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Background Checks

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State and federal law require comprehensive background checks for individuals affiliated with:

  • Licensed child day centers;
  • Religiously-exempt child day centers;
  • Certified preschools;
  • Unlicensed child day programs receiving subsidy funding (centers and homes);
  • Licensed family day homes;
  • Voluntarily registered family day homes;
  • Licensed family day systems; and
  • Family day homes approved by the family day system

The following individuals must obtain background checks:

  • Employees;
  • Volunteers who will be alone with, in control of, or supervising children;
  • Applicants for licensure, registration or approval;
  • Agents of applicants for licensure, registration or approval; and
  • Adults living in a child day center or family day home.

Background check requirements can be found in:

Minimally, there are three required components of a background check, which are described in more detail below. Anyone who has committed a barrier crime as defined in § 19.2-392.02 is considered ineligible for employment or volunteer work, licensure, registration or approval. Individuals who have lived outside of the Commonwealth within the last five years are required to complete additional background checks.

Review the Instructions for Completing Background Checks and reach out to the Office of Child Care Health and Safety at childcarelicensing@doe.virginia.gov for assistance.

Sworn Statement

A sworn disclosure or affirmation is a statement completed by a person attesting to whether he/she has ever been: (i) convicted of or is the subject of pending charges for any offense within or outside the Commonwealth, or (ii) the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside the Commonwealth.

Note: A sworn disclosure or affirmation statement must be completed prior to employment.

Criminal History Record Check

The national criminal history record check is the process of the Virginia State Police (VSP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) generating a criminal record report on a person. The criminal history record report shows all convictions, and the Office of Background Investigations (OBI) uses this information to determine whether the person has been convicted of:

  1. A barrier crime, and/or
  2. Any other felony unless five years have elapsed since the conviction.

VDOE and OBI work with a fingerprinting vendor called Fieldprint to collect all identifying information on the application, take fees, take fingerprints, and electronically submit the information to the VSP and the FBI. Find a Fieldprint office near you and learn how to register for an appointment.

Note: The results of a national fingerprint check must be received prior to employment.

Update: Effective July 1, 2024, new applicants for employment and volunteering may be provisionally hired if the applicant has received qualifying results from a fingerprint-based background check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange or the FBI and the applicant is supervised at all times by a person who has received a qualifying result on all background checks within the last five years.  Current employees must continue to meet the requirements set out in § 22.1-289.035 of the Code.  Previous background check requirements apply to all applicants and volunteers hired prior to July 1, 2024.

Virginia Central Registry

The Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry is mandated by the Virginia Child Protective Law. The search of the central registry is a check to determine if the person has ever been the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect in Virginia. A request for a Central Registry Search can be submitted through the OBI's web-based portal.

Providers and facilities licensed and regulated by the VDOE, such as child care programs, school based systems, Head Start programs, and other educational based programs, should select DOE User type when first registering for an OBI portal account. 

  • Refer to the quick reference guides below for step by step instructions when submitting a Central Registry Request through the OBI portal:

Note: Effective July 1, 2024, a search of the Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry must be requested prior to employment.  Additionally, a search of the Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry is also required for any household members of a family day home who are 14 years of age or older.

If you have any questions about the process to obtain a Virginia Central Registry, please email OBI directly at crs_operations@dss.virginia.gov. 

Background Check Portability
(For a Criminal Record and Central Registry Check)

Effective January 1, 2022, background check portability of a criminal record check and Virginia central registry check can be requested for any individual who is being hired by or will be volunteering at a Child Day Program or Family Day System, and the individual has completed a background check under § 22.1-289.035 within the previous five years, provided that:

  • The results of such background check indicated that the individual had not been convicted of any barrier crime as defined in § 19.2-392.02 and was not the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside the Commonwealth; and
  • The individual is currently or has been, within the previous 180 days, employed by or a volunteer at a child day center, family day home, family day system, or child day program described in subsection A of § 22.1-289.035.

To submit a portability request, a child day program or family day system seeking a background check relative to portability for a prospective employee or volunteer, must submit the portability request through the OBI portal.  There is a $15 processing fee for portability requests, which shall be submitted through the online portal.  The fee is nonrefundable, so it is important that you confirm with the prospective employee or volunteer that they are eligible for background check portability prior to submitting your request. 

  • Review  the Portability Determination Flow Chart to help you determine if you are eligible to request background check portability. 
  • Refer to the quick reference guides below for step by step instructions when submitting a Background Check Portability Request through the OBI portal:

If you have any questions about portability requests or the process, please email OBI directly at crs_operations@dss.virginia.gov.  This is the only email address that will address portability.

Out-of-State Criminal Background, Sex Offender Registry Search, and
Child Abuse and Neglect Searches

Anyone who has lived in another state in the past five years is required to request out of state background checks for each state they have lived in within the past five years.

To obtain an out of state criminal background check, sex offender registry search and child abuse and neglect search, view the Interstate Criminal Background Check Contact Chart that lists the contact information for each state and territory of the United States. It is important to follow the instructions and requirements listed as each state has different processes on how to request a search.  Programs may obtain the out-of-state sex offender registry check through the United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), if preferred.  If you have questions, use the contact information provided for each state based on the type of background check.  The OBI of Virginia will not be able to answer questions about the other state’s background check process.

Note: An out-of-state criminal record search, out-of-state sex offender registry search, and out-of-state child abuse and neglect registry search must be requested prior to employment.