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SentryLink · Employment & tenant background checks

SentryLink background check cost you a job or a home?

SentryLink sells criminal, driving and identity checks to employers, landlords and volunteer groups. If its report showed a record that isn't yours or shouldn't be there, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to a fix and may let you sue.

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SentryLink is a background check company based in Greenbelt, Maryland, that says it has served customers since 2001. It sells pre-employment background checks, tenant screening, criminal record searches, driving records and identity verification to businesses and individuals. Its website says its criminal report packages include searches of the HHS Office of Inspector General exclusion list, sex offender registries and government watchlists, and that it offers real-time court research.

SentryLink says its self-pay applicant checks are especially popular with volunteer organizations, schools and landlords. That means a SentryLink report can decide a job, an apartment or a volunteer role.

  • Wrong-person records. A criminal case belonging to someone with a similar name or birth date attached to your report.
  • Registry and watchlist mismatches. A sex offender registry or watchlist hit that belongs to someone else.
  • Cleared cases. Dismissed, expunged or sealed cases still reported, or reported without the final outcome.
  • Overstated records. A charge reported as a conviction, or a misdemeanor as a felony.
  • Driving record mistakes. Violations or suspensions that are not yours, or that were resolved.
  • Old non-conviction records. Arrests and other non-conviction records more than seven years old, which the FCRA generally bars.
  1. Find out who ran the check. The employer’s pre-adverse action notice or the landlord’s denial notice should name the screening company. Make sure it was SentryLink.
  2. Ask for your report. SentryLink’s contact page says that if SentryLink ran a report on you, its team is available to help, and that it offers free full-file disclosures. Email [email protected] or call (301) 486-0862 and ask for a copy of the report and the list of everyone who received it.
  3. Put your dispute in writing. Email [email protected], or mail your dispute to SentryLink, 7500 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 1040, Greenbelt, MD 20770, using a trackable method. SentryLink says it will re-investigate promptly and at no charge.
  4. Identify each record. Give the case number, court, county and state for each record, and explain exactly what is wrong.
  5. Attach proof. Dismissal, expungement or sealing orders, certified dispositions, your ID, and anything showing a record belongs to someone else.
  6. Tell the employer or landlord. Let them know you have disputed and ask them to wait for the result.
  7. Track the deadline. A consumer reporting agency generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute and send you written results within five business days after it finishes (15 U.S.C. § 1681i).
  • Customer care email (report questions and disputes): [email protected]
  • Phone: (301) 486-0862 or (877) 736-8791, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern
  • Mailing address: SentryLink, 7500 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 1040, Greenbelt, MD 20770
  • Online dispute form: none listed on SentryLink’s website

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). SentryLink must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. Matching records, registry entries or watchlist names by name alone can fall short.
  • Public records for employment (§ 1681k). When it reports public-record information for employment that is likely to hurt you, it must either notify you at the time or maintain strict procedures to keep that information complete and up to date.
  • Employer notices (§ 1681b(b)). An employer generally must give you a standalone disclosure and get your written permission before ordering a report, and give you a copy of the report before taking adverse action.
  • Landlord notices (§ 1681m). A landlord that denies you because of a report must tell you, name the screening company, and explain your right to a free copy and to dispute.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). SentryLink must reasonably reinvestigate disputes free of charge and correct or delete anything inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Arrest records and other adverse non-conviction information generally cannot be reported after seven years. Convictions are not subject to that federal limit, though some states set their own.
  • Your file (§ 1681g). You have the right to see all the information in your file and its sources.

You may be able to sue if SentryLink reported inaccurate or outdated information about you because it did not use reasonable procedures, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, and the report harmed you, for example by costing you a job or an apartment.

  • Negligent violations (15 U.S.C. § 1681o): actual damages, such as lost wages, extra housing costs and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs.
  • Willful violations (§ 1681n): actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.
  • Deadline (§ 1681p): generally two years after you discover the violation, and no later than five years after it happened.

We did not find a CFPB, FTC or state enforcement action against SentryLink. The employer or landlord that ordered the report may also have its own duties under the FCRA’s notice rules.

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

Get a free case review

FCRA claims expire. If a SentryLink report cost you a job or a home, 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 SentryLink

Can I sue SentryLink?

Yes, if the facts support it. When SentryLink prepares background reports that employers or landlords use to decide on your application, it acts as a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. You may have a claim if it reported inaccurate information without reasonable procedures, or failed to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute.

Does SentryLink charge to fix an error?

No. SentryLink's website says that if you believe it made an error, it will re-investigate promptly and at no charge to you. The FCRA also requires reinvestigations to be free.

Should I run a SentryLink self check?

SentryLink offers paid applicant self checks, but you do not need one to dispute a report someone else ordered. If a SentryLink report was used against you, the employer or landlord should have given you a notice naming SentryLink, and you can contact SentryLink's customer care team directly to get the report and dispute it.

What does it cost to bring a case?

There is no fee unless we win. FCRA Attorneys works on contingency, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover reasonable 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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