Imperative

What Imperative does

Imperative (legally Imperative Information Group, Inc.) is a Fort Worth, Texas-based background screening firm founded in 1999 by HR veteran Mike Coffey, SPHR. The company operates as a private, founder-owned corporation serving employers across all industries and company sizes, from SMBs to enterprise clients, with a stated client base spanning legal, healthcare, education, government, hospitality, nonprofit, and global HR services. Its core offerings are organized into two main categories: Criminal Background Investigations (with Critical, Diligent, Basic-Plus, and Basic tiers) and Qualifications Background Investigations (Standard, Healthcare, Executive, Financial Compliance, and DOT packages). The product portfolio extends to drug screening (including the 2025-launched InstaCLEAR virtual testing via Novir partnership), biometric identity verification, credit screening, social media and web searches, and specialized due diligence for family offices, KYC/AML client acceptance, and vendor/partner vetting.

The company's technology platform is a hybrid of automated data collection and manual analyst review, with an explicit anti-algorithm positioning that emphasizes human-trained researchers and licensed private investigators over database-only screening. Distribution occurs through direct enterprise field sales, inside sales (1-877-473-2287, Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM CT), a self-serve web portal at reports.imperativeinfo.com, ATS integrations, and ShareFile-based report delivery. Marketing is content-driven, centered on HRCI/SHRM-credit webinars, a monthly blog, LinkedIn presence, and a Trusted Advisors referral network in Texas and Wisconsin.

The revenue model is purely transactional, with pricing ranging from $40 per Standard qualifications investigation to $290 per Executive qualifications investigation, plus $95+$4 New York state surcharges and $175 per Minnesota OCM cannabis check. Revenue streams span background investigations, drug screening, biometric verification, virtual drug testing, and webinar education credits. Regulatory credentials include Texas DPS Private Security Board licensing (A09357), PBSA accreditation, and HRCI/SHRM recertification provider status. The company maintains 11-50 employees and a stated 97% client retention rate, with founder Coffey providing his personal cell phone number to all clients.

Name

Imperative

Legal name

Imperative Information Group, Inc.

Website

https://imperativeinfo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Imperative is a founder-owned background screening firm founded in 1999 in Fort Worth, Texas, providing criminal background investigations, qualifications verification, drug screening, and due diligence services to employers across legal, healthcare, education, government, and nonprofit industries via a hybrid automated-plus-analyst platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Background Screening Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Pre-Employment Background Checks & Screening (BPAKAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Criminal Background Checks (National/State/County) (BPACALAA), Due Diligence & Investigative Research (BPAHALAI), Investigations & Background Screening Services (IMAIAEAK)

Keywords

• Background screening services
• Employment verification
• Drug testing services
• Due diligence investigations
• Identity verification

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Worth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Background Investigation Services: Primary revenue stream from criminal background checks, qualifications verifications, and due diligence investigations. Services include Critical, Diligent, Basic-Plus, and Basic criminal packages, plus qualifications packages (Standard, Healthcare, Executive, Financial Compliance). Revenue is generated on a per-investigation basis with pricing varying by package depth and scope.
2. Drug Screening Services: Pre-employment and post-hire drug and alcohol testing including 10-panel tests, oral swabs, and hair testing. Also includes occupational health services such as pre-employment physicals, respiratory fitness tests, and TB tests. Revenue per test.
3. Biometric Identity Verification: Additional security layer service added to background checks to verify candidates are who they claim to be through facial recognition technology.
4. Virtual Drug Testing (InstaCLEAR): Remote drug testing service with virtual proctoring and real-time results, enabling testing without clinic visits.
5. Webinar Education Credits: Educational webinars offering HRCI and SHRM recertification credits. Revenue generated through webinar participation and credit processing fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Imperative delivers employment background investigations, drug screening, and due diligence services to employers and other organizations. Its investigators conduct criminal record searches at the county, state, and federal levels; verify employment, education, licenses, and certifications; run drug and alcohol tests including virtual proctored options; and perform identity, credit, and social media screening. Reports are produced primarily by trained human analysts rather than algorithms, with turnaround times ranging from instant (Basic Criminal when no records found) to 3-5 business days for critical investigations.

Product overview

Imperative is a background screening company founded in 1999 offering a comprehensive suite of investigation and verification services. The core portfolio centers on Criminal Background Investigations (with Critical, Diligent, Basic-Plus, and Basic tiers) and Qualifications Background Investigations (including Standard, Healthcare, Executive, and Financial Compliance packages). The product line includes Biometric Identity Verification, Drug Screening (with InstaCLEAR virtual testing), Credit Screening, and Curated Social Media and Web Searches as add-on modules. Additional services include Due Diligence offerings for Family Offices, Client Acceptance/KYC-AML compliance, and Vendor/Strategic Partner verification. The company also offers Minnesota-specific cannabis industry background checks through a dedicated module. Caregiver-specific investigations are handled through the PFC sub-brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PFC (Pre-Employment Background Screening): Specialized background screening services for caregivers, including the Investigative Criminal Plus Background Check and Investigative Criminal Background Check, conducted by trained researchers including licensed private investigators.

Products and services

• Criminal Background Investigations Multi-tier criminal history verification service for employers covering county-level, state-level, and federal criminal record searches plus sex offender registry checks. Offered in Critical, Diligent, Basic-Plus, and Basic packages tailored to position risk and access to sensitive information.
• Qualifications Background Investigations Verification of candidate credentials including employment history, education, professional licenses and certifications, driving records, and financial compliance checks. Offered in Standard, Healthcare, Executive, Financial Compliance, Caregiver, and DOT Compliance packages with tier-specific pricing.
• Drug Screening Pre-employment and post-hire drug and alcohol testing services including 10-panel urine tests, oral swabs, hair testing, and InstaCLEAR virtual drug testing with human proctoring. Also covers occupational health services such as pre-employment physicals, respiratory fitness tests, and TB tests.
• Biometric Identity Verification Facial recognition-based identity verification service that compares a live selfie with a government-issued photo ID to confirm the applicant is who they claim to be, reducing identity fraud risk in background screening.
• Credit Screening Consumer credit report services for employment purposes, providing instant delivery of credit information to help employers evaluate a candidate's financial decision-making.
• Curated Social Media and Web Searches Automated keyword and phrase searches across social media and the open web, with analyst review to surface behavior-related information about candidates while ensuring legal compliance and privacy protection.
• Family Office Due Diligence Comprehensive due diligence for family offices evaluating principals of firms seeking capital, including verification of claims, social media searches, news archive review, and background investigations of relationships.
• Client Acceptance (KYC/AML) Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering compliance services for financial firms and professional service providers, including identity verification, sanctions list screening, and regulatory compliance checks for client onboarding.
• Vendor/Strategic Partner Due Diligence Background investigation services for key vendors and strategic partners, including identity research, criminal history, civil litigation, bankruptcy searches, and Secretary of State corporate entity verification.
• Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management Background Check Approved background check service for Minnesota cannabis industry licensing covering address/SSN trace, nationwide criminal database, county criminal searches, statewide criminal searches, and federal criminal searches per Office of Cannabis Management requirements.
• Caregiver Background Investigations (PFC sub-brand) Specialized criminal background investigations for caregivers offered through the PFC (Pre-Employment Family Services) sub-brand, including Investigative Criminal Plus Background Check and Investigative Criminal Background Check packages for nannies, elder care providers, and household staff.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% client retention rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NovirsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for virtual drug testing services. Novir provides the InstaCLEAR platform enabling remote drug screening with human proctoring and real-time results. Kits ship directly to candidates for testing anywhere.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• First Advantage: First Advantage is a publicly-traded background screening and identity solutions company offering criminal background checks, employment verification, drug testing, and similar services to Imperative, while operating across more geographies and verticals at much higher volume.
• Accurate Background: Accurate Background is a US-focused employment background screening provider offering criminal, employment, education, drug, and identity checks with integrated ATS workflows. It competes with Imperative for the same mid-market and enterprise employers but at meaningfully larger scale.
• GoodHire: GoodHire is a Checkr-owned background screening product focused on small and mid-sized businesses, offering criminal, employment, and education checks plus drug testing via a self-serve online portal, competing for the same SMB and mid-market accounts Imperative serves in Texas and beyond.
• Checkr: Checkr is a venture-backed, technology-first background screening provider focused on instant, API-driven criminal and employment checks, representing Imperative's primary innovation and automation head-to-head competitor in US pre-employment screening.
• HireRight: HireRight is a global background screening provider serving employers with criminal, employment, education, drug, and identity verification checks. It directly competes with Imperative across the same core product categories but operates at much larger scale with global coverage.
• Sterling: Sterling is a large US-based background screening provider, formerly Sterling Talent Solutions and now Sterling Check Corp, offering criminal, employment, education, and drug screening — directly overlapping with Imperative's core criminal background, qualifications verification, and drug screening services, with a much larger enterprise footprint.

Emerging players

• Veremark: Veremark is a global, tech-enabled background screening and employment verification company serving employers worldwide, competing with Imperative on criminal, employment, and education checks but with broader international coverage.
• Certn: Certn is a tech-forward, AI-driven background screening and identity verification startup competing in North America and globally. It overlaps with Imperative's biometric identity verification and instant background checks but represents the emerging AI-led approach Imperative explicitly competes against.
• PFC (Pre-Employment Family Services): PFC is Imperative's own caregiver-focused sub-brand (per the company data), so while it operates under Imperative's umbrella, it is listed here as a comparable specialized caregiver background check provider such as Caregiver Quality Assurance, similar niche players serving the nanny and elder care placement market.

Broad incumbents

• ADP Screening and Selection Services: ADP offers background screening as part of its broader payroll, HR, and talent management suite. While not a pure-play screening company, it overlaps with Imperative's pre-employment background check and drug screening offerings for employers using ADP's HCM platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/imperativeinfo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imperative-information-group
• Xx.com/bulletproofbgc

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Imperative