First Advantage report cost you a job offer?

Who First Advantage is and who relies on its reports

First Advantage is an Atlanta-based provider of employment background screening, identity and verification services. It trades on Nasdaq under the symbol FA and says it performs screens in over 200 countries and territories. Employers order its reports to decide who gets hired, who gets promoted and who gets let go.

First Advantage got bigger in 2024. On October 31, 2024, it completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp., another major screening company, in a transaction valued at $2.2 billion including Sterling’s debt. Sterling’s website now says Sterling is a First Advantage company. If you were screened by either name, the same corporate family is behind the report.

Before that acquisition, in 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau obtained a stipulated judgment against Sterling Infosystems, Inc. requiring $6 million in consumer relief and a $2.5 million civil penalty over alleged FCRA accuracy, public-record and reporting-period violations. That case involved Sterling, not First Advantage, and predates the merger.

Errors that show up on First Advantage reports

First Advantage’s own dispute form lets you flag criminal history, Social Security number verification, motor vehicle records, education and employment. Those are the categories where screening errors tend to appear:

• Wrong-person criminal records. A case belonging to someone with a similar name or birth date lands on your report.
• Incomplete court history. A charge shows up without the dismissal, acquittal or expungement that followed.
• SSN trace mix-ups. An address or name history linked to the wrong person sends the search to the wrong counties and the wrong records.
• Driving record errors. Violations or suspensions that belong to someone else or were resolved.
• Verification failures. Past employers or degrees reported as unverified, or with the wrong dates or titles.
• Obsolete records. Arrests and other non-conviction records older than seven years.

How to dispute a First Advantage report

1. Get the report. First Advantage says you are entitled to one free copy of your report within 12 months, and may qualify for another in situations such as being denied employment in the past 60 days. If an employer sent a pre-adverse action notice, it should include a copy.
2. File through the official dispute page. First Advantage accepts U.S. disputes on its official dispute page. The form asks for the organization that requested your check and which type of record you are disputing, with space to explain your concern.
3. Be precise. Identify each wrong item with case numbers, courts, dates, employers or schools, and say exactly what is wrong.
4. Attach proof. Court dispositions, expungement orders, diplomas, W-2s or pay stubs, ID, or proof that a record belongs to someone else.
5. Tell the employer. Let the employer know you have disputed and ask it to hold its decision until the reinvestigation is done.
6. Keep copies of everything. The report, the employer’s letters, your dispute, confirmations and every response.
7. Hold them to the timeline. First Advantage says reinvestigations are generally completed within 30 days of receipt, the same general deadline set by 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1).

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). First Advantage must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information it reports.
• Public records for employment (§ 1681k). For public-record information reported for employment that is likely to have an adverse effect, it must either notify you at the time or maintain strict procedures to make sure the information is complete and up to date.
• Disclosure and authorization (§ 1681b(b)(2)). The employer generally must give you a clear, standalone disclosure and get your written permission before ordering the report.
• Pre-adverse action notice (§ 1681b(b)(3)). Before acting on the report, the employer generally must give you a copy of it and a summary of your rights.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). Disputed information must be reasonably reinvestigated and corrected or deleted if it is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years.
• File disclosure (§ 1681g). You are entitled to the information in your file, its sources, and the employers that received it in the past two years.

What you may recover

For a negligent violation, you may recover actual damages, such as lost wages, a lost job offer and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n). An employer that skipped the required notices may face its own liability.

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

Get a free case review

FCRA claims have a hard deadline: generally two years after you discover the violation and no more than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If a First Advantage or Sterling report cost you work, keep the report, the employer’s letters 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 First Advantage

Can I sue First Advantage?

Yes, if the facts support a claim. First Advantage prepares consumer reports for employment, which makes it a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. Claims typically involve inaccurate reporting without reasonable procedures, outdated public-record information, or a failure to reasonably reinvestigate a dispute.

My report came from Sterling. Is that the same company now?

First Advantage completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp. on October 31, 2024, and Sterling's website now describes Sterling as a First Advantage company. Which entity is responsible for your report depends on who prepared it and when, which a lawyer can determine from your paperwork.

How much does it cost to see my First Advantage report?

First Advantage says you are entitled to one free copy of your report within 12 months, and lists other situations that may qualify you for a copy, such as being denied employment in the past 60 days. Federal law also gives you free access after an adverse action based on the report.

What will a lawyer cost?

FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, with no fee unless we win. Under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o, a successful consumer may recover attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

• Got a Pre-Adverse Action Notice? What It Means and What to Do Next
• Background Check Dispute Letter: What to Write, What to Attach
• How to Fix a Background Check Error, Step by Step

Sources

• First Advantage press release (SEC Exhibit 99.1): First Advantage Completes Acquisition of Sterling Check for $2.2 Billion (October 31, 2024)
• Sterling official website ("Sterling is now a First Advantage company")
• First Advantage official U.S. dispute page
• First Advantage candidates page (30-day reinvestigations; free copy rules)
• CFPB enforcement action: Sterling Infosystems, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. 2019)

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