Maryland CPS Background Clearance Form (1279A): How to Complete and Submit

To complete the Maryland CPS background clearance form, fill in every field in Parts I and II with your identifying details and a full five-year address history, pick the correct purpose of search (Individual, Employment, or Agency), sign Part IV in front of a notary if you’re submitting on your own behalf, and send the form with a $15 payment through the MyMDBenefits Portal or by mail to the Social Services Administration in Baltimore. The clearance tells the requester whether Maryland’s child abuse and neglect database contains a founded or indicated finding against you. It is not a criminal background check; if a criminal screening is also required, you’ll need to arrange that separately with local law enforcement.¹

What to Gather Before You Open the Form

Missing or inconsistent information is the most common reason a submission gets returned, and a returned form resets your waiting clock. Pull everything together before you start:

Your full legal name and every prior name you’ve used, including maiden names, married names, and any aliases. Database records can sit under any of them.
Your Social Security number. A transposed digit will delay or derail the search.
A complete five-year address history with no gaps between residences.
The full names and relationships of everyone who shared a residence with you during that same five-year period.
The purpose of search category that matches your situation: Individual (submitting on your own), Employment (an employer is requesting it), or Agency (a child-serving agency or contracted vendor is requesting it).

You don’t attach a driver’s license or utility bills to the form itself, but you will need a valid photo ID if your submission requires notarization.¹

Filling Out the Form

The form is divided into parts. Part I covers the purpose of the search and your identifying information. Part II collects your address and household history. Every field in both parts must be filled in. The state will return forms with blank fields in Part I or Part II, with illegible handwriting, or with white-out corrections. If you make a mistake on a paper form, start over on a fresh copy rather than reaching for correction tape.²

Picking the Right Purpose of Search

If an employer or a child-serving agency told you to get this clearance, ask them which category applies and whether they’ll be submitting on your behalf. In many cases they handle the submission entirely and pick the category themselves. Selecting the wrong category is an easy mistake to make and an easy one to avoid.

Part IV: Signature and Notarization

Part IV is where confusion lands most often. Whether you need a notary depends on who is submitting:

If you’re submitting on your own behalf as an Individual, notarization is required. Take valid photo ID to a notary public and sign Part IV in the notary’s presence. Don’t sign the form in advance.
If your employer is submitting on your behalf, the employer can attest to your identity in Part IV, and no notarized signature is needed.
If an agency, a contracted vendor, or the Department of Human Services is submitting, that entity can attest to your identity in Part IV, and no notarized signature is needed.

Individual submissions without the required notarized signature and seal will be returned.²

How to Submit the Form

You have two options, and one is faster. For some applicants it’s the only option.

MyMDBenefits Portal (Preferred)

The Department of Human Services directs applicants to the MyMDBenefits Portal at benefits.maryland.gov. Create an account first using the setup instructions on the CPS Background Clearance page, then enter your information directly in the portal. Typing the form eliminates the illegibility problem that gets paper submissions returned. Pay the $15 fee by credit card through the portal’s secure payment system.¹

If the clearance is for a Maryland camp, public school, or other child-serving agency, you must use the portal. Paper submissions from these organizations are not accepted.¹

By Mail

Download the CPS Background Clearance Packet from the DHS website, print it, and fill it in by hand in legible ink. If you’re an individual applicant, get Part IV notarized before mailing. Include a $15 money order; personal checks are generally not accepted. Mail everything to:

Maryland Department of Human Services
Social Services Administration
CPS Background Clearance Unit
25 S. Charles Street, 11th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201¹

Completed paper forms can also be uploaded through a separate submission webpage linked from the DHS clearance page, but that route still takes longer than filing directly in the portal.

Processing Time and Receiving Results

Portal submissions are typically processed within one to two weeks. Paper submissions and uploads through the separate submission webpage can take four to six weeks.¹

Portal results come back as a secure digital download. Mailed submissions get results by standard mail. The report states whether you’re cleared or whether the database contains a record of child abuse or neglect tied to your name. If your form is returned for missing information, illegibility, or a missing notarization, the clock starts over when you resubmit. Completeness beats speed when you’re filling it in.

If the Report Shows a Finding

A finding means the database contains a record identifying you as responsible for child abuse or neglect. It doesn’t automatically bar you from every role, but it will disqualify you from positions where the clearance is a legal requirement, such as foster parenting or licensed childcare work.

Maryland provides an appeal process for people who believe a finding against them is incorrect. The appeal form is given at the completion of the original investigation and must be returned to the address specified on it. If you didn’t appeal the original finding and are only now seeing it on a clearance report, contact the Social Services Administration at mdcps.clearances1@maryland.gov to ask about your options.

Extra Step for Foster and Adoptive Parent Applicants

If you’re applying to foster or adopt, the Maryland clearance is only part of the picture. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires every state to check its own child abuse and neglect registry for prospective foster and adoptive parents and to request checks from every other state where the applicant, or any other adult in the household, has lived during the preceding five years. This happens before final approval, whether or not foster care payments are involved.³

Your caseworker or licensing agency will usually coordinate the out-of-state requests, but the overall timeline depends on how quickly other states respond. Maryland processes incoming requests from other states through the same centralized database used for its own clearances.¹

1
Department of Human Services. CPS Background Clearance Request
2
Department of Human Services. CPS Background Clearance Request – FAQ
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 671