SafestHires — Background Screening Solutions
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Contractor onboarding workflow map

Follow the order, the contractor’s initial payment and the organization’s later costs as separate events.

Short answer

How does a contractor-paid background check move through onboarding?

The organization sets the screening package and initiates the order through an invitation or its own platform. The contractor supplies information, authorizes screening and pays the package plus initial access fees. SafestHires runs the searches; later county verification of database records and its access fees are billed monthly to the organization. The report goes to the organization, which separately reviews it and makes its decision.

  1. 1 · Organization

    Set the screening scope

    Select the package, confirm the contractor-payment arrangement, and explain possible initial access fees before inviting the contractor.

  2. 2 · Organization

    Send the invitation

    Initiate the organization-requested order and send the contractor an invitation through the SafestHires portal.

  3. 3 · Contractor

    Complete information, authorization and payment

    The contractor provides their information, authorizes screening, and pays the initial package plus applicable initial access fees. Payment is not report completion.

  4. 4 · SafestHires

    Run the selected searches

    The selected screening searches run. A potential database record is not a completed courthouse verification or a hiring decision.

  5. 5 · SafestHires · organization pays

    Verify database records at the county court

    County verification service charges and applicable verification access fees are billed monthly to the organization. The contractor’s card cannot be charged a second time.

  6. 6 · SafestHires

    Deliver the completed report

    The requesting organization receives the completed report in its account.

  7. 7 · Organization

    Review and decide

    The organization reviews the report and makes its engagement decision separately from payment and search completion. This map does not make hiring decisions or determine whether worker payment is permitted.

Who pays the initial and later charges?

The contractor pays the package and applicable initial court access fees when placing the order. Later county-court verification of records revealed by the Nationwide Criminal Database Search, plus applicable access fees for that verification, is billed monthly to the requesting organization. We cannot charge the contractor’s card a second time.

For planning, SafestHires estimates that about 5% of orders reveal a record in the Nationwide Criminal Database Search—about five orders in 100 on average. This is a company estimate, not a guaranteed rate; an order can reveal more than one record.

Tell contractors about possible initial court access fees before payment. Fees vary by jurisdiction and can reach $100 in the published county schedule. Use the access-fee lookup for the places being searched; later verification access fees are paid by the organization.

Estimate both sides with the contractor screening cost planner and explore the contractor onboarding workflow map. Service prices come from the pricing calculator; jurisdiction fees come from the access-fee lookup. Confirm your per-record verification price in a written quote.

Order entry and results are separate connections

An order can start from your own platform with no webhook required for initiation. Include the postBackInfo block described in section 3.5 of the Order Entry XML manual to choose where postbacks are sent and which types you receive. Automatic postbacks need a receiving address in your system; this is separate from sending the initial order. Consult the manuals and confirm contractor-payment setup for your account.

Order Entry XML manual · XML Results manual · Background check API overview

Example results

These scenarios are fictional. Each result below is what the tool returns for those exact inputs.

Portal order with database records

Inputs

  • • Portal invitation
  • • Database records revealed

Result

7 stages; organization funds later verification

The contractor’s payment stage comes before county verification. Results and the organization’s decision remain separate stages.

API order with no database records

Inputs

  • • Your platform / API
  • • No database records revealed

Result

6 stages; no database-record verification branch

This scenario omits the later verification branch; it does not guarantee that other charges or searches cannot arise.

How the tool works

  • • Choose the ordering method and whether database records are revealed. The map shows the matching documented scenario.
  • • Each stage identifies the responsible party; initial payment, later verification, report delivery and decision are separate.
  • • No orders or personal details are transmitted. The map is a reference scenario, not a live order tracker.

Limits and exclusions

  • • Account setup and selected searches determine the actual workflow.
  • • The no-record branch does not imply legal clearance, eligibility, no other fees or an instant report.
  • • This tool does not determine whether asking workers to pay is permitted; seek counsel review first.

Primary sources

Links checked November 9, 2026.

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