What’s Included in Volunteer Verification?
May 29 2026
Summary: Volunteer verification covers different background searches depending on the role a person will fill. Almost every nonprofit runs the same three searches: county or statewide criminal records, a national criminal search, and a sex offender registry check. Volunteer background checks add searches for roles with more contact or responsibility.
Volunteer Verification vs. Background Check: What’s the Difference?
Most nonprofits use the term “volunteer verification” as a catch-all for the whole volunteer screening process. But screening providers use the word to mean something much more specific. In background check terms, a verification confirms something a person claimed about themselves, like past employment, a degree, or an active professional license. To complete a verification, a background screening company calls the company, school, or licensing board to confirm key details (or accesses a database).
What’s in a Standard Background Check for Volunteer Work?
Nonprofits that conduct background checks tend to start from the same core package, then add searches based on the role.
County or statewide criminal searches
These pull records where a person has lived. Running the current jurisdiction only, instead of a seven-year address history that adds places your volunteer previously lived, lowers the cost per check.
National criminal database search
This scans many jurisdictions at once and catches a criminal record filed somewhere the person no longer lives. However, a county or statewide search is a necessary extra layer of protection in most cases.
Sex offender registries
This search looks for a candidate’s name on state and national sex offender lists. Nearly every volunteer role includes it, and skipping it is hard to defend to a board.
Social media search
This flags concerning public behavior, and it can confirm past volunteer work a candidate listed on an application.
Motor vehicle record (MVR)
Anyone who will drive needs one, and anyone driving children needs one without exception.
Credit report
Anyone handling donations, dues, or account access should have one pulled.
For plenty of roles, volunteer verification stops right there. A criminal background check for volunteers covers the basics. You add searches when a role gives someone access to money, vehicles, or unsupervised time with the people you serve.
Volunteer Verification by Role: Who Needs What
Over-screening a low-risk volunteer role wastes money most nonprofits don’t have. Under-screening a high-contact role puts the people you serve at risk. Most nonprofits build volunteer verification around four role types.
| Role | Typical searches |
| General volunteer | County or statewide criminal, national criminal, sex offender registry |
| Volunteer working with vulnerable populations | Core package plus a social media search |
| Board member | Core package plus a federal criminal search, and a credit report with signing authority |
| Paid staff | Core package plus employment, education, and license verifications |
Two searches cut across the whole table. Pull a motor vehicle record for anyone who drives, and a credit report for anyone handling money. Paid staff usually get employment and education verifications, which volunteer packages rarely include.
Volunteers Who Work With Vulnerable Populations
Volunteers who work with children, older adults, or people with disabilities require the deepest screening. Many state laws require background checks for these roles, so the decision isn’t always yours to make. A criminal background check for volunteers in these roles should include a social media search.
Plenty of volunteers never come near the people a nonprofit serves. A trail cleanup crew or a food bank sorting line can run the core package and stop.
Background Checks on Board Members
Background checks for nonprofit board members go wider than volunteer packages. Add a federal criminal search, plus a credit report for anyone with signing authority. Directors often work and hold assets across state lines, which county searches miss entirely. Insurance carriers and grant funders sometimes ask for proof that background checks for nonprofit board members happened at all.
Volunteer Background Checks Still Fall Under the FCRA
The Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to unpaid volunteers the same way it applies to employees. Get written consent before you run the search. Send a pre-adverse action notice before you decide, with a copy of the report and a summary of the candidate’s rights. Send a second notice once the decision is final.
State laws stack on top of the FCRA, and a missed notice gives a rejected volunteer grounds to file a complaint. A good provider sends both notices for you and takes the most time-consuming part of screening off your desk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does volunteer verification usually include?
Most programs include county or statewide criminal records, a national criminal search, and sex offender registries. Roles that involve driving, handling money, or serving on the board add searches on top of the core package. A true verification, like a professional license verification, only gets added when the role requires a credential.
How far back does a criminal background check for volunteers go?
A seven-year address history is standard, since an SSN trace surfaces the counties a candidate has lived in over that period. Nonprofits watching the budget sometimes run only the current jurisdiction, which costs less but can miss a criminal record filed in a prior county. Ask your provider what the price difference looks like.
Do nonprofit board members need a different background check?
Yes. Background checks for nonprofit board members usually add a federal criminal search and a credit report, since directors carry financial and legal responsibility that most volunteers don’t. Board members who never handle money or work directly with the people a nonprofit serves still get screened, because the position itself carries risk even when the day-to-day work looks light.
Is a background check for volunteer work the same as one for employees?
No. Employee background check processes typically add employment verifications, education verifications, and reference checks that volunteer packages leave out. Both do require written consent under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, though, and both trigger the same adverse action notices if you turn someone down over what the report shows.
Stop Paying for Searches You Don’t Need
Background checks for nonprofits add up fast when every candidate gets the same package regardless of what they’ll be doing. InfoMart’s VolunteerScreen builds volunteer verification around the roles nonprofit organizations are filling, then sends the adverse action notices that follow. Talk to our team.
About Tammy Cohen
Tammy Cohen, an industry pioneer and expert in identity and employment screening, founded InfoMart 30 years ago. Deemed the “Queen of Screen,” she’s been a force behind industry-leading innovations. She was most recently the first-to-market with a fully compliant sanctions search, as well as a suite of identity services that modernizes talent onboarding. Tammy revolutionized the screening industry when she stepped into the field, developing the first client-facing application and a due diligence criminal search that has since become standard for all background screening companies. Cohen has received national awards and honors for her business and civic involvement, including Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 Women-Owned Firms in Atlanta, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Enterprising Women of the Year award, the YWCA of Northwest Georgia’s Kathryn Woods Racial Justice Award, and a commendation in the 152nd Congressional Record.
About InfoMart
InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global background and identity screening industry for 30 years, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association, and they have achieved PBSA accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 45 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit www.InfoMart-USA.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.