Sterling | Fountain Help Center

Sterling

April 16, 2026

Sterling Supported Products

Below is a list of Sterling products currently supported via Fountain’s Seamless (Dynamic Consent) integration:

Locator Select (ARRDIRCDT)
Federal Criminal Record (CRFED)
County Criminal Record (CRFM)
Enhanced Nationwide Criminal Search (CRNATVNS)
DOJ Sex Offender Search (CRSEXDOJ)
Driver's Record (DR)
US Identity Verification - Standard (IDVUS1)
Client Matrix Application (MAR)
SSN Trace (SSV1)
FMCSA Clearinghouse (FMCSACH)
Fingerprinting - TPA (FPTPA)
Registered Drug Test (RTD)
Employment Verification - DOT (VCDOT)

Important Notes:

The client is responsible for collecting consent for minors – either offline, in paper form, or through their own system.
Global products are not currently supported via Dynamic Consent workflows. Global Products can be ordered through the Fountain Redirect Integration.
For all workflows not supported by Seamless (Dynamic Consent), Sterling will support the ordering of all products. However, data gathering will occur through Sterling’s CandidateHub rather than through the Fountain system.

Obtaining a Sterling Account

In order to enable a Sterling integration, you will need to create an account by completing this page on the Sterling website. Already have a Sterling account? Please skip to the next section of this article.

Set up a Sterling Integration

Reach out to support@fountain.com or the Customer Success team to enable this feature on your account. Once Sterling has been enabled for your account, follow the steps below:

Contact the Sterling team to request the relevant API Key and Account ID. Save these for use in Fountain.
Within Fountain, click on your initials icon in the top right corner. Then click Integrations in the dropdown.
Click on Screening in the left sidebar.
Click Connect to the right of Sterling Dynamic Consent.
Type your Sterling API Key and Account ID.
Click Save Changes.

Add Sterling Dynamic Consent Stage to a Workflow

To add the Sterling Dynamic Consent Stage to your Opening’s workflow, follow the steps below:

Access the Workflow Editor for your Opening. Click Add Stage in the top left corner. Then click Create New Stage in the dropdown.
Type a name for the stage, select either Sterling Partner Stage (Fountain Redirect) or Sterling Dynamic Consent Partner Stage in the stage type dropdown, and choose the placement of the stage.
Click Add Stage.
In the Sterling Integration section, choose the appropriate Stage Option Type in the dropdown.
Click Save Changes in the top right corner.

Dynamic Consent Applicant Experience

When an applicant lands in the Sterling Dynamic Consent stage during their application, they will be prompted to provide their consent via a checkbox and complete the data collection questions. Please note, if you need a change made to the questions presented in the stage, contact your Sterling representative. These questions are created via the Sterling portal and sent to Fountain.

Once the relevant questions and consent are completed, the information will be sent to Sterling for review. The results will be sent back to Fountain and be visible via Status Label with any required actions. Please note, the status details in Fountain will show non-secure information provided for the order but will be in read-only format for Fountain end-users.

Fountain Redirect Sterling Applicant Experience

When an applicant lands on the Sterling Partner Stage in the application workflow, they will be automatically redirected to Sterling's web portal.

Once the relevant information is completed on Sterling portal, the applicant will automatically be redirected back to the Fountain's applicant portal.

Sterling Dynamic Consent Statuses and Scores

In the below charts, you can see the various statuses and CMA (Client Matrix Adjudication/Application) scores related to Sterling Dynamic Consent.


Status Label	Description
	The candidate has submitted their background check screening from the Fountain platform.
	Sterling has completed fulfillment of the background check order.
	The stage is configured to use CMA, and a discrepancy was found in one or more screenings. You can choose to manually score or initiate Adverse Action. Review more about CMA statuses in the table below.
	Adverse Action has been initiated. Customer to configure with Sterling.*
	Either it has been 90+ days since the order was completed, OR the stage is configured to use CMA and has scored an order as passed. Review more about CMA statuses in the table below.
	A validation error has occurred due to invalid data in the order request.
	A system error has occurred on the Sterling side.

To request a revision to an existing Sterling Dynamic Consent background check, click the Sterling Dynamic Consent Status Label and then Request Revision in the dropdown.

CMA Scores:


CMA Type	Review Queue Enabled?	Score	Description
n/a	n/a	Clear	Candidate has passed all Screenings as part of their background check.
n/a	n/a	Consider	Candidate Screenings have returned one or more discrepancies as part of their background check.
CMA 2	No	Passed	Candidate has passed all Screenings as part of their background.
CMA 2	No	Review	Order is waiting for the customer to manually score or initiate Adverse Action You can also see this status if Managed Adverse Action is initiated on an Order scored Review.
CMA 2	Yes	Passed	Candidate has passed all Screenings as part of their background check.
CMA 2	Yes	Review	Defined by the customer.*
CMA 3	No	Level 1	Defined by the customer.*
CMA 3	No	Level 2	Defined by the customer.*
CMA 3	No	Level 3	Defined by the customer.*
CMA 3	Yes	Level 1	Discrepancies in one or more screening tests. The customer can manually score or initiate Adverse Action.
CMA 3	Yes	Level 2	Discrepancies in one or more screening tests. The customer can manually score or initiate Adverse Action.
CMA 3	Yes	Level 3	Discrepancies in one or more screening tests. The customer can manually score or initiate Adverse Action.

Important Notes:

With a Screening Direct package, order results are available with and without CMA. The customer provides Sterling with the criteria to determine which background check passes or requires review, these can be available for both order and search level.
The Review Queue is enabled by default for all clients set up with CMA (2 or 3). This is to ensure that customers review the orders and then adjudicate on their end.
To set up or define any of the above red asterisk items, customers should reach out to their Sterling PSG (Professional Services Group) Representative during scoping to provide them with the guidelines to base the scoring criteria off of.