First Advantage Corp

NASDAQ:FA

Business Description

Sector

Industrials

Industry

Professional Services

Headquarters

United States of America US

Employees

9 500

IPO date

Jun 23, 2021

First Advantage helps employers check the people they hire. It sells background screening services such as criminal record checks, employment and education verification, identity checks, drug and health screening, and ongoing monitoring. Its customers are mainly companies that hire large numbers of workers, especially in industries like staffing, healthcare, retail, transportation, and technology.

The company makes money by charging clients for each screening or verification service it performs, plus fees for related software and workflow tools. Customers use its platform to submit candidate data, get checks completed, and keep hiring records organized and compliant. That makes First Advantage a behind-the-scenes part of the hiring process: it is not the employer, but it helps employers reduce hiring risk and move candidates through screening faster.

What makes the business model durable is that background checks are a routine step in hiring and employee compliance, not a one-time purchase. First Advantage sits between employers and the many public and private data sources needed to verify a person’s history, so customers pay for speed, coordination, and accuracy. Its role is especially useful for large organizations that need the same screening process applied across many locations, job types, and countries.