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Certiphi Screening · Healthcare background checks

Certiphi report cost you a healthcare job?

Certiphi Screening runs background checks exclusively for healthcare organizations, and its reports can decide whether a nurse, technician or student gets hired or placed. If a Certiphi report showed a record that isn't yours or shouldn't be there, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute it and, in the right case, to sue.

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Who Certiphi is and who relies on its reports

Certiphi Screening, Inc. is an applicant screening company that says it works exclusively with healthcare organizations. It reports more than 5,500 healthcare clients and more than 800 employees, and says it leverages the tools and processes of Vertical Screen, Inc., whose name appears in its website footer. The CFPB’s list of consumer reporting companies describes Certiphi as providing background screening services tailored to the healthcare industry, with a Consumer Care Department in Southampton, Pennsylvania.

Certiphi’s products include background checks, healthcare exclusion searches, drug and occupational health screening, and tools built for students, such as a student edition of its application system and a records tracker for immunizations and health records. That means a Certiphi report can stand between you and a hospital job, a staffing assignment, or a clinical program.

Why healthcare background checks go wrong

Healthcare employers screen often: at hiring, at credentialing, when a staffing agency places you, and again when you move to a new facility. Each check is another chance for a bad match to resurface.

Most errors come from matching. Court records often show only a name and a birth year. A screening company that ties a record to you on name and partial birth date, without checking a full date of birth or other identifiers, can attach someone else’s case to your report. Healthcare exclusion and sanction lists raise the same risk: a hit on a person with your name can look like you are barred from working in healthcare.

Cleared records are the other problem. When a court seals or expunges a case, the record is supposed to leave public view, but a screening company working from old data may keep reporting it. The law here is not settled. The CFPB issued an advisory opinion in 2021 saying name-only matching is not a reasonable procedure to assure maximum possible accuracy, and a 2024 background screening advisory opinion that addressed sealed and expunged records. It withdrew both in May 2025, so neither is current CFPB guidance. The FCRA’s accuracy and reinvestigation duties did not change.

Errors that show up on Certiphi reports

  • Wrong-person records. A case belonging to someone with a similar name or birth date.
  • Sealed or expunged cases. A record a court cleared still appears.
  • Missing outcomes. A charge listed without its dismissal or final disposition.
  • Duplicates. One case reported several times.
  • Exclusion mismatches. A sanction or exclusion hit that belongs to another person.
  • Old non-conviction records. Arrests and other non-conviction records more than seven years old.

How to dispute Certiphi

  1. Confirm a report exists. Certiphi says it prepares reports only for clients who got your prior authorization, so you will have a file only if an employer or school ordered one.
  2. Request your report. Certiphi’s FACT Act page says you can request a copy online at consumercare.certiphi.com, by fax at 1-888-495-8476, or by mail. It says the copy is free.
  3. Include what Certiphi asks for. Your full name, date of birth, full Social Security number, address, phone number, the details of your request or dispute, supporting documents and proper identification.
  4. File the dispute. Certiphi accepts disputes through the same channels: online, by fax, or by mail to Certiphi Screening, Consumer Care Department, PO Box 541, Southampton, PA 18966.
  5. Be specific and attach proof. Identify each wrong entry and why it is wrong. Attach court dispositions, sealing or expunction orders, or proof that a record belongs to someone else.
  6. Tell the employer or school. Let them know you have disputed and ask them to hold their decision.
  7. Track the 30 days. A consumer reporting agency generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)). Keep the report, your dispute and every response.

How to contact Certiphi

  • Online report requests and disputes: consumercare.certiphi.com, linked from its FACT Act page
  • Consumer Care phone: 1-800-260-1680
  • Fax: 1-888-495-8476
  • Mail: Certiphi Screening, Consumer Care Department, PO Box 541, Southampton, PA 18966

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). Certiphi must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of what it reports.
  • Public records for employment (§ 1681k). When Certiphi reports adverse public-record information for employment, it must either notify you at the time or maintain strict procedures to make sure the information is complete and up to date.
  • Pre-adverse action notice (§ 1681b(b)(3)). Before an employer takes adverse action based on a report, it generally must give you a copy and a summary of your rights.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Certiphi must reasonably reinvestigate disputed information, free of charge, and correct or delete what is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.
  • Your file (§ 1681g). You have the right to see the information in your file and its sources.

Can you sue Certiphi?

Yes, when the facts support it. You may have an FCRA claim if Certiphi reported someone else’s record, a cleared case or an outdated record without reasonable procedures to prevent it, or if it did not fix the error after you disputed.

If the violation was negligent, you may recover actual damages, such as lost wages, a lost job offer or delayed placement, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If it was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n). A lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and within five years after it occurred (§ 1681p).

We did not find a CFPB, FTC or state enforcement action against Certiphi. Whether a claim is strong depends on what the report said, how the record was matched to you, and what Certiphi did with your dispute. That is why your copies of the report and dispute matter.

FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency. No fee unless we win.

Get a free case review

If a Certiphi report cost you a healthcare job, a staffing assignment or a program spot, save the report, the notices and your dispute, and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel.

Questions about suing Certiphi Screening

Can I sue Certiphi?

Yes, if the facts support it. Certiphi prepares background reports for employers and schools, so it is a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. You may have a claim if it reported inaccurate or outdated information without reasonable procedures to assure accuracy, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Is Certiphi part of Vertical Screen?

Yes. Certiphi's FACT Act page identifies it as Certiphi Screening, Inc., a subsidiary of Vertical Screen, Inc. Certiphi also says it leverages Vertical Screen's tools and processes.

Will Certiphi have a file on me?

Only if an employer or school ordered a report with your authorization. Certiphi says it prepares reports only for clients who obtained your prior authorization. If you applied to a healthcare employer or program that uses Certiphi, request your report even if no one told you what it said.

What does it cost to bring a case?

Nothing out of pocket. FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, with no fee unless we win, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

Sources

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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