Background checks: Costs and billing
Last updated: September 24, 2025
UW conducts a suite of criminal conviction history background checks on the final candidate for employment or volunteer/contractor placement at the UW.
Staff background check costs
Effective August 18, 2025, criminal conviction history background checks for staff are run by HireRight. As of October 1, 2025, background checks are subject to Washington state sales tax (Washington State Tax Law SL5814).
| Area | Cost |
| Campus (includes WA State Patrol check, WATCH) | $34.65 per applicant, with tax |
| Medical Centers | $28.03 per applicant, with tax |
| Medical Centers WATCH check | $12.14 per applicant, with tax |
The cost for a specific finalist may be higher if the individual’s residency history requires additional county, state and/or international reports.
Billing responsibility for staff background checks
On campus, the employing unit is responsible for designating a billing contact for department accounts and for providing relevant information to HireRight for invoicing purposes. This can be done in Workday Recruiting when the job requisition is created by completing one or both of the following fields:
- Background Check Account: Select the Supervisory Organization of the hiring department
- Background Check Worktags: If required by your unit, enter a specific cost center, fund, grant or other worktags
Information entered here will appear on invoices sent from HireRight to support reconciliation.
Medical Centers Recruiting centralizes billing of background checks. No updates are needed for medical centers requisitions.
Student employee, academic personnel, volunteer and contractor checks
Student employee, academic personnel, volunteer and contractor criminal conviction history background checks are run by Sterling. Sterling’s background check costs $20.73 (plus tax) and does not include the $11.00 (plus tax) cost of the WATCH check, which is run separately.
Sterling invoice process
Sterling typically sends invoices on the 10th business day of the month for checks completed the previous month and ProCards will be charged 1-2 weeks after invoices are issued. Invoices will be sent from accountsreceivable@fadv.com and will include all details ProCard holders need to verify which hire the charge is for and to reconcile their charges in Workday. The invoice will list each candidate and the total cost of their background check.
The address field of your invoice will include your department’s name as it appears in Sterling’s billing system. Departments in different schools, colleges, and campuses can use similar shorthand and acronyms. When calling Sterling, be sure to reference your department name as it appears on your invoice.
The Purchase Order number on your invoice is unique to your hiring department. Its last 3 digits will match the billing site used by the University’s previous background check vendor, A-Check.
Your invoice also includes a Billing ID, which is Sterling’s internal billing reference and includes the UW’s contract number.
WATCH Billing Process for student employees, volunteers and contractors
WATCH charges for student employees, volunteers and contractors are billed and paid centrally. UWHR uses cost center details provided by the department to redistribute charges using Workday accounting journal.
For student employee, volunteer and contractor background checks, departments will need to provide Workday cost center details/worktags for billing purposes. Campus Recruiting will work with your department’s background check ProCard holder to gather and maintain this information.
Monthly, UWHR will bill each WATCH transaction on an individual line in an EIB. The transaction memo will include the following information that is required for reconciliation in the memo field of the EIB: transaction number, applicant name, and the name of the background check requestor.
If worktags provided by the unit fail in the EIB, UWHR Business and Finance will alert the requestor to follow up with the unit to verify the worktags. If the EIB is successful and the unit challenges the charges, they should email the requestor and hrbf@uw.edu so we can work together to resolve the specific issue.
Designating or changing your department’s authorized ProCard
To change the name of your department’s authorized ProCard holder and billing contact, send an email to ttmchbc@uw.edu that includes the following:
- Your department’s name and Purchase Order Number as they appear on your Sterling invoice.
- Current ProCard holder name and email
- New ProCard holder name and email
UWHR will send Sterling your updated billing information. A Sterling account representative will confirm when the change has been made and provide instructions for updating the account’s ProCard information.
Updating a ProCard number or expiration date
Email UWHelp@fadv.com from the email associated with your Sterling account. Include your name and the following information from your Sterling invoice: department name, Purchase Order Number, and Billing ID as they appear on your Sterling Check invoice. UW’s Sterling account representative will provide instructions for providing/updating your ProCard information.
Requesting a duplicate/invoice/receipt
Email the request to UWHelp@fadv.com from the email associated with your Sterling account. Include your name and the following information from your invoice: your department’s name and Billing ID as they appear on your Sterling Check invoice. You will typically receive your invoice the next business day.
Disputing background check charges
If departments have questions about their invoice or specific charges, forward the invoice to UWHelp@fadv.com. Please include the applicant name(s) when disputing a charge.