Complio at USU: set it up once, then keep it current
Complio by American DataBank is where USU checks your immunizations, background check and drug screen before you can start clinicals. You pay for it, reviews take days rather than hours, and a single expired item puts you on clinical pause. Set it up early and watch the expiry dates.
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What Complio does in USU's clinical process
Complio is the compliance piece of USU's PAC model: Preceptor, Agreement, Compliance. The Office of Field Experience (OFE) relies on it to confirm your health and safety records before it sends your OFE Approval Letter, and without that letter you can't be on site or log a single hour.
USU describes Complio as the home for three things: immunizations, the background check and the drug screen. USU's admission requirements add that your clinical documents have to stay current through every clinical course, not only the first one. Think of Complio as a record you maintain for the length of your program.
The FNP Clinical Handbook's Appendix D is called Complio Guidance. The DNP Practice Immersion Handbook and the RN-BSN, Nurse Educator and Health Care Leadership handbook each list their own Appendix D, Complio Instructions. That last handbook's health requirements page doesn't name a vendor, so if you're in one of those programs, confirm with your Clinical Placement Coordinator (CPC) that Complio is where your documents go.
Two Complio web addresses: which one to use
USU sources point to two different addresses, so check before you create an account. The Office of Field Experience web page links to sdnahsec.complio.com. Appendix D, Complio Guidance, which carries a July 2024 date, tells students to create their account at www.sdnahcbackground.com.
Neither source says the other address has been retired. Before you pay for anything, ask your CPC which address USU wants you to use for your program and term, and keep to one account so your records sit in one place. If you already have an account, sign in there rather than starting a new one.
Appendix D gives an American DataBank support email, complio@americandatabank.com, for account and technical problems. Questions about what USU requires go to your CPC or ofe@usuniversity.edu, sent from your USU email.
Two Complio addresses are in circulation (sdnahsec.complio.com and www.sdnahcbackground.com). Confirm the current one with your CPC before you order.
The packages you order
Appendix D tells FNP students to order two packages: the Immunization package and the Background & Drug Screen package. Order them by those names so the items OFE expects to see are the ones in your account.
- Confirm the addressAsk your CPC which Complio address applies to you this term.
- Create one accountRegister with your USU email, since USU expects clinical communication to come from that account.
- Order the Immunization packageThis holds your immunization records. What USU accepts for each vaccine and test is on our health and safety requirements page.
- Order the Background & Drug Screen packageThis starts both checks. How they work, and why some states take months, is on our background check and drug screen page.
- Upload the rest as your package asksUSU's admission requirements also list proof of malpractice insurance, current health insurance and American Heart Association CPR among the clinical documents.
If you're a DNP, RN-BSN, Nurse Educator or Health Care Leadership student, follow the Appendix D in your own handbook. The package names above are the ones confirmed for the FNP track.
Who pays, and why there's no figure here
You do. The FNP handbook says students pay the Complio fees. The USU handbooks and catalog pages we checked don't publish the package prices, so look at the amount at checkout before you confirm an order.
Complio is one of several clinical costs that sit with you rather than with USU. The others USU names include your own malpractice policy (see student malpractice insurance), travel to sites within your state, and repeating a course if a placement falls through. USU's catalog fee tables don't list a placement fee.
Expect repeat costs over time as well. Annual items such as the flu shot and the TB test come around every year, and each renewal is another upload that has to pass review.
How long reviews take
Plan on about a week per round. The FNP handbook says Complio reviews an item in 2 to 5 business days, and OFE then updates your status in about 2 business days. The same page says urgent or rush requests can't be accommodated, so build in time for a second round in case an item needs correcting.
Compliance also sits inside USU's 16-week rule. Health and safety approvals must be on file with OFE at least 16 weeks before the clinical course, alongside the preceptor and site approvals. OFE gives priority for its own placement support to students whose Complio requirements and documents are in by the deadline. The full timeline is on our clinical deadlines page.
| Stage | What USU says |
|---|---|
| Complio review of an item | 2 to 5 business days |
| OFE status update after Complio | About 2 business days |
| Health and safety approvals on file | At least 16 weeks before the clinical course |
| Urgent or rush requests | Can't be accommodated |
Expiry notices and the clinical pause
Complio warns you before anything lapses. Notices go out 60, 45, 30 and 15 days before an item expires, and again on the day it expires.
Let an item expire and you're marked not compliant in Project Concert, which USU calls a clinical pause. You can't attend clinicals or log hours until the renewed item is approved. With a full review cycle taking up to about a week, a lapse in the middle of an 8-week course can cost clinical days you need to finish that course's hours.
At the start of each clinical course, look at every expiry date in your account. Anything that will run out before the course ends is worth renewing early, because clinical hours don't roll over from one course to the next.
An expired item stops your hours from that day. Act on the 60-day notice, not the 15-day one.
How our search works with your Complio timeline
Your Complio account runs between you, American DataBank and OFE. What we do is search for a preceptor and site whose timing works with your compliance timeline, so your records and your placement paperwork can both be ready for USU's 16-week line.
USU approves every preceptor, site and agreement. If you'd like a placement advisor to look at your dates, send us your course and start date.
Questions USU students ask
Is Complio the same thing as Project Concert?
No. Complio by American DataBank holds your health and safety records: immunizations, background check and drug screen. Project Concert is USU's clinical tracking system for hours, journals and evaluations. The two connect in one way that matters: when a Complio item expires, Project Concert shows you as not compliant and you can't log hours until the renewal is approved.
Can I get a rush review in Complio before my course starts?
USU's FNP handbook says urgent or rush requests can't be accommodated. A Complio review takes 2 to 5 business days, and OFE needs about 2 more to update your status, so the only real fix is starting early. If a course is close and items are still pending, tell your Clinical Placement Coordinator now rather than waiting.
Does USU make exceptions to Complio requirements?
Very rarely, going by its own documents. Appendix D says USU generally doesn't accept exceptions, and the catalog says USU can't waive health and safety requirements. A student who refuses required documents or asks for a medical waiver has to find their own placement. There is a USU COVID-19 declination form, uploaded to Complio, for exemption requests.
Who do I contact about a Complio problem?
For account access or technical trouble, Appendix D lists American DataBank support at complio@americandatabank.com. For what USU requires, which web address to use, or a status that still hasn't changed a couple of business days after Complio's review, write to your Clinical Placement Coordinator or ofe@usuniversity.edu from your USU email.
When should I set up Complio as a new FNP student?
Well before your first clinical course, which for FNP students falls in the second year. Every item has to be approved at least 16 weeks before that course, and you want room for a second review round if something is rejected. Setting it up early also keeps you in line for OFE's placement priority, which favors students who meet the document deadline.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against USU's own catalog, handbooks and disclosures. USU's current handbook and your Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
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