Adverse Actions

When a background check reveals information that may lead to an adverse employment decision, you must follow the FCRA-mandated adverse action process. CoreVerify automates the required pre-adverse and post-adverse notices with configurable waiting periods.

Adverse Action Workflow

Adjudicate a report with adverse_action decision
Initiate an adverse action — CoreVerify sends the pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report
Wait the required period (minimum 5 business days) for the candidate to dispute
If no dispute, CoreVerify sends the final post-adverse notice automatically
If the candidate disputes, status moves to disputed for review

Status Values

Status	Description
pre_notice_sent	Pre-adverse notice emailed to candidate; waiting period has begun
waiting_period	Within the mandatory waiting period before final notice can be sent
post_notice_sent	Final adverse action notice sent; process complete
disputed	Candidate filed a dispute during the waiting period
cancelled	Adverse action was cancelled before completion

POST/v1/adverse-actions

Initiate Adverse Action

Starts the adverse action process for a report. Sends the pre-adverse notice to the candidate and begins the waiting period.

Request Body

Field	Type	Required	Description
reportId	string	Yes	ID of the adjudicated report
waitingPeriodDays	integer	No	Business days to wait before post-adverse notice (min: 5, default: 5)
reason	string	No	Reason for the adverse action (included in the notice)

Example Request

curl

curl -X POST https://api.coreverify.com/v1/adverse-actions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "reportId": "rpt_3FpQwLvMcYnR",
    "waitingPeriodDays": 5,
    "reason": "Undisclosed criminal conviction within past 7 years"
  }'

Response

201 Created

{
  "data": {
    "id": "aa_5HnKpRtXcYvL",
    "reportId": "rpt_3FpQwLvMcYnR",
    "candidateId": "cand_7xKm2pQrNvLw",
    "status": "pre_notice_sent",
    "reason": "Undisclosed criminal conviction within past 7 years",
    "waitingPeriodDays": 5,
    "preNoticeSentAt": "2024-03-16T10:00:00Z",
    "waitingPeriodEndsAt": "2024-03-23T10:00:00Z",
    "postNoticeSentAt": null,
    "disputedAt": null,
    "cancelledAt": null,
    "createdAt": "2024-03-16T10:00:00Z",
    "updatedAt": "2024-03-16T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

GET/v1/adverse-actions

List Adverse Actions

Returns a paginated list of all adverse actions, sorted by creation date descending.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
status	string	Filter by status value
candidateId	string	Filter to a specific candidate
page	integer	Page number (default: 1)
per_page	integer	Results per page, max 100 (default: 25)

Example Response

200 OK

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "aa_5HnKpRtXcYvL",
      "reportId": "rpt_3FpQwLvMcYnR",
      "candidateId": "cand_7xKm2pQrNvLw",
      "status": "post_notice_sent",
      "preNoticeSentAt": "2024-03-16T10:00:00Z",
      "postNoticeSentAt": "2024-03-23T10:05:00Z",
      "createdAt": "2024-03-16T10:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "aa_2BcDeFgHiJkL",
      "reportId": "rpt_8TkBzXrJdWqM",
      "candidateId": "cand_9mWn4bRsTeXz",
      "status": "disputed",
      "preNoticeSentAt": "2024-03-14T11:00:00Z",
      "postNoticeSentAt": null,
      "createdAt": "2024-03-14T11:00:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total": 12,
    "total_pages": 1
  }
}

GET/v1/adverse-actions/:id

Retrieve an Adverse Action

Returns the full details of a single adverse action record.

Example Request

curl

curl https://api.coreverify.com/v1/adverse-actions/aa_5HnKpRtXcYvL \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_key"

PATCH/v1/adverse-actions/:id

Update an Adverse Action

Update an adverse action in progress. You can cancel a pending adverse action or resolve a dispute.

Request Body

Field	Type	Description
status	string	Set to `cancelled` to cancel, or `post_notice_sent` to manually close a dispute
notes	string	Internal notes about the update

Example Request — Cancel

curl

curl -X PATCH https://api.coreverify.com/v1/adverse-actions/aa_5HnKpRtXcYvL \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "status": "cancelled",
    "notes": "Candidate provided additional context that resolved the concern"
  }'