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Employment credit checks

An Equifax credit report on your candidate, graded A+ to F, with tradelines, debt summary, collections, bankruptcies, and public records. A soft inquiry, so the candidate’s own score is never affected.

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Source Equifax credit file
Result Score and grade, A+ to F
Inquiry type Soft, no score impact
Turnaround Results in minutes
Financial summary

Credit check

Cleared
B+
720 Default rate 5% in this band
A+F
Legal items on fileNone found
BankruptciesNone found
CollectionsNone found
Sourced from Equifax CC-7Q2M4X

What a credit check tells you, and what it does not

A credit check shows how someone has handled borrowed money: what they owe, whether they pay on time, and whether anything has gone to collections, bankruptcy, or court.

It does not tell you whether someone is honest, competent, or a good hire. A low grade often reflects a medical event, a divorce, or a business that failed, none of which predict how someone will perform in a role.

Used well, it answers a narrow question: does this person carry financial pressure that is relevant to the responsibilities of this specific job. That is why it belongs in roles with fiduciary duty, access to funds, or financial authority, and not in most others.

A credit file is not a character reference.

Treat the grade as context for a specific financial responsibility, not as a judgment about the person. Where a role does not carry that responsibility, the check does not belong in the process at all.

What the result actually says

Every report returns a credit score and a letter grade, with the statistical default rate for that band. Here are all eight bands, in full.

The grade

Grade Score Default rate Relative default risk
A+ 800 to 850 1%
A 750 to 799 2%
B+ 700 to 749 5%
B 650 to 699 15%
C+ 600 to 649 31%
C 550 to 599 51%
D 500 to 549 71%
F Below 499 87%

The grade is the summary. The report behind it is what you actually read.

Potential positives and potential negatives

Each report opens with two plain-language panels rather than making you interpret raw data. If there is nothing to report, the panel says so rather than leaving you guessing.

Potential positives

Good credit score.

Potential negatives

Poor credit score. Report shows bankruptcies. Report shows debts sent to collections. Report shows legal items on file.

Wording above is taken from live reports. A candidate with nothing adverse on file sees the positives panel populated and the negatives panel stating that there is nothing to report.

Notable risks

A separate summary flags the most important risk factors found anywhere in the report, or states No Risks. The overall report result is Cleared or Review, exactly as with a criminal record check.

Notable risksNo Risks
Report resultCleared

What is in the report

Financial summary

Grade, score, and whether any legal items are on file.

Debt summary

Broken out by type: revolving credit, other credit, other debts, automobile loans, student loans, and mortgage loans. Each shows total balance, credit limit, percentage used, number of accounts, past due amount, late payments at 30, 60 and 90 days, and monthly payments.

Tradelines

Every account: the grantor, payment status, date opened, date last reported, account type, high credit, balance, and last activity, plus the R code, percentage of credit used, months reviewed, past due amount, payment terms, and narratives such as “included in bankruptcy” or “involuntary repossession.”

Public records

Bankruptcies, collections, judgments, liens, secured loans, legal items, non-sufficient funds, fraud warnings, foreign inquiries, bank accounts, deposit alerts, and consumer statements. Each is either populated or explicitly marked None Found.

Credit file metadata

How long the file has existed, date of last activity, and the date of your request.

Addresses and employment on file

As reported to the bureau, which sometimes surfaces a discrepancy with what the candidate told you.

Debt summary Sarah Connor · requested by Miles Dyson
Revolving credit 34% of limit used, 4 accounts
No late payments
Other credit 11% of limit used, 1 account
No late payments
Automobile 62% of original amount, 1 loan
1 late payment at 30 days
Mortgage 78% of original amount, 1 loan
No late payments
Student loans and other debts also break out separately when present on the file.

It does not affect the candidate’s credit score

An employment credit check is a soft inquiry. It is visible to the candidate on their own file, and it has no effect on their score, now or later.

This matters more than it sounds. Candidates frequently refuse a credit check because they believe it will damage their score, and that belief costs you good hires. Telling them plainly, before they consent, removes the objection.

Soft inquiry, this check
Effect on the scoreNone
Visible to the candidateYes, on their own file
Visible to lendersNo
Hard inquiry, for contrast

A hard inquiry is what a lender runs when someone applies for credit. It is recorded on the file, visible to other lenders, and can move the score. An employment credit check is not one of these, and nothing about running one puts a candidate in that position.

A narrow question, asked properly

A credit file tells you
how money was handled.
Not who someone is.

A hand holding a credit card

Which is why this check is restricted by law, why consent is not a formality, and why we publish the bands rather than handing you a verdict and asking you to trust it.

Read the report,
not just the grade.

When you can run one

Canadian law permits employment credit checks, but not for every role. You need the candidate’s informed consent, and the check has to be relevant to the responsibilities of the job. Provincial rules differ, and Quebec is stricter than most.

In practice this means credit checks belong in roles with fiduciary duty, access to funds or financial systems, financial authority, or a regulatory requirement. Running one on a warehouse role is both legally exposed and unhelpful.

Credibled collects the candidate’s consent as part of the flow and retains it in your audit trail. Deciding whether the check is appropriate for the role remains yours.

Consent and audit trail detail
Where a credit check fits
Fiduciary dutyAppropriate
Access to funds or financial systemsAppropriate
Financial authority or signing powerAppropriate
Regulatory requirement for the roleAppropriate
General roles with no financial responsibilityNot appropriate

How it works

1

You request the check

All you need is the candidate’s email address.

2

The candidate consents

A secure encrypted link takes them through consent and confirms their details, including their current address.

3

The report comes back

The inquiry goes to the bureau and results appear in your dashboard, usually within minutes.

Pricing

Pay per check. No subscription, no minimum volume, no platform fee, no contract. Your exact pricing appears in your account during signup, before you create anything.

Credit checks carry no pass-through access fee. Those apply to education verification, employment verification, and US criminal court searches only.

Pass-through access fees

Registered non-profits and eligible Canadian startups get programme rates applied automatically.

See your pricing

Security and data handling

Credibled’s platform is hosted in Canada. Candidates consent before anything is submitted, and every check is logged in your audit trail with who requested it, when, and who viewed the result.

For data processing agreements, subprocessors, retention periods, and certifications, see the Trust and Security Centre.

Trust and Security Centre

What employers usually run alongside this

Canadian criminal record check

Searched against the RCMP National Repository through an accredited police partner, returned in about 15 minutes, with identity verification included.

Criminal record checks

Public records search

Civil, legal, and financial proceedings beyond what the credit file carries.

Public records checks

Employment verification

Confirms where a candidate has actually worked and in what role, directly with the employer.

Employment verification

One request, one dashboard, one invoice.

See all check types

Credit check questions, answered

What it is

What is an employment credit check?
A soft inquiry into a candidate’s credit file, sourced from Equifax. It returns a credit score and a letter grade from A+ to F, along with tradelines, a debt summary, collections, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and other public records.
Does it include a credit score?
Yes. Every report returns a numeric score and a letter grade, with the statistical default rate for that band.

The candidate’s side

Does it affect the candidate’s credit score?
No. An employment credit check is a soft inquiry. The candidate can see it on their own file, and it has no effect on their score.
Can I run a credit check on any candidate?
No. Canadian law requires the candidate’s informed consent and the check must be relevant to the responsibilities of the role. Provincial rules differ, and Quebec is stricter than most. Credit checks are appropriate for roles with fiduciary duty, access to funds or financial systems, financial authority, or a regulatory requirement.

Running a check

What do I need to run one?
The candidate’s email address. They provide consent and confirm their own details through a secure link.
How long does it take?
Results are usually available in your dashboard within minutes of the candidate completing their part.

Reading the report

What does the grade mean?
The grade summarises the score into a band, from A+ at 800 to 850 down to F below 499, each with the statistical default rate for that band. The grade is a summary; the tradelines and public records behind it are what you actually read.
What is a tradeline?
An individual credit account on the candidate’s file. The report shows the grantor, payment status, when it was opened, the balance and limit, the percentage used, late payments, and narratives such as “included in bankruptcy” or “account paid.”
Will I see bankruptcies and collections?
Yes, where they exist. Bankruptcies, collections, judgments, liens, secured loans, and legal items each appear in the report or are explicitly marked None Found.

Data and sources

Where does the data come from?
Equifax, one of Canada’s two national credit bureaus.
Is the candidate’s data stored in Canada?
Credibled’s platform, your account, your results, and your audit trail are hosted in Canada. Full detail on processing and subprocessors is in the Trust and Security Centre.

Know what you are asking before you ask it.

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