Run a background check
Open the Employer Hub to post a vacancy, search candidates or request a background check.
Hiring the wrong person is expensive. Checking the right things, lawfully and with the candidate on side, is not complicated when the process is built properly.
What you can run today
Two checks are live. Each one runs only after the candidate allows it in their own profile, and the result appears on the Checks tab of your Employer Hub.
Identity verification checks the candidate’s ID number against the Home Affairs record and tells you whether the name on that record matches the name on their Nasi Ispani account. It costs 1 credit, which is R10 (the smallest credit purchase is R50).
The employee screening bundle also checks the ID number against the Home Affairs record. It shows the full name on that record and whether it matches the name on their account. From our screening partner’s records, it also shows whether the person is listed as alive or deceased, and up to five employers on record for them. It costs 12 credits, which is R120.
If Home Affairs answers that it has no record of the ID number, that answer is the result, so the check’s credits are used. If a check cannot run, or gets no final answer, no credits are used.
What is not available yet
Criminal record checks are performed through SAPS by an accredited screening bureau using captured fingerprints. Qualification verification confirms a stated qualification with the institution that awarded it or against the SAQA national record. Neither is live on Nasi Ispani yet, and you will see them marked as such in the Employer Hub. We would rather say not yet than take your credits for a check we cannot deliver.
How consent works
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, an employer needs explicit, informed consent before running a background check on a candidate. Penalties for getting this wrong reach R10 million. On Nasi Ispani the employer requests a check, the candidate sees exactly what is being asked and allows or declines it in their own profile, and only then does the check run, and the employer’s credits are used only when a result comes back.
What we do not do
We do not offer general credit checks, because the National Credit Act restricts them to roles with real financial responsibility. We do not offer polygraph testing, which South African labour rulings have found unlawful as a blanket hiring requirement. Being straight about the limits is part of being a service you can rely on.
Paid from the same credits you already use
Background checks are paid for with the same contact credits used for candidate search, so there is no separate account to open. If a candidate declines, no credits are spent.
Questions employers ask
Do I need the candidate's permission?
Yes. South African law requires explicit, informed consent before any background check. On Nasi Ispani the candidate is asked to allow each check individually, and nothing runs until they agree.
How fast is a check?
The employee screening bundle returns in seconds, because it is a live lookup. A criminal record check is a different matter: it goes through SAPS using captured fingerprints via an accredited bureau, so turnaround depends on SAPS. Any service promising an instant criminal record is worth questioning. We do not offer criminal checks yet.
What can I check?
Today, two checks. Identity verification checks the candidate's ID number against the Home Affairs record and says whether the name on that record matches the name on their Nasi Ispani account. It costs 1 credit, which is R10 (the smallest credit purchase is R50). The employee screening bundle also checks the ID number against the Home Affairs record. It shows the name on that record and whether it matches the name on their account, and up to five employers our screening partner has on record for the person. It costs 12 credits, which is R120. Both need the candidate's consent first. Criminal record checks and qualification verification are not available yet, and the Employer Hub shows them as not available.
Can I run a credit check?
Not through Nasi Ispani. The National Credit Act limits credit checks to roles with genuine financial responsibility, so we deliberately do not offer them as a general hiring tool.
What happens if a candidate says no?
Nothing is checked and you are not charged. Candidates are free to decline, and we tell them plainly that declining is their right.
Get started
Open the Employer Hub to post a vacancy, search candidates or request a background check.