Employment Screening

What Employment Screening does

Employment Screening, Inc. (ESI) is a privately held, Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered B2B provider of FCRA-compliant employment background screening and drug testing services to US employers. Founded approximately in 1999, the company delivers a full-service suite including criminal background checks (state, county, federal, plus a supplemental Nationwide Criminal Search aggregating 600+ million records across 64 jurisdictions), drug and alcohol testing (pre-employment, random, post-accident, and DOT-compliant panels of 5-12 drugs with on-site or mobile collection), motor vehicle reports across all 50 states, social security number traces, sex offender registry searches (49 states plus DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico), credentialing (employment, education, and professional license verifications), and post-hire continuous employee monitoring under a subscription model.

ESI's technology stack combines a proprietary screening platform with trained-professional court-record retrieval that returns most criminal background reports in approximately 24 hours. The company's drug-testing operations are anchored by SAMHSA-, CAP-, and CLIA-certified laboratory partners, and ESI itself operates as a Labcorp- and Quest Diagnostics-preferred collection site, providing a physical footprint that differentiates it from purely digital competitors.

The business model is overwhelmingly transactional per-screening fees for pre-hire products, supplemented by a recurring subscription stream for the Employee Monitoring Service. Distribution is direct-to-employer via phone sales and website contact forms, layered on top of an embedded channel through 23+ Applicant Tracking System integrations (ADP, iCIMS, Workday, Oracle Taleo, Salesforce, Kronos, Jobvite, and others). Customer segments span employers of all sizes, with dedicated offerings for DOT-regulated companies, healthcare organizations (OIG/GSA sanctions and credentialing), and childcare/family services. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based.

Name

Employment Screening

Legal name

Employment Screening, Inc.

Website

https://employmentscreeninginc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Employment Screening, Inc. provides FCRA-compliant background checks, drug and alcohol testing, credentialing, and post-hire employee monitoring services to US employers of all sizes, delivered via 23+ ATS platform integrations from its Charlotte, NC headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Background Screening Services: Fees charged for criminal background checks, driving records, social security number traces, sex offender checks, credit checks, employment/education verifications, and professional license verifications. Revenue is generated on a per-screening or per-service basis with competitive pricing.
2. Drug and Alcohol Testing Services: Fees for pre-employment, random, post accident and DOT compliant drug testing. Services include instant (rapid), lab confirmed, or hair drug testing in 5, 7, 10 or 12 drug panels. Mobile or on-site testing available.
3. Employee Monitoring Services: Post-hire monitoring services providing continuous workforce monitoring with criminal behavior alerts, including DUI, assaults, fraud, theft, and drug arrests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Employment Screening, Inc. (ESI) provides FCRA-compliant background screening and drug testing services to employers across the United States. Core offerings include criminal background checks (state, county, federal, nationwide, Canada and international), drug and alcohol testing, motor vehicle reports across all 50 states, social security number traces, sex offender registry searches, employment/education/professional license verifications, and continuous post-hire employee monitoring. Services are customizable per industry, supported by an in-house screening software platform and integrations with major Applicant Tracking Systems, with most reports returned within 24 hours.

Product overview

Employment Screening, Inc. (ESI) provides a comprehensive background screening and drug testing platform primarily serving employers across the United States. The core offering consists of Criminal Background Checks, Drug Testing, Motor Vehicle Reports (MVR), Social Security Number Trace Reports, Sex Offender Registry Search, and Credentialing services. These services are delivered through an integrated platform with 23+ ATS partnerships for streamlined workflow integration. The portfolio includes supplemental products like Nationwide Criminal Search for broader coverage and add-on modules including Employee Monitoring Service for post-hire continuous screening, DOT Drug & Alcohol Policy Compliance, Homeland Security & Terrorist Watch List Search, OIG & GSA Healthcare Sanctions Report, Alcohol Testing, and Credit Checks. The company emphasizes FCRA compliance and delivers results within 24 hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Criminal Background Checks FCRA-compliant criminal background searches at state, county, and federal levels, plus Canada and International coverage, with most searches returned within 24 hours. Used by employers for pre-employment and risk mitigation.
• Drug Testing Pre-employment, random, post-accident, and DOT-compliant drug testing with instant (rapid), lab-confirmed, or hair drug testing in 5, 7, 10, or 12 drug panels. Mobile or on-site testing is available, processed through SAMHSA-certified lab partners.
• Motor Vehicle Reports (MVR) Driving record reports revealing violations, driving status, points, fines, violation codes, license classification, and endorsements across all 50 states. Required annually for DOT-regulated drivers operating company vehicles.
• Social Security Number Trace Reports Social Security Number trace reports verifying date of birth, SSN validity, all names used (including aliases and maiden names), previous addresses, and state/date of issue. Used as a core identity-verification step within pre-employment background screening packages.
• Sex Offender Registry Search Comprehensive sex offender registry search covering 49 states plus Washington DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Includes identifiers, registered addresses, aliases, case numbers, charges, and conviction details. Used for pre-employment screening and as a nanny check for households hiring childcare providers.
• Nationwide Criminal Search Supplemental nationwide criminal database search drawing from 64 jurisdictions and over 600 million records across counties, Department of Corrections, administrative office of courts, and sex offender registries. Used to broaden coverage on top of county-level searches.
• Credentialing Verification services that confirm applicant employment histories, educational degrees, and professional licenses to validate candidate qualifications for employers and healthcare credentialing purposes.
• Employee Monitoring Service Post-hire, recurring-subscription monitoring service that continuously alerts employers to criminal behavior by existing employees, including DUI, assaults, fraud, theft, and drug arrests, plus notifications for criminal records, sex offender records, sanctions, and prohibited parties lists.
• Alcohol Testing DOT-compliant saliva and breath alcohol testing performed by technicians certified through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Used by employers in safety-sensitive and transportation roles to fulfill alcohol testing obligations.
• DOT Drug & Alcohol Policy Compliance Full implementation and administration of U.S. Department of Transportation Drug & Alcohol Policy compliance programs, providing policy drafting, program management, and ongoing maintenance for DOT-regulated employers.
• Homeland Security & Terrorist Watch List Search Screening against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and terrorist watch lists, covering 135 different terrorist and fugitive lists at the state, county, and federal levels. Used as a defense against placing individuals on watch lists into sensitive roles.
• OIG & GSA Healthcare Sanctions Report Search of disciplinary actions taken by federal agencies such as OIG and GSA, plus licensing and certification agencies in all 50 states. Tailored for comprehensive medical screening and healthcare credentialing.
• Credit Checks Pre-employment credit checks recommended for positions involving accounting or financial services duties, access to valuable merchandise, or direct access to money, used by employers to assess financial responsibility of candidates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 57% of employers report that the leading benefit of background checks is hiring better quality employees
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration23 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ADPcoreTechnology or IntegrationESI has partnered with ADP (Automatic Data Processing) to provide employers with integrated background screening through ADP's recruitment services platform.
• Applicant HarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Applicant Harbor, a compliance-focused screening platform, to deliver integrated background check services.
• iCIMScoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with iCIMS, a leading talent acquisition platform, enabling seamless background screening workflow within the hiring process.
• WorkdaycoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Workday to integrate background screening services into Workday's human capital management and recruiting solutions.
• Oracle TaleocoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Oracle Taleo cloud talent management solutions to provide embedded background screening capabilities.
• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Salesforce to enable background screening within Salesforce-based HR and recruitment workflows.
• KronoscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Kronos workforce management solutions to integrate employee screening services.
• LabcorpcoreTechnology or IntegrationLabcorp is a preferred collection site partner for drug testing specimen collection. ESI is designated as a Labcorp Preferred collection site.
• Quest DiagnosticscoreTechnology or IntegrationQuest Diagnostics is a preferred collection site partner for drug testing. ESI is designated as a Quest Diagnostics Preferred collection site.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Certn: Emerging tech-forward background screening platform with API-first delivery and ATS integrations competing for the same employer customers, signaling the modernization pressure ESI faces.

Broad incumbents

• First Advantage: Global background screening and identity verification incumbent serving large enterprise customers with broad compliance product set overlapping ESI's criminal, drug, and credentialing offerings.
• Pinkerton (corporate employment screening arm): Established investigative and risk services firm whose corporate employment screening division offers background checks and drug testing overlapping with ESI's core product set.

Direct peers

• Sterling (Sterling Backcheck): Major background screening and identity services provider to employers, delivering FCRA-compliant criminal checks, drug testing, and credentialing with enterprise-grade ATS integrations comparable to ESI's offering.
• Checkr: Tech-first background screening platform modernizing the category with API-native delivery and ATS integrations, competing head-to-head with ESI for employer customers seeking faster, more automated screening.
• Backgroundchecks.com: Direct-to-employer background screening firm focused on criminal, drug, and employment verification, competing with ESI for SMB and mid-market HR customers with similar service breadth.
• HireRight: One of the largest US-based background screening providers offering criminal, drug, employment, and education verification with deep ATS integrations, serving the same employer customer base as ESI across virtually identical products.
• Accurate Background: Mid-market background screening company providing criminal, drug, and employment verification services to employers with comparable ATS integration capabilities and service breadth to ESI.
• IntelliCorp: Background screening provider offering criminal, drug testing, and verification services to employers, with similar mid-market positioning and ATS integration focus as ESI.
• Universal Background Screening: Mid-market background screening provider offering customized, FCRA-compliant packages with ATS integrations similar to ESI, including drug testing, criminal searches, and employment verifications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Employment Screening