Identity Verification Glossary 2026

A hiring or rental decline based wholly or partly on a consumer report. FCRA requires a two-step workflow: pre-adverse-action notice (with a copy of the report and a waiting period), then a final adverse-action notice.

NIST 800-63-3 framework for authentication strength. AAL1 single-factor, AAL2 multi-factor cryptographic, AAL3 hardware-backed cryptographic. See NIST 800-63-3 explainer.

State and city laws restricting when criminal-history questions can be asked during the hiring process. Roughly 35 US states and 150 cities have ban-the-box laws of varying scope.

Any communication from a consumer reporting agency about a consumer's character, reputation, or mode of living, used to establish eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, or rental housing. The definitional term that brings FCRA into scope.

A vendor that compiles consumer information and sells it to third parties. Checkr, GoodHire, Sterling, HireRight, Accurate Background, First Advantage, RentSpree, TransUnion, ID.me, Yoti all operate (or sell data through) consumer reporting agencies.

The practice of rerunning background checks on existing workers at a recurring schedule or in response to triggers (criminal-record alerts, MVR alerts). Common in gig-economy and regulated industries. Recurring cost can exceed the initial onboarding check.

EEOC concept: a hiring practice that is facially neutral but disproportionately excludes protected groups. Blanket exclusion of all candidates with any criminal record is a recurrent disparate-impact concern.

SAMHSA 5-panel test: amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, PCP. Checkr publishes $60 clinic / $37 onsite. See MVR and drug add-on pricing.

Federal agency that enforces anti-discrimination law in employment. Publishes guidance on consideration of arrest and conviction records.

Federal statute (15 USC 1681) governing consumer reports including employment background checks and tenant screening. See FCRA compliance.

EEOC framework for evaluating criminal-record relevance to a hiring decision: nature of the offence, time elapsed, nature of the job. From the 1975 Green vs Missouri Pacific Railroad case.

NIST 800-63-3 framework for identity-proofing strength. IAL1 self-asserted, IAL2 documentary-evidence proofing, IAL3 in-person or supervised remote. See NIST 800-63-3 explainer.

EEOC-recommended approach to criminal-history consideration: case-by-case evaluation of the specific candidate and job rather than blanket policy.

Regulated-finance subset of identity verification. AML / Bank Secrecy Act / Customer Identification Program requirements. Distinct from workforce or tenant IDV; covered on sister site kycpricing.com.

Driving-record search from state DMV. Checkr publishes $9.50 per MVR. Useful for any role driving on company business. See MVR and drug add-on pricing.

NIST Special Publication defining digital identity guidelines including IAL and AAL frameworks. See NIST 800-63-3 explainer.

County-court and state-record access fees billed at cost by the vendor on top of the published per-check rate. $5 to $40 per check depending on jurisdiction. See pass-through court fees.

Pricing model where the buyer pays a published per-check rate with no annual contract. The dominant SMB model. Checkr, GoodHire, RentSpree, TransUnion SmartMove all use per-check or per-report pricing.

FCRA-required notice sent to a candidate before a hiring or rental decline is finalised, with a copy of the consumer report and a statement of the candidate's right to dispute. Standard waiting period is 5 business days.

Vendor pricing model where per-check rates are not published on the public site; buyers must engage sales for a quote. Sterling, HireRight, Accurate Background, First Advantage, TransUnion ShareAble, ID.me, Yoti are all quote-only. See quote-only vendors.

TransUnion-specific credit score variant used in tenant screening. Different from the general FICO score; tuned for landlord decisioning. Provided in SmartMove and ShareAble reports.

Identity-verification model where a user verified once can re-use the verified credential at multiple sites or sessions, with per-reuse fees lower than per-first-verification fees. ID.me and Yoti both operate reusable-credential models.

AICPA Service Organization Controls report Type II covering security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls. Standard enterprise procurement requirement for any IDV vendor.

A bundled report of credit, criminal background, and eviction history for a prospective tenant. Pricing typically $25 to $48 per report (TransUnion SmartMove published). See tenant screening.

An employment background check including SSN trace, criminal-history search, and optionally driving records, drug screening, employment verification, education verification, credit. See workforce background checks.