All FAQs

It’s an acronym for First Advantage and Sterling Transform (FAST) as two companies unite to revolutionize the background screening industry.

As the acquiring company, First Advantage owns Sterling and all its subsidiaries such as Vault Workforce Screening and National Crime Check (NCC).

There are 3 main benefits: 1) Expanded network of dedicated employees and vendors to drive faster answers; 2) Greater technology investments to create best-in-class user and candidate experiences; and 3) Industry expertise to verify your candidate’s data more quickly and compliantly.

Please see the press release here.

Sterling has many of the Fortune 500 as their clients/customers. We know that bringing them into First Advantage will give you a broader view into hiring in all industries to help you keep pulse and the rapidly changing environment. We look forward to welcoming these Sterling legacy clients to Collaborate in 2025!

Customer satisfaction is a top priority for First Advantage. We are focused on providing best in class experience to our combined customer portfolio without bringing any unnecessary disruption to their established processes and workflows. Customers will continue using the platform they are currently using.

No, you will not be asked to migrate to a different platform at this time.

If you are interested in discussing a platform switch, please reach out to your Customer Success manager.

Customer satisfaction is First Advantage’s top priority. There are no immediate plans to consolidate the two platforms. We are, however, committed to providing best-in-class, innovative product solutions and workflows that will enable our customers to Hire Smarter, Onboard Faster and provide unsurpassed applicant experience. We will continue working on analyzing both platforms and identifying ways of making them more and more effective for you.

Contracts and pricing will not change unless new services are added.

Yes.

No program changes are planned beyond seeing the First Advantage brand on your current products. During the coming months, we will introduce you to now-available products and services to help you Hire Smarter. Onboard Faster^®. You can select how much or how little you would like to implement to enhance your program. What won’t change is our commitment to uninterrupted services with focused account management support.

As of the business acquisition close date, Sterling will be a part of First Advantage. All existing contracts will remain in place as they now stand and will not require further updates.

It’s business as usual. Your account management and support will not have an immediate change. Any changes will be swiftly communicated in advance.

No, continue to reach out to your same support. The entire team remains dedicated to providing you with exceptional care.

Yes. The products and reports you currently use will remain available and you can continue to use as you have done historically.

Yes. With ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC 1, and SOC 2 certifications, we believe First Advantage’s risk management program is positioned to manage risks properly and proactively. You can learn more in our latest Sustainability Report: https://investors.fadv.com/esg

Over the next few months, your bills will reflect the First Advantage name. We will ask that you update payments to go to First Advantage. However, the same way you have remitted payment will continue (i.e., if you pay online or by wire transfer, continue to use the same method).

Your account manager is the best resource to talk about the acquisition benefits. Or you can submit questions to solutions@fadv.com.

Please send an inquiry to Investors@fadv.com

Please send an inquiry to FACommunications@fadv.com.

Please see the press release here.

First Advantage Corporation.

The corporate address for First Advantage is 1 Concourse Parkway NE, Suite 200, Atlanta GA 30328.

If necessary, this would happen on a case-by-case basis. We will contact you if this is needed.

Please continue to work with the same procurement contacts.

Not at this time. However, you will need to update the name to First Advantage within the next 90 days.

Please contact First Advantage’s Procurement team here.

Please see the press release here.

For the near term you can continue to go to your First Advantage rep for integration/partnership matters related to First Advantage, and to your Sterling rep for integration/partnership matters related to Sterling.

There will be no changes to the partnership for the time being. Over the next few weeks, we will be aligning on partner support going forward and we will communicate any changes at that time.

Contracts will be honored individually for the time being. However, we are actively reviewing contracts for partners who work with both Sterling and First Advantage, and we will be in touch in the next few weeks regarding contracts going forward.

No, there will be no changes at this time.

Until further notice, the process for partnership fee and revenue sharing invoices will remain as-is.

Please reach out to your Sterling partner rep if you have any questions regarding your current Sterling partnership contract.

Whether their background screen is conducted by Sterling or First Advantage, the applicant’s experience will remain the same.

If your background check is with First Advantage, visit the candidate center here: https://fadv.com/candidates/.

If your background check is with Sterling, visit the candidate center here: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/candidates/.

All FAQs

Customers

What does FAST mean?

What does the acquisition between First Advantage and Sterling mean?

How will the acquisition by First Advantage benefit my organization?

Where can I find the announcement?

What do you know about Sterling’s client base?

What will change for Sterling and First Advantage product solutions and product platforms after acquisition?

Will I be asked to migrate to a First Advantage platform?

Will I be asked to migrate to a Sterling platform?

What if I’m interested in making a switch to a First Advantage platform?

What if I’m interested in making a switch to a Sterling platform?

Are there plans to consolidate the Sterling Platform and the First Advantage Platform into one platform? If so, which platform will it be?

Are contracts and/or pricing going to change?

Will Sterling clients still have access to existing account dashboards/reports/results?

What is changing for my program now that Sterling is part of First Advantage?

When will my organization transition from Sterling to First Advantage?

Will my account management contacts/customer support change?

Does my point of contact change, who do I call if I have a problem?

Will I still have access to my old reports/results?

Is First Advantage as secure and certified as Sterling? Will data remain within the U.S.?

Is there anything I need to do to change how we remit payment to Sterling today?

Who can I talk to about the acquisition and discuss in more detail how this benefits my organization?

Investors/Press

I am an investor, who do I contact?

I am a member of the press, who do I contact?

I am an industry analyst, who do I contact?

Vendors

Where can I find the announcement?

What is the name of the company going forward?

What address/email should I use for correspondence with the company?

Will my company need to go through a new diligence/new vendor certification process?

Are we going to continue to deal with our same Procurement agents or will that change?

Is there anything I need to do to change how we submit invoices to Sterling?

Our vendor contract with Sterling is up for renewal, who should I reach out to for next steps discussions?

Integration Partners

Where can I find the announcement?

My company already partners with both First Advantage and Sterling but we have different account representatives/points of contact. What should I do in support of the integration of the two partnerships?

What changes should our organization expect in our partnership and when because of the acquisition?

Will my partnership with Sterling remain the same? Will Sterling continue to honor its current contracts?

Will my partnership point of contact change from Sterling to someone different at First Advantage? If so, who?

Is there anything I need to do to change how we submit invoices previously paid by Sterling?

Our partnership contract with Sterling is up for renewal, who should I reach out to for next steps discussions?

Applicants

What does this acquisition mean for applicants?

I want to check the status of my background check. How do I do that?