information. Done right, they reduce the worst-case hires. Done wrong (without FCRA compliance) they create lawsuits.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that governs how third-party background checks are run. Key requirements: written disclosure to the candidate (a separate document), candidate authorization, pre-adverse-action notice if you decide not to hire based on the report, and final adverse-action notice. State and city laws (ban-the-box, fair-chance laws, salary-history bans) add more requirements.
Our partner network covers compliant background check providers across categories: criminal history (national, state, county), employment verification, education verification, professional license verification, motor vehicle reports, credit checks (where permitted by state law for the role), drug screening, and identity verification. Integrated with our onboarding flow so candidate consent and disclosures are captured properly.
Common situations.
A clean handoff, in four steps.
You give us the basics. We handle the state, the IRS, and the compliance clock so you can focus on the business.
A name that's actually available.
Real-time check against the state register, USPTO trademark database, and matching domains.
Filed with the Secretary of State.
We submit your Articles, pay the state fee on your behalf, and return the stamped certificate.
EIN + the right tax setup.
Federal Employer ID with the IRS, plus state tax accounts when your business needs them.
Registered Agent + deadline tracking.
Your agent on file in every state, with every renewal and annual report tracked in one calendar.
Four steps. We handle the rest.
How we compare.
| Checkr | GoodHire | Sterling | File.Business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per check | $25-$80 | $30-$80 | $30-$150 | partner pricing |
| FCRA compliance | built-in | built-in | built-in | built-in |
| Onboarding integration | API | API | API | native |
| Adverse-action guidance | yes | yes | enterprise | yes |
| No platform fee | direct | direct | direct | yes |
Based on publicly listed pricing and feature pages as of 2026. Competitor names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Common questions.
Does File.Business run background checks?
What is FCRA?
What are ban-the-box laws?
Are there state-specific compliance issues?
Can I run a credit check?
How long do checks take?
What if the candidate disputes the results?
Adverse action?
Drug screening?
Find a provider in about 5 minutes.
Tell us a few details. We do the rest. You get a single dashboard for everything.
How we deliver, end-to-end.
Four-step path from request to confirmation. State and IRS turnaround varies; our steps run in parallel where possible to compress the timeline.
Intake + scope
You tell us what you need through a short intake form (or a call for complex matters). We confirm scope, surface any gating issues (deadlines, missing documents, entity status), and quote any state fees that pass through at cost.
Prepare + verify
Our specialists draft the filing, verify entity details against state databases, run internal QA, and route any items needing your sign-off. You see drafts before anything gets submitted.
File with the authority
We submit directly to the state Secretary of State, FinCEN, IRS, USPTO, or whichever authority your filing requires. We pay state fees at cost and track the submission identifier in your account.
Confirmation + vault
Stamped certificate, IRS notice, or filing receipt arrives in your SOC 2 encrypted document vault the moment we receive it. Next filing deadline auto-added to your compliance calendar where applicable.
Built on the same infrastructure used by 220,000+ businesses.
SOC 2 Type II audited
Independent annual security audit covering access control, change management, incident response, and data handling. Current report on request.
All 51 US jurisdictions
Every state plus DC plus Puerto Rico - direct filings, not third-party reseller. We hold registered-agent qualifications in every state we operate.
Deadline guarantee
If we miss a filing deadline on a service you pay us to manage, we pay the state penalty. Specific to each plan and the filings it includes.
4.9 from 8,200+ verified reviews
Independently verified by Trustpilot + Google + our own NPS infrastructure. Customer success team within reach by email, chat, or phone.
60-day money-back promise
Change your mind in the first 60 days and we refund our service fee in full. State filing fees pass through at cost and are non-refundable once paid to the state.
E&O insured
Errors and omissions coverage protects you from service errors. Carrier and certificate available on request for enterprise clients.
Recommended add-ons
Most customers add these to keep their business compliant year-round.
Registered Agent
Most orderedRequired for every registered business entity in every state.
Compliance Monitoring
Best valueTrack every annual report, registered agent renewal, and license deadline.
Annual Report Filing
RecommendedAuto-file your state annual report. Never miss a deadline.
Premium compliance, no service-fee markup.
Trust you can verify
SOC 2 Type II audited platform. 220,000+ businesses served. 60-day money-back on service fees. State fees passed through at cost with no hidden markup. Explicit AUP on restricted industries.
A compliance partner, not a transaction
Most providers go quiet after checkout. We auto-track every annual report, registered agent renewal, and license deadline across your entities. The Business OS dashboard keeps your compliance score visible year-round.
Premium experience competitors cannot match
Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state or federal filings. Premium positioning, transparent pricing, no service-fee markup on state filings.