Request API credentials (Client ID and Client Secret) from Sterling for your screening region (US, EMEA, Canada, or APAC); the current API documentation is at apidocs.sterlingcheck.app
Obtain an access token by posting your Client ID and Client Secret to the Sterling token endpoint; include the returned access token as a Bearer token in the Authorization header on all subsequent requests
Submit a background check order via the order creation endpoint with the candidate's personal information and the desired screening package; store the returned order ID
Poll the order status endpoint using the order ID to check the current state; Sterling's API is scoped to order lifecycle management including submission, status polling, and report retrieval
When the status indicates completion, retrieve the full report via the report retrieval endpoint; the report includes component-level results for each screening type ordered
Implement exponential back-off when polling; avoid tight polling loops that could exhaust rate limits or trigger throttling
Known gotchas
The legacy Sterling API documentation at sterling.readme.io is no longer supported; use the current documentation at apidocs.sterlingcheck.app to avoid building against deprecated endpoints
Sterling's API access is provisioned per region (US, EMEA, APAC, Canada) and credentials are not cross-regional; use the correct credential set for the region where the check is being ordered
Sterling is now a First Advantage company; branding references in documentation may vary — confirm you are accessing Sterling-branded endpoints specifically if you have a Sterling contract
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