2025 Global Trends Report: Speed and Compliance on Top

Now in its seventh year, the First Advantage Global Trends Report continues to be a vital resource for organizations worldwide. Our report is comprised of data from hundreds of millions of anonymized points across all industries, together with insights from First Advantage customers around the globe. Our report identifies the background screening elements most important to customers and also highlights key takeaways to guide future background check strategies.

In this blog, we’ll not only uncover foundational themes but also introduce innovative strategies to transform candidate experiences and increase background check efficiency.

For a deeper dive, download the full report.

5 Key Insights from the 2025 Global Trends Report

As employers, you want to be well-informed and confident in your hiring decisions. From rescreening to digital identity and more, this year’s trends report discusses the evolving screening landscape and what you should be aware of to remain efficient and competitive.

Let’s hear from Joelle Smith, President, First Advantage, for an overview of the top findings, then explore them throughout this blog.

Discover more as we delve into five key areas shaping employment background checks today:

1. Speed and Regulatory Compliance Are Top Screening Priorities

There has been a notable shift in the factors customers prioritize in background checks on a global scale. While risk was the top priority for the past two years, speed has now edged out cost and risk as the most critical screening factor among customers across regions.

Advances in automation technology are driving this change, enabling faster turnaround times that help companies achieve four main objectives:

• Recruit more effectively in competitive markets
• Improve the candidate experience
• Onboard talent faster
• Maintaining compliance with applicable laws

When we asked customers to rank the reasons they conduct background screens, regulatory compliance emerged as the clear winner, surpassing brand protection, evaluating future risk, and ensuring candidate job qualifications. This shift underscores the increasing importance for organizations to adhere to ever-changing regulatory standards in background screening. Partnering with a trusted screening provider can help them to do so.

Key takeaway: Achieving faster background screening while maintaining regulatory compliance is a top priority for customers worldwide. However, it’s essential to balance speed with managing hiring risk and cost. For instance, faster searches may reduce time and cost but could increase hiring risks if the screening scope is too narrow. Organizations should align their screening programs with relevant factors.

2. Growth in Oral-Based Drug Screening in the US

The use of oral-based drug screening has significantly increased, now representing nearly 30% of all US customer drug screenings, up from 19% the previous year. Additionally, 52% of customers report using or planning to use oral-based drug screening for the following reasons:

• Faster results compared to traditional methods, including near-instant negative results
• Easy self-administration options for applicants
• Greater resistance to tampering
• Higher reliability

With expanding marijuana legislation, more First Advantage customers are excluding marijuana from drug screens. However, 67% of customers who conduct drug screening continue to include marijuana for several reasons, including post-accident requirements, interaction with vulnerable populations, and regulatory mandates.

Key takeaway: Oral-based drug screening is revolutionizing the hiring process, allowing employers to deliver secure, virtual drug screening in a fraction of the time. This added convenience simplifies compliance with internal workplace safety policies, US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, and customer requirements.

3. A Global Identity First Approach

With the rise of deepfakes and advanced AI tools, identity fraud has grown significantly as a potential hiring risk, showing no signs of slowing down.

In the US, The US Federal Trade Commission has reported a tripling of identity fraud cases over the last decade, with proxy interviews being a notable example. This reality stands out as a potential contributing factor in the 68% growth in identity-first screening products in the US since 2022.

In the UK in 2024, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) UK criminal searches with digital identification had a 45% faster turnaround time than those without it.

Around the world, customers rely on First Advantage’s extensive search options and vertical and regional expertise to choose a government ID search that meets their requirements for global background checks. In several regions, digital identity checks have revolutionized identity fraud mitigation by reducing discrepancies, expediting hiring and onboarding processes, and improving the overall candidate experience.

Key takeaway: Implementing an identity first approach — integrating identity fraud mitigation early in the hiring process — improves data reliability for background checks and onboarding while also helping to combat identity fraud.

4. Criminal History Searches Remain Central to Screening

Many countries now experience faster criminal history searches due to advances in automation technologies and touchless processing. In the US, although overall crime rates have fallen, data reveals an increase in violence and threats among job-seeking individuals compared to other crime categories. Robust background screening can help to mitigate these threats and supports more informed hiring decisions.

Sanction searches are on the rise, with customers performing more Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) searches, US candidate sanction searches, and global candidate sanction searches. In the US, sex offender searches have also increased by 20% since 2022, with a corresponding rise in reportable records.

In all regions, criminal screening remains an essential component of nearly every customer’s background screening program.

Key takeaway: While most criminal record searches yield no reportable records, even a single reportable record can significantly impact an organization’s risk profile and brand reputation. As a leading global screening software company, First Advantage partners with customers to provide thorough criminal screening solutions in over 200 countries and territories under applicable laws worldwide.

5. Rescreening as a Critical Risk Management Solution

Does your background screening stop when new hires start Day One on the job? Rescreening is crucial for employers to monitor changes associated with employees over time and help ensure alignment with company standards, while also mitigating potential risks that may arise post-hire.

About half of First Advantage’s rescreening customers rescreen all their employees, typically triggered by factors such as time-based, event-based, compliance, and contractual requirements. Insights from these rescreening activities enable customers to respond in line with internal policies and business needs.

The First Advantage Strategic Consulting team recently conducted case studies on customer rescreening programs across different industries. While the rate of reportable records in the rescreened population was generally lower than the average pre-employment rate, rescreening still identified new reportable records in each instance.

These results highlight the value rescreening can bring to employers, regardless of industry.

Key takeaway: Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of post-hire rescreening for overall risk management. Rescreening programs can be customized to employee roles and responsibilities, ensuring that searches are executed effectively to mitigate risks and support compliance.

Get Additional Insights to Transform Your Screening Program

First Advantage recommends a thorough annual review of your screening program. This review should consider the latest product enhancements, industry trends, and regulatory changes impacting your organization.

Here’s a recap of the key trends from this year’s trends report:

1. Fueled by technological advances, speed has become customers’ top screening priority.
2. Oral-based drug screening is increasingly popular for its secure, quick, and efficient virtual testing.
3. Conducting digital identity early in the hiring process enhances data reliability and helps combat identity fraud.
4. Despite fluctuating crime rates, customers continue to view criminal record results as a crucial determinant in hireability.
5. Post-employment rescreening allows employers to continually assess employee behavior and respond appropriately.

Download the full report today:

Ready to transform your screening program to hire smarter and onboard faster? Get in touch with First Advantage.