Background Checks FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Background Checks.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Background Checks Overview.
Setup
Do I need to configure anything before I can order background checks?
Yes. An admin must first connect at least one background check provider (Checkr, Sterling, or HireRight) under Admin > Organization > Integrations. Until one is connected, no check can be ordered: opening Background Checks takes an administrator to its Settings page with “Connect a background check provider to start using Background Checks.” and tells anyone else “Background Checks needs a screening provider connected before it can be used — ask your administrator to connect one.” If a connection is later disabled, checks already ordered stay open and the page says new checks can’t be ordered.
Who can see background checks, and who can adjudicate them?
Recruiting staff — business admins, HR admins, and Background Checks or Job Board app admins — see every check and can adjudicate, cancel, and record disputes. A job’s recruiter and whoever added the candidate see that candidate’s checks, including the decision. A job’s hiring manager sees the status of their candidates’ checks only. On the phone, an employee who applied internally sees the status of their own check — matched by the employee link on their candidate record, not by email — but never the decision.
Permissions and access
Why can’t a manager adjudicate a background check?
Adjudication, cancellation, and dispute handling are restricted to recruiting staff — business admins, HR admins, and Background Checks or Job Board app admins. A line manager does not have access to the Needs Review queue or the adjudicate/cancel actions, because FCRA-regulated results (criminal and credit records) are not a general management surface.
Who can request a new background check for a candidate?
Recruiting staff (business admins, HR admins, and Background Checks or Job Board app admins), the recruiter on the candidate’s job, and whoever added the candidate — narrowed by the Who can order a background check? setting in Background Checks > Settings, which can limit ordering to admins or to chosen groups. The “Request Background Check” button only appears for users who may order for at least one candidate.
Day-to-day
Can I order more than one background check for the same candidate?
Not while one is active. A candidate can have one active background check; requesting a second redirects you back to the candidate profile with a message that a check has already been requested. A canceled check, or an order that failed before it reached the provider, frees the candidate for a new one.
Which screening packages can I choose from?
Four standard packages are available by default: Basic Criminal Check (SSN trace, national criminal database, sex-offender registry), Pro Criminal Check (adds county and federal criminal searches), Comprehensive Background Check (adds employment, education, and reference verification), and Executive Background Check (adds credit report, civil court, media search, and extended history). If your provider defines custom packages, they appear automatically at order time.
What happens when a check comes back with a “Consider” or “Suspended” result?
The check moves into the Needs Review queue. If the Notify when a result needs adjudication setting is on (it is by default), the person who ordered the check, the job’s recruiter and whoever added the candidate are emailed, along with the people who can decide (HR admins and Background Checks or Job Board app admins; business admins when no one is designated). Hiring managers are not emailed — they see the status on the check page. Recruiting staff then record a decision — Approve, Reject, Conditional Approval, or Escalated. Notes are required for Reject and Escalated. Approve, Reject and Conditional Approval are final; an Escalated check stays in Needs Review to be decided later. The decision, the adjudicator, and the timestamp are logged in the audit trail.
How does auto-adjudication of clear results work?
When Auto-adjudicate Clear Results is enabled on the provider integration, any check that comes back “Clear” is automatically adjudicated as Approved. The notes record it as auto-adjudicated, and no adjudication-completed email is sent (the report-completed email already announces the outcome). Checks with “Consider” or “Suspended” results always go to the manual queue regardless of this setting.
How does FCRA adverse-action handling work?
When a check is adjudicated as Rejected, the app sends the candidate a pre-adverse action notice automatically (if a candidate email is on file). It then waits the configured number of business days before sending the final adverse-action notice. A daily job checks for checks whose waiting period has elapsed and sends the final notice. If the candidate disputes the report, recording the dispute holds the final notice while the dispute is open. It does not pause or restart the waiting period: once the dispute is resolved, the final notice goes out on the next daily run if the period has ended. The full sequence — pre-notice, waiting period, dispute, final notice — is logged in the audit trail.
What if the candidate has no email address on file when adverse action is triggered?
The pre-adverse action notice cannot be sent automatically. The recruiter and adjudicator receive an in-app notification explaining that FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice and a waiting period, and asking them to complete those steps manually.
When something looks wrong
“Background Checks app is not enabled for your business.” or “Connect a background check provider…”
These are different messages with different fixes:
- “Background Checks app is not enabled for your business.” — neither Background Checks nor Job Board is turned on for your organization. An admin turns one on in the Apps Marketplace.
- “Connect a background check provider to start using Background Checks.” (shown to admins) or “…ask your administrator to connect one.” (shown to everyone else) — the app is on, but no provider is connected. An admin connects Checkr, Sterling, or HireRight under Admin > Organization > Integrations and checks the connection is enabled.
- “No screening provider is connected, so new background checks can’t be ordered…” — your organization already has checks, so the list and every existing check stay open (including the FCRA steps on them), but ordering a new check, syncing with the provider and resending a consent email wait until an admin reconnects a provider.
My check has been stuck on “Invited” or “In Progress” for days — is it updating?
Status updates arrive from the provider via webhooks (live for Checkr) or via the automatic polling backstop every 6 hours (all three providers). Pending checks are polled for up to 90 days after they are created. You can also force an immediate sync by opening the check detail page and clicking Sync Status — for Checkr this includes a check still on “Invited”, which syncs once the candidate has completed Checkr’s invitation. If the status still does not update, verify that the provider integration is active and the API credentials are correct under Admin > Organization > Integrations.
I got a background check notification but I can’t find the check
Users outside recruiting staff see only checks for candidates they added or jobs where they are the recruiter (a job’s hiring manager sees their candidates’ status only). If you received a notification as part of the recruiting team but the candidate was created by someone else, ask an administrator or HR admin to share the check details.
Why did my candidate’s background check disappear from the list?
It did not disappear — the list is filtered. Check whether a status or adjudication filter is active. Recruiting staff see all checks; other users see only checks for their own candidates or jobs.
Notifications
Which notifications does Background Checks send, and can I turn them off?
Three recruiting-team notification settings are configured per provider connection under Admin > Organization > Integrations (the connection’s Notifications card):
- Notify when a check completes — on by default.
- Notify when a result needs adjudication (consider / suspended) — on by default.
- Notify when a check is requested — off by default.
Each person can also mute these with their own Recruiting Notifications preference.
Candidate-facing progress and completion emails are off by default (providers usually email candidates directly). An admin can enable them on the connection. The FCRA disclosure email follows the connection’s Auto-send FCRA disclosure & authorization setting. The pre-adverse and final adverse-action notices are not toggleable — they are a legal requirement.
Licensing and limits
Does Background Checks require a licence?
No. Background Checks is available to every tenant with no licence to purchase. Your screening provider (Checkr, Sterling or HireRight) bills each check you order under your agreement with them; MangoApps adds no per-check charge of its own.
Are there limits I should know about?
- Results per page: 25 on desktop, 20 on mobile.
- Ask AI agent: returns up to 50 checks per request (default 20).
- FCRA waiting period: configurable from 1 to 30 business days per provider connection; the default is 5 business days.
- Status polling window: pending checks are polled for status updates for up to 90 days after creation.
- One active check per candidate — a second check cannot be requested while one is active; a canceled check, or an order that failed before reaching the provider, frees the candidate.
More help
- Background Checks Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Background Checks questions from these articles.