The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) has announced the roll out of its Accreditation Programme in the UK and Europe. It’s already running in the United States as a quality standards scheme in employment screening.
Founded in 2003 as a non-profit trade association, PBSA represents companies ranging from multi-nationals to specialist local providers that between them carry out millions of employment and tenant background checks each year. The PBSA describe the accreditation as the next step to promote professional integrity, regulatory compliance and data protection best practice in background screening.
The programme (BSOAP) evaluates against independently audited standards designed to protect data subjects while ensuring operational excellence. Accreditation is awarded only to those that demonstrate compliance across six areas of policies, procedures and performance through a desk audit and an onsite assessment by an independent auditing firm.
Melissa Sorenson, Executive Director of PBSA, pictured, said: โThe expansion of our Accreditation Programme into the UK and Europe represents an important step toward harmonising screening standards globally. Our mission is to advance excellence in the screening profession and accreditation plays a vital role in that by promoting thoughtful industry practices, strengthening legal compliance and protecting data subjects. Organisations that achieve accreditation demonstrate not only operational reliability and consistent quality, but also a clear commitment to professionalism, data subject protection and continuous improvement.โ
The programme distinguishes between regional regulatory frameworks: its General Standard applies to screening done outside the United States with a focus on global privacy principles, while its United States Standard addresses employment screening within the USA, incorporating legislation such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Driverโs Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and relevant state laws. Accreditation scope is determined by the type of screening work undertaken rather than the physical location of the applicant organisation.
Oversight of the accreditation process sits with the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC), a PBSA committee comprising representatives from across the membership spectrum, including global delegates. The BSCC operates under a strict blind review system in which council members do not know the identity of an applicant. All non-conformities identified during audits must be resolved before accreditation can be granted, with outcomes including approval, denial or a structured remediation period. Accreditation is for five years, with a mandatory surveillance audit conducted after three years to confirm continued adherence to standards.
