Hire Image

What Hire Image does

Hire Image is a privately held, for-profit background screening company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Johnston, United States. The firm describes itself as a nationally accredited specialist in the field of background screening, serving employers that require employment verification and related pre-hire screening services. The company operates with a small-to-mid-sized team of 11 to 50 employees, placing it among the smaller accredited providers in the U.S. background screening market.

Leadership is headed by CEO Christine M. Cunneen, with the company originally co-founded by Thomas Tomlinson. Hire Image operates as a private, non-publicly-traded entity with no disclosed parent company or external investor ownership, and it appears to be a stable, long-tenured operator given its 25+ years in business. Detailed product catalogs, technology architecture, pricing models, customer composition, geographic footprint, and recent strategic activity for Hire Image specifically are not disclosed in the available source material, which limits the depth of analytical conclusions possible on operational and competitive dimensions.

Name

Hire Image

Legal name

Accurate Background

Website

https://hireimage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hire Image is a nationally accredited background screening company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Johnston, US, serving employer clients with a team of 11 to 50 employees under CEO Christine M. Cunneen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employment Background Screening

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Pre-Employment Background Checks & Screening (BPAKAEAA)

Keywords

• Employment background screening
• Criminal background checks
• Identity verification services
• Drug and health screening
• Employment verification services

Headquarters

HQ city

Johnston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Employment Background Screening Services: Core revenue stream from comprehensive background screening services including criminal background checks, credit checks, driving history, drug testing, identity verification, sanctions screening, social media searches, verifications, and global searches. Services are offered as subscription or per-transaction models for enterprise and SMB clients.
2. API Access and Integration Services: Revenue from API access fees for integrating background check services into customer applications. Includes compliance capabilities built into API since 2016.
3. High-Volume Enterprise Screening: Dedicated high-volume ordering platform for large organizations employing more than 1,000 people with enhanced process management and dedicated support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hire Image is a nationally accredited background screening firm that delivers employment screening services to employers. Offerings include criminal background checks, credit checks, drug and health screening, driving history, identity verification, sanctions, social media searches, employment and education verifications, monitoring services, Form I-9 & E-Verify, and global searches, delivered through a mobile-first platform with API and ATS integration.

Product overview

Accurate Background is a platform-plus-modules architecture offering comprehensive employment background screening services. The core platform provides a mobile-first experience with Client Ordering Platform for high-volume operations and a Candidate Portal for self-service. Add-on screening modules include Criminal Background Checks, Credit Checks, Drug & Health Screening, Employment Verifications, Identity Verification, Driving History, Sanctions, Social Media Searches, Global Searches, Business Intelligence, and Form I-9/E-Verify. Technology products include Background Check API (with compliance capabilities added in 2016), ATS Integrations, and Automated Court Access. The company has expanded through acquisitions of Hirease (2014), CareerBuilder Employment Screening (2020), Vero Employment Screening (2022), and VerifyNow (2023). Services span 6 continents in 30 languages supporting 60M+ annual searches for 16,000+ customers worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Accurate API: Background check API for compliant screening integration
• Accurate ATS Integrations
• Candidate Portal
• Client Ordering Platform

Products and services

• Criminal Background Checks Comprehensive criminal record searches across multiple jurisdictions, offered to employers as a standalone pre-employment screening service.
• Credit Checks Employment credit checks that evaluate candidate financial responsibility for employer hiring decisions.
• Drug & Health Screening Drug testing and health screening services for workplace safety, offered as a standalone screening service.
• Driving History Motor vehicle record (MVR) checks for positions requiring driving, sold as a standalone service.
• Identity Verification Identity verification services that confirm candidate identity and help prevent fraud during the hiring process.
• Form I-9 & E-Verify Employment eligibility verification services including Form I-9 completion and E-Verify integration, launched as a product in 2008.
• Global Searches International background screening across multiple continents in 30 languages, with compliance for EEOC, FCA, and RSA regulations.
• Sanctions Screening Screening against sanctions lists and government watchlists, sold as a standalone service to employers.
• Social Media Searches Social media background checks that provide additional candidate intelligence for hiring decisions.
• Employment and Education Verifications Employment and education verification services that confirm candidate credentials for employers.
• Monitoring Services Continuous criminal record monitoring service for ongoing employee compliance beyond point-in-time screening.
• Business Intelligence Screening Business intelligence screening that provides enhanced data analysis for employment decisions, sold as a standalone service.
• Background Check API Developer API enabling web and mobile application integration for compliant background checks, with compliance capabilities added in 2016.
• Client Ordering Platform High-volume ordering platform for enterprise clients employing more than 1,000 people, enhancing the screening process from start to finish.

Quantifiable outcome

• 16,000+ customers worldwide served
• +4 more outcomes

Segments12 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VerifyNowcoreOthers · 1 January 2023Acquired Australia-based VerifyNow in 2023, establishing presence in Australia and APAC region.
• Vero Employment ScreeningcoreOthers · 1 January 2022Acquired Vero Employment Screening in 2022 as part of global footprint expansion strategy.
• CareerBuilder Employment Screening (CBES)coreOthers · 1 January 2020Acquired CareerBuilder Employment Screening (CBES) in 2020, bringing additional enterprise screening capabilities and client relationships.
• HireasecoreOthers · 1 January 2014Acquired fellow background screening services company Hirease in 2014, expanding market presence and capabilities in employment screening services.
• Cross Match ServicescoreOthers · 1 January 2007Acquired Cross Match Services in 2007, expanding service offerings in background screening capabilities.
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology integration partnerships with multiple Applicant Tracking Systems enabling seamless background check ordering within customer HR workflows. Listed under Technology solutions page as key integration capability.
• Southern California Minority Supplier Development CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council as a Minority Owned Business. Certified by National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and recognized by Federal Contractor Registry (FCR).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves2 records

Broad incumbents

• HireRight: HireRight is a long-standing global employment background screening provider offering criminal checks, verifications, drug testing, and compliance services; directly overlaps with Hire Image's core screening offerings while serving much larger enterprise and multinational customers.
• Sterling: Sterling is a large, established US-based background screening and identity verification provider competing in the same pre-employment screening category as Hire Image, but at significantly greater scale with broader enterprise and global coverage.
• First Advantage: First Advantage is a major publicly listed background screening provider covering employment, tenant, and tenant-screening use cases; competes with Hire Image across the pre-employment screening suite with substantially broader geographic and product breadth.
• ADP Screening and Selection Services: ADP's screening division offers pre-employment background checks bundled into ADP's broader HR/payroll platform; competes with Hire Image at the HR-buyer level by leveraging ADP's installed base to cross-sell screening services.

Emerging players

• GoodHire: GoodHire is a background screening provider focused on small and mid-sized businesses with self-service online ordering; competes with Hire Image in the SMB and mid-market screening segment with a more consumerized product experience.
• Checkr: Checkr is a tech-forward background screening platform focused on API-first integration and gig economy customers; an emerging peer to Hire Image differentiated by modern technology stack rather than deep specialist tenure.
• Veremark: Veremark is an emerging global background screening provider with API-first, internationally focused offerings; an emerging peer relevant to Hire Image's potential expansion into continuous or global screening.

Direct peers

• Accurate Background: Accurate Background is one of the largest privately held, US-based background screening providers, offering the same pre-employment screening suite (criminal, credit, verifications, drug, identity, global searches) as Hire Image, with broader scale and multi-region footprint.
• Intellicorp (RecordsCheck): Intellicorp is a US-based background screening provider offering criminal, employment, education, and drug screening services; a similarly-sized specialist peer to Hire Image with comparable single-vertical focus.

Others

• PBSA (Professional Background Screening Association): PBSA is the industry trade association for background screening firms that administers the BSCC accreditation referenced in the category; not a competitor but an ecosystem anchor that materially shapes the regulatory and accreditation landscape in which Hire Image operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hireimage
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@accuratebackground6512
• Facebookfacebook.com/hire-image-llc-167314426659384
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/377504

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hire Image