To opt out of Sterling, submit a privacy request at sterling.com/privacyrequest and select delete personal information plus opt out of sale and targeted advertising. If a background check was run on you, separately request your free consumer report and dispute any errors at dispute.resolution@sterlingcheck.com or 1-888-889-5248. Sterling has 30 days to respond.
Who Sterling Is and Why They Have Your Data
Sterling is one of the largest employment background screening companies in the United States and is listed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a consumer reporting agency. When an employer, staffing firm, gig platform, or volunteer organization runs a background check on you, Sterling is frequently the company that assembles it.
A Sterling file on you can include:
- Full name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Current and previous addresses
- Criminal record searches across county, state, and federal courts
- Employment and education verification results
- Motor vehicle records and driving history
- Professional license and credential checks
- Drug screening results, where applicable
- Global watchlist and sanctions screening
Why Sterling Matters More Than a People-Search Site
A Spokeo listing embarrasses you. A Sterling report decides whether you get hired. Because Sterling is a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, errors in its file carry real legal weight — and you have enforceable rights to see, dispute, and correct them that people-search sites do not give you.
Step 1: Submit a Sterling Privacy Request
- Go to https://sterling.com/privacyrequest/ — Sterling's consumer privacy request portal.
- Select the rights you want to exercise. The portal supports requests to know the categories of personal information held, obtain a copy of your personal information, delete personal information, opt out of the sale of personal information, opt out of targeted advertising and cross-context behavioral advertising, opt out of automated decision-making, limit use of sensitive personal information, correct inaccurate information, and appeal a denied request.
- Select deletion and the opt-out rights. They are separate; granting one does not grant the other.
- Enter your full legal name, date of birth, current address, prior addresses from the last five years, and every email address you have used with an employer.
- Submit and save the confirmation reference.
Deletion Has Legal Limits Here
Sterling can lawfully retain records it needs to comply with the FCRA, respond to disputes, or meet a client's legal obligations — a completed background report tied to a hire generally cannot be erased on request. What deletion realistically achieves is removing data held beyond those retention duties. The dispute process in Step 3 is the tool that actually fixes a report being used against you.
Step 2: Request Your Free Consumer Report
Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act you are entitled to a free copy of any consumer report Sterling has prepared on you, once every 12 months. You cannot correct what you have not read.
- If a background check was run on you recently, log in at mybackgroundcheck.sterlingcheck.com — the Candidate Hub — and download the results from the documents section of your profile.
- If you have no Candidate Hub account, complete Sterling's online contact form to request the report.
- Request in writing that Sterling include the sources it used and the identity of anyone who received the report in the past two years for employment purposes.
- Read every line against your own records: dates, court dispositions, employer names, job titles, and license numbers.
Step 3: Dispute Anything Inaccurate
This is the step with real teeth. Background screening errors are common — wrong-person matches, expunged records that should have dropped off, dismissed charges reported as convictions, and dates that make a gap look like a firing.
- Call Sterling at 1-888-889-5248 to open a dispute, or email dispute.resolution@sterlingcheck.com.
- Mail written disputes to Sterling, Attn: Consumer Reports, 6150 Oak Tree Boulevard, Suite 490, Independence, OH 44131.
- State exactly which item is wrong and why, and attach supporting documentation — court dispositions, expungement orders, pay stubs, diplomas.
- Under the FCRA, Sterling must investigate and respond within roughly 30 days, and must delete or correct anything it cannot verify.
- Ask Sterling to send the corrected report to every employer that received the inaccurate version.
Step 4: Handle Sterling AI Separately
Sterling AI, previously operating as SterlingStrategies, is handled through its own channel rather than the main privacy portal. Open the Sterling AI website, click Privacy Policy in the footer, scroll to the Your Privacy Rights section, and use the Delete my personal information link. Filing at sterling.com/privacyrequest does not cover it.
Step 5: Re-Check in 45 Days
Follow up on your original ticket rather than opening a new one — an existing thread is harder to treat as a first-time inquiry. If Sterling denies a request and you live in a state with a comprehensive privacy law, you have a statutory right to appeal the denial. Unresolved FCRA disputes can be escalated to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has previously brought enforcement action against employment screening companies over accuracy failures.
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What Opting Out of Sterling Does Not Fix
Sterling assembles reports from court records, employer records, and other databases. Removing yourself from Sterling does not touch:
- The underlying court and public records Sterling searches
- Other screening firms — HireRight, Checkr, GoodHire, First Advantage — each with its own file and its own process
- People-search sites like Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and Radaris, which publish your address and phone to anyone
- Marketing data brokers that sell your profile commercially
How PrivacyOn Handles the Rest
Sterling is one file. The broader problem is that your home address, phone numbers, age, and relatives are published across more than a hundred data broker and people-search sites — and every one of them has its own form, its own wait time, and its own habit of re-listing you a few months later.
PrivacyOn removes your personal information from 100+ data brokers and people-search sites and keeps monitoring so removals get re-filed automatically when a site republishes you. Plans start at $8.33/month and include 24/7 dark web monitoring and family coverage for up to 5 people. Run a free scan to see which sites are publishing your information right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I opt out of Sterling background checks?
Submit a privacy request at sterling.com/privacyrequest and select deletion of personal information plus the opt-out rights for sale and targeted advertising. Note that Sterling can retain records required for FCRA compliance, so if a specific report is harming you, the dispute process at dispute.resolution@sterlingcheck.com or 1-888-889-5248 is the more effective route.
How long does Sterling take to respond?
Roughly 30 days. The FCRA gives consumer reporting agencies about 30 days to investigate a dispute, and state privacy laws generally allow up to 45 days for a deletion or opt-out request with a possible extension. If you have heard nothing, follow up on your original ticket rather than filing fresh.
Can I get a free copy of my Sterling background check?
Yes. Under the FACT Act you are entitled to one free copy of any consumer report Sterling prepared on you in each 12-month period. Download it from the Candidate Hub at mybackgroundcheck.sterlingcheck.com, or request it through Sterling's online contact form if you have no account.
What if my Sterling background check has errors?
Dispute it in writing with documentation. Call 1-888-889-5248 or email dispute.resolution@sterlingcheck.com, and mail supporting documents to Sterling, Attn: Consumer Reports, 6150 Oak Tree Boulevard, Suite 490, Independence, OH 44131. Sterling must investigate within about 30 days and remove anything it cannot verify, then send corrected reports to employers that received the bad version.
Is Sterling a data broker?
Sterling is a consumer reporting agency rather than a marketing data broker — it sells background reports to employers under the FCRA, not consumer profiles to advertisers. That distinction works in your favor: FCRA rights to access, dispute, and correct are stronger than anything you get from a people-search site.
Does opting out of Sterling remove me from other background check sites?
No. HireRight, Checkr, GoodHire, and First Advantage each maintain separate files with separate processes, and people-search sites are separate again. PrivacyOn covers the people-search and data broker side automatically across 100+ sites for $8.33/month, with continuous monitoring so removals hold.
Will opting out of Sterling stop me from getting hired?
No. A deletion request does not flag you to employers, and employers do not see that you filed one. If a future employer orders a check, Sterling assembles a fresh report from court and verification sources at that time. Correcting errors through the dispute process helps your prospects; it does not hurt them.