I am a Candidate

There can be any number of reasons. The organisation that has requested your check may have a Pre-employment screening policy, for example. Alternatively, your role, project or contract may require checks for regulatory reasons or to fulfil certain contractual obligations. Pre-employment background checks can also be used to verify the information you supplied on your CV or application form or even during your job interview(s). Other background checks such as criminal record checks can help to reduce the risk of employing someone who may not be suitable for the role. Employers are obliged to carefully review each background check report before making any associated recruitment decisions. When background checks are carried out post-employment, they aim to re-assess risks such as this. They may also be carried out in line with post-employment screening policies, for regulatory reasons or to fulfil contractual obligations.

The organisation that requested your checks will have asked for the specific checks that they would like they would like us to undertake. Regulatory requirements will mean some roles need more checks than others.

We take the security of your data extremely seriously, as do our clients. Verifile has a number of certifications, including ISO27001, ISO9001, Cyber Essentials Plus and NSI Gold, that prove how committed we are to maintaining the security of your data. We are also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. All data is stored in the United Kingdom. You may wish to read our privacy notice below

Checks typically take up to two weeks to complete. However, this can vary depending on the types of checks being carried out and how quickly the data suppliers (such as previous employers and credit bureaus) take to respond.

All fields that are marked with a * are mandatory fields and must be filled in. Please provide as much information as you can. This will mean that checks can be completed quickly and that neither Verifile or the organisation that requested your checks will have to contact you for further information.

In order to process your checks, we’ll need some personal information from you. The amount of information requested will depend on the checks that have been requested. However, you will normally be asked to provide at least your full name, address and date of birth.

You may be asked to provide details of previous employers, including the name of the employer and its address, your dates of employment and the positions you held. When we subsequently contact those employers, they will normally be asked to provide information including (but not limited to) your employment dates, the positions you held and whether you were ever the subject of any disciplinary action. We will always contact either the HR or payroll department of your previous employer, even if you have given us contact details for your manager or another person or department. Questions may vary according to the needs of the organisation that requested your checks.

Academic qualification checks cover GCSEs, A Levels, BTECs, International Baccalaureate and university degrees. We will ask you for the name and address of the academic institution you attended, the course title, your dates of attendance and the level of qualification you gained. We then contact the institution, normally asking for confirmation of your attendance, the grades you received and the qualification you were awarded. We will usually contact the Registrar or Student Records Office, even if you have given us contact details for your teacher, tutor or for another person or department. Questions may vary according to the needs of the organisation that requested your checks

“Activity” is defined as time spent in employment, self-employment, on an internship, doing voluntary work or engaged in formal education. If you weren’t doing any of these types of activity during the time period that your employer has asked us to check (e.g. the last 5 years), then you’ll need to provide an explanation of what you were doing during any gaps. Explanations for such gaps could include travelling, looking after dependents, self-study, looking for employment or taking time off for medical reasons.

You can add a new activity by pressing the ‘next’ button on activity 1. You can add as many activity forms as you need to and it does not matter if the activities are not in date order. If you have provided details of all your activity during the period, then click ‘next’ again to continue filling in the rest of the form.

If we are unable to obtain a reference, then we will let the organisation that requested the checks know.

If we are unable to obtain a reference, then we will let the organisation that requested the checks know.

Some employers will ask us to carry out a criminal records check. If that’s the case for you, you’ll see this included in the list of checks that appears on the left hand side of the screen when you log into the candidate portal.

The type of criminal check that we might complete will vary depending on where you reside (or have resided) and the type of role that you have applied for. In the United Kingdom, certain job roles require a specific type of criminal check to be conducted, as specified by the Government.

The screening form will give you a list of all the possible document options. You may need to present original documents directly to the organisation that requested your checks, so do please follow the instructions carefully.

Criminal record check certificates are usually only valid at the time that they were issued. If the organisation that requested your checks has asked for a criminal record check, then it means that they require an up-to-date certificate.

Yes. However, the footprint, which we have to leave by law, is only visible to you.

No. Lenders carrying out credit checks on you in future will not be able to see the check footprint and the check will not affect your credit score.

Don’t worry if you don’t have your birth certificate. There are usually several other document options to choose from if you need to provide identity documents.

You should upload copies of documents directly to the candidate portal. You can use a smart phone or digital camera to take a picture of the document but please turn off the flash to ensure the document image is clear. Please check that the whole of the document appears in the image and that all the information on the document can be read before you upload it, as you cannot subsequently delete this once uploaded. The guide below will help you walk through the process.

Please only post original documents or forms to us if specifically asked to do so. We recommend using a tracking service or courier service to ensure safe delivery of the documents to us.

We will sometimes need you to sign an Authority Form. This is used to prove to third parties that we have your permission to ask them for information about you. Please sign and upload a copy to the candidate portal. The guide below will walk you through the process.

Once you have fully and accurately filled in the screening form, you will be presented with an Authority and Finish Page. This is the page where you sign your authority for us to start the screening process on your behalf. You need to carefully read and tick the boxes to confirm agreement.

If the error messages are unclear, then please contact us and we will help you to finish the form.

Verifile can tell you which checks have been finished and which are still in progress. Checks can normally take up to two weeks to complete so we recommend waiting this long after submitting the form before contacting us.

Verifile won’t be able to share any results or the full report with you. If you want to discuss the results or see a copy of the final report, you will need to contact the organisation that requested your checks.

You can log in to upload documents but you will not be able to access the screening form. Once all checks are finished, you will no longer be able to log in.

The organisation that requested the checks should let you know when the checks have been completed, although sometimes they will ask us to send you an email to inform you of this.

Once all checks have been finished, we send the report to the organisation that requested your checks. If you would like a copy of this report, please contact your prospective employer and they will consider your request.

You should speak to the organisation that requested your checks. To dispute specific results, including UK criminal checks and UK credit checks, you may need to contact the data provider directly. The organisations that requested your checks or Verifile can help you with this.