How Much Does a Background Check Cost in 2026?

A basic US criminal background check costs $13.99 to $29.99 per candidate at the vendors that publish USD prices, checked on their pricing pages in October 2026. Certn's Core check starts at $13.99 and adds $9.99 when a county search applies. Checkr's and GoodHire's Basic packages cover a national search only. Their top packages, with federal and state searches, cost $94.99.

Court and state DMV fees sit on top of every package, so the headline price is a floor, not the bill. Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, evaluated 512 HR and recruiting tools in its October 2026 ranking, and only 5 of its top 10 publish a paid price, at a median of $39 a month. Background checks are billed per candidate, which means a monthly software price tells a hiring team very little here.

This page prices each check at the vendor's own list price, then runs the arithmetic for a realistic hiring year. Every vendor price was read on the vendor's own pricing or fee page on 10 October 2026. Where a vendor publishes no price, we say so.

What each package covers

Checkr and GoodHire each sell three packages at the same list prices. Certn sells three criminal checks, priced in USD on its US page. The table puts all of them side by side, sorted by price within each vendor.

Read the table by its coverage column, not its price column. The cheapest criminal check is the one that leaves out the county courts where a candidate has lived. Checkr's Basic covers the national search only, so a hire who needs a county result pays the Essential price to get unlimited county coverage. Our GoodHire review covers the same three packages, with the support and integration detail this table leaves out.

Certn gets to a county result for less. Its Core check, the lowest price in the table, adds $9.99 when a county search applies, so $23.98 at most. Its county search is contingent, though, which makes Core a narrower promise than Checkr's Essential. Certn's Complete, at $49.99, covers county criminal across the last seven years of addresses, a different promise from Checkr's unlimited county search.

Checkr's Complete package adds unlimited state and federal criminal search on top of Essential. That is $35 more per check, and Complete is the only Checkr package that includes the federal search. If a role depends on a federal record, Complete is the package that covers it.

Single checks, when you need one item

Many hires need one extra check rather than a full package. The table below lists the à la carte prices from the same two vendors' US pages.

Two rows show a real gap. Certn publishes no fixed price for employment or education verification, so you need a quote before you compare totals. Checkr's employment price rises with the lookback window. The gap between a current-employer check at $12.50 and a ten-year check at $50 is $37.50 per candidate, so pick the window the role actually needs before you accept the higher price.

Worked example: 20 hires a year

This is our scenario, not a quote. A company makes 20 hires a year, each needs a criminal check at the Essential level, and 5 of those hires drive for the business. Each total is the vendor's list price multiplied by the hire count.

• Checkr Essential: 20 x $59.99 = $1,199.80 a year.
• GoodHire Essential: the same list price, $1,199.80 a year.
• Certn Complete: 20 x $49.99 = $999.80 a year, with county criminal across seven years of addresses.
• Checkr Complete: 20 x $94.99 = $1,899.80 a year, which is $700 more than Checkr Essential.
• Certn Core with a county search on every check: 20 x $23.98 = $479.60 a year. Without any county search, the total is $279.80.
• Drivers: 5 Checkr motor vehicle record checks at $9.50 come to $47.50, before state DMV fees.

The cheapest total is not the right total. Certn Core with a county search costs less than half of Checkr Essential, but its county search is contingent, so the scope is narrower. On this roster, the Certn Core bill falls between $279.80 and $479.60 depending on which checks trigger a county search. Set the scope the roles need first, then pick the vendor on price.

Pass-through fees: what the headline price leaves out

Every price in this article excludes the third-party access fees that courts, state agencies and databases charge. Checkr publishes its list, and the ranges are wide enough to change a budget.

• Pennsylvania criminal history: the Pennsylvania State Police charges $22 to access the PATCH database.
• Some employment checks: third-party database fees run from $17.95 to $119.95.
• Payroll-records database: a $58 one-time direct-match fee.
• Education checks: institutions set their own fees, from $3.95 to $50.00.
• Department of Transportation sources: $7.00 to $70.00 for some employment verifications.
• Motor vehicle records: state DMV fees, which vary by state.
• Drug tests, if the role needs one: a $90 after-hours fee, and a $10 fee per candidate who is picked through random selection.

Budget these per hire, not per company. A Pennsylvania criminal search adds $22 to that candidate's bill, on top of the list price. Ask each vendor which of these fees apply to the roles you hire for, and get the answer in writing.

Vendors that do not publish a price

Three vendors on our list publish no per-check price. HireRight's pricing page asks buyers for a customized quote. Sterling's pricing page lists no prices and describes a screening suite customized to each client. Accurate sends buyers to a sales contact rather than to a price list. For these three, a written quote is the only number available, so describe the scope you need and compare the quotes with the USD prices above.

GoodHire also states that its pricing varies by annual volume. A high-volume buyer should ask for a rate card before settling on Essential or Complete, because the list price is the starting point, not the final rate.

Which package fits which hire

If a role needs only a national and county criminal search, Essential covers that scope on both Checkr and GoodHire, at the same list price. Certn's Complete covers county criminal across seven years of addresses for less, so it is the cheaper option if seven years of address history is enough for your policy. Check the scope against your own hiring rules before you choose.

If a role carries financial or fiduciary responsibility, Checkr offers a pre-employment credit report from $8 per check. It is an add-on to the criminal package, not a replacement for it.

If a role involves driving, add the motor vehicle record. It costs $9.50 on Checkr or $25.99 on Certn, plus the state fee. For vendor-by-vendor picks and what each one is best for, read best background check services.

Questions to ask before you compare quotes

• Is the price per report or per check, and does a re-check cost the same?
• Which county and state searches are included, and how far back do they look?
• Are pass-through fees and state DMV fees inside the quote, or billed on top?
• Does the price fall with annual volume? GoodHire says it does, so ask for the rate card.
• Which checks does the role need beyond criminal, such as employment, education or a driving record? Each one has its own price.

Background checks are one line in a hiring budget. If you are sizing the whole cost of a new hire, compare this against the payroll and software lines in our small business payroll cost guide and the HRIS cost guide. The PEO cost guide covers the employment side, which is a separate bill. For the software that holds candidate records and compliance paperwork, see best applicant tracking systems and best HR compliance software.

Where these figures are thin

Three vendors publish no per-check price, and Certn's employment and education checks show "Price Varies." The hiring-year totals above cover criminal checks and motor vehicle records only. Court and state fees depend on the candidate's address history and the states involved, so the true bill can be higher than the list price on any given hire. Treat the totals as a floor and confirm pass-through fees before you commit a budget.

How we checked these figures

Checkr's packages and à la carte prices and its pass-through fee list were read on 10 October 2026. GoodHire's packages were read on GoodHire's pricing page the same day. Certn's US prices come from Certn's US pricing page, in USD. HireRight's pricing page and Sterling's pricing page were read the same day, and Accurate's site routes buyers to sales. The worked totals are our arithmetic on those list prices, not vendor quotes. The Toolradar figure is live from its HR and recruiting ranking on 10 October 2026. Product detail for Checkr, Certn and GoodHire is on their Toolradar profiles.

FAQ

How much does a background check cost per candidate?

The lowest criminal check on this page is Certn's Core package, and Checkr's and GoodHire's Basic packages cost $29.99 each. Checkr's Essential, which adds unlimited county searches, is $59.99 per report, and its Complete package is $94.99. These are list prices per candidate, before court and state fees.

Does the price include court and DMV fees?

No. Checkr says its pricing does not include pass-through fees, and GoodHire says additional third-party fees may apply. Motor vehicle checks also carry state DMV fees, on top of the per-record charge.

Is there a free background check for employers?

None of the US vendor pages we read lists a free employer check. Even the lowest criminal package on this page, Certn's Core, is a paid check.

What does Checkr's Basic package leave out?

Basic covers the national criminal search only. Essential adds unlimited county criminal search, and Complete adds unlimited state and federal criminal search. Complete is the only Checkr package with a federal search, so Basic does not include it.

How much does a driving record check cost?

Checkr charges $9.50 per motor vehicle record, and Certn charges $25.99, with a state fee that may apply on each. Checkr's continuous MVR monitoring costs $2.50 per enrolled driver each month, and some states charge enrollment or annual fees on top.

Cite this: HRpresso, "How Much Does a Background Check Cost in 2026?", October 2026.

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