Getting Started

The ClearChecks API, ClearChecks Connect, and developer tools allow you to quickly integrate background screening into your application. We recommend using a combination of API endpoints and the ClearChecks connect reports widget to display background checks within your system.

If you are a platform and need to create accounts for your customers, you can use the ClearChecks account creation widget.

To get started, follow the guides if you are a single customer account or a platform and begin testing in the sandbox environment.

You can view full API reference and documentation here.

API Keys & Authentication

The ClearChecks API uses an api_token for authentication. You may create multiple secure tokens, and can be generated and revoked in your console dashboard.

Note: The api_token token must be passed as a query parameter for all authenticated requests

Set headers

Content-Type: application/json
Accepts: application/json

Environment URLs

All environments enforce https over SSL

Rate Limits

The API is rate limited to 60 requests per minute. It may be greater, and you can get the current limit (per minute) by referencing the X-RateLimit-Limit response header.

Guide

This guide explains the common use cases for integrating ClearChecks through API methods, or a combination of API methods and the ClearChecks Connect widgets.

Use Cases

Our API service and connect widgets can be used to integrate a single company with a single api_token or for platforms to allow your customers to create and connect to their ClearChecks account.

Single Account Integration

As a single account integration, you are the end-user of the background reports and a ClearChecks customer. All billing details, orders, status, and reports are available in the console may be accessed through the API methods.

A typical single account may want to integrate with the following endpoints into their application:

1. Create new orders with the Order method for your customers without leaving your platform

2. Check the status of background checks by report_key with the Status method

3. Open and view an applicant's background check via the ClearChecks Connect Report Widget

4. Get Invoices associated with your orders

Platform Integration

A platform might be an HR tool such as an ATS, HCM, HRIS, or any other application that wants to integrate background checks as a service for their customers.

Note: Due to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the "FCRA"), your customers are the "end-users" of the background reports, and they must be a ClearChecks customer as we are a regulated Consumer Reporting Agency (or "CRA"). A 3rd party platform or marketplace may not aggregate background reports on behalf of multiple "end-users" due to regulation.

However, we have made it simple with our ClearChecks Connect widgets for customers to create an account, order, and view reports without leaving your application.

As a platform, you do not have a ClearChecks account with billing and only store each api_token for customers.

You will be given a sourcetoken which associates ClearChecks accounts via an apitoken for customers.

A typical platform integration may use the following combination of API methods and ClearChecks Connect widgets:

1. Create and connect new ClearChecks accounts from your platform with the Account Widget

2. Create new orders with the Order method for your customers without leaving your platform

3. Check the status of background checks with the Status method

4. Open and view an applicant's background check via the ClearChecks Connect Report Widget

5. Get Invoices associated with your orders

6. Update a customer billing information