2026 is here... can you believe it? It feels like not long ago we were strategizing for 2025. It was yet another interesting year in background screening, but the shifting landscape continues to reveal opportunities for Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to innovate and reimagine what’s possible.
As we begin the new year, we’re sharing our team’s take on 2025 industry trends, our predictions for what’s ahead, and practical tips to guide your planning.
2025 in Review
Trust in the workforce is evolving, and so is the process of verifying it. In 2025, the background screening industry navigated macroeconomic volatility, aggressive regulatory focus (including CFPB/FCRA-related scrutiny), and pervasive system instability.
Macroeconomic signals and sentiment often moved in different directions. Inside screening, growth was measured, and consolidation continued, prompting leaders to re-evaluate operating models and partner strategies. And while AI dominated the conversation, buyers rewarded explainability, provenance, and human oversight.
When conditions shift and scrutiny rises, decisions must be defensible, auditable, and timely—which is why teams relied more heavily on verified people data they can prove and explain.
Six Background Screening Trends from ‘25
1) A noticeable rise in system outages across the ecosystem
Across the industry, we saw a noticeable uptick in unexpected outages and performance issues — from court websites and multi-jurisdictional databases to external furnishers and even CRAs’ internal platforms. These disruptions highlight how dependent the screening process has become on interconnected systems, and how vulnerable the workflow can be when any one of them goes down.
2) International screening kept growing—and innovating
International continues to be our fastest-growing product line, and the rising demand is fueling meaningful innovation, such as same-day verifications and even same-day criminal results enabled through applicant-driven contact processes. This increased volume presents the opportunity to rethink and optimize processes that previously contained friction, ultimately driving greater efficiency and cost reduction at scale. Streamlining these workflows is essential as global hiring continues to expand.
3) Transparency around third‑party fees became table stakes
End clients are more informed and more analytical than ever about the true cost of background screening. They’re asking deeper questions about court fees, supplemental clerk fees, and the rising expenses tied to third-party employment and education verifications. Clear, upfront transparency and communication are quickly becoming an expectation rather than a courtesy.
4) Responsible AI is the new bar
Buyers cared less about slogans and more about substance: clear sources, plain‑English results, and human controls. The strongest solutions showed how edge cases are reviewed by people, how conclusions are explained, and how decisions can be defended—not just how quickly they’re produced.
5) Real‑time, event‑driven monitoring gained traction
Risk changes between annual checks. Employers—especially those with drivers—asked for signals that emerge sooner and with less noise, enabling quicker and more proportionate action. This continuous workforce monitoring strategy moves screening from a one-time snapshot to an ongoing risk intelligence layer, enabling the shift from reactive to proactive risk management.
6) Infrastructure became a buying criterion
We saw an increase in evaluation teams asking how data moves, how it’s logged, and how easily it integrates. Speed and compliance depend on clean connections, clear audit trails, and flexible integrations that reduce manual handoffs. Capabilities such as real-time webhook events and HTML audit trails make it easier to prove what happened, when, and why.
2026 Predictions
- Another major acquisition is likely
Consolidation remains a defining characteristic of the industry, and we expect to see at least one more significant acquisition reshape the competitive landscape.
- A major court outage will disrupt operations again
Given 2025’s pattern of instability, it’s reasonable to anticipate another large-scale court-system outage that impacts turnaround times and forces providers to lean heavily on contingency plans.
- The North Star: continuous, smarter use of data
Screening data will evolve from one‑time snapshots into a dynamic intelligence layer that supports decisions throughout the worker lifecycle. Employers will expect monitoring solutions that deliver near‑real‑time signals that adapt to role changes and surface emerging risk earlier. This marks a significant departure from the one-and-done mindset that has historically defined pre-employment screening and will challenge the industry to rethink how data is sourced, governed, updated, and contextualized.
- Automation meets oversight
Automation will continue to accelerate research, retrieval, identity, and verification tasks—but buyers will expect stronger auditability, explainability, and data provenance. This aligns with broader trends across regulated industries where responsible automation becomes the defining standard. The organizations that thrive will be those that balance machine efficiency with human oversight and demonstrate that their systems are both fast and trustworthy.
- New talent segments expand the market
The greatest new opportunities for the screening industry in 2026 will come from groups that traditional models have not fully addressed. Growth will increasingly center on employers managing global remote teams, multi-jurisdictional contractors, gig-economy workers, and roles requiring verifiable credentials, such as cybersecurity and identity-sensitive positions. These segments will demand screening approaches that are more adaptable, portable, and responsive to workforce mobility.
- Regulation and data ethics shift from constraint to enabler
Evolving laws around privacy, automated decision-making, AI governance, and consumer rights will reshape the screening ecosystem in 2026. But instead of acting solely as constraints, these regulations will create meaningful opportunities for differentiation. Organizations that embed transparency, consent-focused design, data minimization, and explainable automation into their processes will earn trust from both employers and applicants. As frameworks become clearer, it will open doors for cross-border hiring, more consistent applicant experiences, and greater adoption of identity-verification technologies.
- A strategic inflection point: from results to “workforce trust experiences”
2026 will be the year the screening industry recognizes it is operating within a much broader trust economy. Growth will increasingly depend on whether organizations can widen their perspective, shifting from competing on individual screening outputs to creating holistic workforce trust experiences. This means embracing transparent measurement, pursuing unexpected partnerships, and designing solutions that deliver confidence rather than just data. As the industry moves further into this inflection point, those who broaden their thinking beyond traditional CRA boundaries, and adapt to the rising demand for trust infrastructure, will be positioned to shape the next era of growth.
Practical Advice for CRAs Heading into 2026
1) Prioritize business continuity, before you need it
Business continuity is the difference between scrambling and leading when disruptions hit. Consider the following:
- Strengthen relationships with backup providers or confirm that your current partners have true redundancy in place.
- Ask direct questions about uptime performance and resiliency.
- Ensure you and your providers can effectively navigate automation blockers (e.g., CAPTCHA) without halting workflows.
- Establish communication pathways that allow you to deliver proactive, useful guidance when outages occur.
2) Make real‑time monitoring a standard offering
Treat ongoing monitoring as a core product, not an add‑on. Build packages that reflect the roles you serve (drivers, regulated positions) and use real-time, event‑driven updates to reduce noise and accelerate response.
3) Double‑down on fee transparency
Clients expect clarity on court and third‑party pass‑throughs. Use systems that support precise, line‑item reconciliation and share an easy‑to‑read fee narrative with customers.
4) Build explainability into every automated step
Pair automation with human review, maintain HTML audit trails, and standardize plain‑English summaries that show sources, steps, and decisions. This strengthens compliance and speeds resolution when questions arise.
5) Strengthen international workflows, not just coverage
Invest in or find a partner who provides guided ordering, local expertise, and quality checks to keep turnaround times fast without sacrificing accuracy. Applicant‑driven contact flows (where permitted) can accelerate verifications while improving applicant experience.
6) Design for the new segments you’ll be asked to support
Build packages for remote, gig, and credential‑sensitive roles that are more portable and role‑aware. Tie pre‑hire screening to ongoing signals, so value persists beyond day one.
Ready to Build Trust in 2026?
Verified data, resilient operations, and responsible automation will define 2026. If trust starts with facts, our industry must make those facts faster, clearer, and always within reach.
At InformData, we connect businesses to verified people data, enabling them to make informed, confident decisions and manage risk with clarity. We're investing in technology transformation and data innovation to strengthen reliability, transparency, and timeliness, ensuring your screening teams have trustworthy data exactly when they need it.
Here’s to the new year and the opportunities that lie ahead. Reach out to our team of experts to explore how InformData can help contribute to your organization's success in 2026.
