Unified Verification API: Run Background Checks and Identity Verification Across Providers
·
Update, 23 October 2026: the Verification API now covers 24 providers. For current methods and webhook support per integration, see the Verification API overview and supported integrations.
If your product needs to run background checks, verify identity, or confirm professional credentials, you quickly run into fragmented APIs, inconsistent request formats, and provider-specific onboarding requirements.
The Unified Verification API provides one interface to request and retrieve verification results across providers, with standard data models and status events on supported integrations.
Supported Providers
Our Verification API launches with support for leading providers, with more on the roadmap:
- Certn: Canadian-based, global coverage for background checks, identity, and credit.
- Checkr: U.S. leader in automated background screening, criminal checks, and employment verification.
- Verifiable: License and credential verification for healthcare and other regulated professions.
- First Advantage: Global background and verification provider.
- Yardstik: Background checks, identity verification, and compliance tools designed for workforce platforms.
The category now covers 24 providers, including Socure, Sterling and Trulioo. See all verification integrations.
Looking for another provider? Request an integration.
Core objects in the Verification API
- Packages: predefined verification bundles (e.g. criminal check, license verification)
- Requests: verification requests tied to a candidate or subject
- Results: status, score, documents and provider details, returned on the request itself
Requests include structured profile data (identity, contact details, identifiers), and results are returned with detailed status and supporting information.
How are requests run and tracked?
Each verification request is sent to the provider's API when you make the call.
- Requests are created via a unified endpoint
- Status updates are delivered via webhooks on supported integrations; on the others, retrieve the request
- Results are available once the provider completes the check
You don't run background sync jobs; where an integration sends no events, read the request when you need its status.
What You Can Verify
Verification covers a broad set of checks across industries:
Identity & personal verification
- Driver's licenses
- Passports
- Identity verification
Background checks
- Criminal checks
- Employment history
- Education verification
Professional & regulatory
- Licenses (healthcare, finance, legal)
Financial & risk
- Credit checks
- Income verification
Assessments
- Skills and psychometric tests
Which checks you can order depends on each provider's packages.
Each provider offers packages — bundles of checks such as 'criminal + employment history.' With Unified, you can list available packages, request one with candidate details (name, email, license number), and receive a pass/fail result with reasons (e.g., ‘license expired in June 2024, Ontario').
Who this is for
- Recruiting platforms running background checks and candidate screening
- HR and HRIS systems managing onboarding and compliance
- Marketplaces verifying workers or service providers
- Fintech platforms validating identity, income, and credit
- Compliance platforms handling regulatory verification
Verification in Recruiting, HR, and Fintech
Verification processes align naturally with candidate and employee lifecycle stages:
- ATS integrations — Trigger background or license checks when a candidate reaches the 'Background Check' stage.
- Job boards — Pre-screen candidates before sending them to employers.
- HRIS platforms — Validate licenses and onboarding requirements after a hire.
- Assessment platforms — Combine background checks with candidate testing for a complete evaluation.
- Fintech and credit platforms — Run income or credit checks to support lending, risk profiling, or compliance processes.
For example, a recruiting platform can call createVerificationRequest when a candidate advances to 'Offer,' while a fintech app can request a credit check during a loan application.
Using verification data in AI systems
Verification results can be used to:
- Automate candidate screening decisions
- Flag compliance risks or missing credentials
- Generate summaries of verification outcomes
- Trigger downstream actions based on verification status
Because each read goes to the provider, AI systems see the provider's current status, not a stored copy.
Technical Advantages of Unified
The Verification API runs on Unified.to's pass-through infrastructure:
- Standardized objects for verification requests and results.
- Read + write operations where supported by the provider.
- Native and virtual webhooks for status updates and results, on supported integrations.
- No customer records at rest: connection credentials and operational metadata are encrypted at rest.
- Multiple delivery models: API access, webhooks for status updates on supported integrations, and MCP tools for AI systems.
- SOC 2 Type II report; GDPR and CCPA compliance.
- Requests are stateless and executed directly against provider APIs, reducing data retention and compliance scope.
Unlike verification integrations that rely on batch processing or stored records, Unified.to sends each request to the provider's API and returns the result without keeping a copy of customer records. You add verification to existing processes without building a separate integration for each provider.
Unified for Recruiting & Beyond
Unified now powers every stage of the hiring and onboarding lifecycle:
- ATS APIs → Source, manage, and update candidates.
- HRIS APIs → Read and update employee data and onboarding requirements.
- Verification API → Run background, license, assessment, and credit checks.
With the addition of Verification, Unified.to is the all-in-one integration partner for recruiting and HR platforms, built for AI products, with 1867 integrations across 37 categories.
Resources
The Verification API is available on all Unified.to plans. Start your 30-day trial or book a demo.
What is a verification API?
A verification API allows developers to request and retrieve background checks, identity verification, and credential validation from multiple providers through a single interface. It standardizes request formats, status tracking, and results, reducing the need to integrate each provider separately.