If you want to work in, volunteer at, or live in a licensed child care facility in North Carolina, you have to clear an NC child care background check before you start. The Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), inside the Department of Health and Human Services, runs the screening through its Criminal Background Check Unit. You apply online, get fingerprinted at a law enforcement office, and wait for a qualification letter that says you’re cleared.
Who Has to Get One
The requirement reaches further than most applicants expect. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. 110-90.2, every person employed by a licensed child care facility must complete the check, whether they work full-time, part-time, or as a substitute, and whether they are paid or not if they count in the staff-to-child ratio or are ever left alone with children.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 110-90.2 – Mandatory Child Care Providers Criminal History Checks
If a family child care home operates out of a residence, every household member age 16 or older must also complete the check, even if they have no role in the business.2North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. 10A NCAC 09 .2703 – Criminal History Record Check Requirements for Child Care Providers Someone who moves in has five days from move-in to start the process. A teenager in the home has five days from their 16th birthday.
You cannot start working, receive a license, or move into a covered home until DCDEE issues a valid qualification letter.3North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Criminal Background Check Unit – Basic Information There is a provisional status that lets some people begin work under supervision while out-of-state pieces finish, covered further down.
How to Apply
Applications run through the Applicant Background Check Management System, known as ABCMS. Before you can log in, create an NCID account through North Carolina’s identity management system and select the “Business” user type.4North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education. NC ABCMS Login
Once you’re in ABCMS, fill out the forms with:
- Your full legal name and any previous names or aliases
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Residential history for the past five years
Everything you enter has to match your government-issued ID exactly. The five-year residential history matters more than it looks: any state you lived in during that window gets its own abuse and neglect registry checked, and omitting an address will delay you. If you get stuck in the portal, the Criminal Background Check Unit answers at 919-814-6401 or DHHS.CBC.Unit@dhhs.nc.gov.
Fingerprinting and Fees
After you submit the electronic application, you get fingerprinted. North Carolina uses Live Scan, which captures digital prints and sends them to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) electronically. Every county sheriff’s office handles Live Scan, and many municipal police departments do as well.5North Carolina Department of Insurance. Live Scan Locations A few counties with no walk-in option at law enforcement use a private vendor.
The SBI charges $38 for the combined state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check.6North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Fingerprinting The sheriff’s office or police department that takes your prints usually adds its own processing fee on top of that, set locally. Call ahead to confirm hours, whether you need an appointment, and the full price.
What the Check Covers
Knowing what’s being searched helps explain the timeline. The fingerprint-based search runs through both the SBI and the FBI, and DCDEE also queries:
- The North Carolina Sex Offender Registry and the National Sex Offender Registry
- The North Carolina Responsible Individuals List and Child Maltreatment Registry
- The equivalent child abuse and neglect registries in any state where you lived during the past five years7North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Comprehensive Child Care Background Check Requirements
- The National Crime Information Center, the FBI’s centralized criminal justice database
A hit on any of these can disqualify you. The multi-state abuse registry piece is what most often stretches processing time.
Starting Work Before the Check Finishes
Because the full process can take weeks, especially when out-of-state registries are involved, DCDEE can issue a provisional qualification letter once your initial results come back clean. That lets you start working while the remaining checks finish.2North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. 10A NCAC 09 .2703 – Criminal History Record Check Requirements for Child Care Providers
Provisional status comes with two conditions. You have to be supervised at all times by someone who already holds a full qualification letter, and you cannot be left alone with children. The provisional period runs up to 45 days, and if nothing disqualifying surfaces in that window, DCDEE converts you to full qualification automatically.8North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. New Criminal Background Check Legislative Changes
The Qualification Letter and What Comes Next
When the process ends, DCDEE issues a qualification letter stating whether you’re cleared. A copy must be kept on file at the facility, and DCDEE representatives can ask to see it during inspections.2North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. 10A NCAC 09 .2703 – Criminal History Record Check Requirements for Child Care Providers
The letter isn’t permanent. North Carolina requires a new background check every five years.3North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Criminal Background Check Unit – Basic Information If you leave child care work for more than 180 consecutive days, you have to complete a fresh application before coming back, no matter how recent your last check was.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 9858f – Criminal Background Checks
Between renewals, you have ongoing reporting duties. Any new criminal charge, indictment, or conviction other than a minor traffic matter must be reported to your employer within five business days or before you return to work, whichever comes first. The employer then has one business day to tell the Criminal Background Check Unit.2North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. 10A NCAC 09 .2703 – Criminal History Record Check Requirements for Child Care Providers Being added to the Responsible Individuals List, the Child Maltreatment Registry, or the Sex Offender Registry after you’ve been cleared triggers automatic disqualification. Lying on the application is grounds for revocation of a letter already issued.
What Can Disqualify You
Some results end the application permanently. The statute bars anyone who has been convicted of child abuse or neglect, placed on the Responsible Individuals List, or convicted of a reportable sex offense.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 110-90.2 – Mandatory Child Care Providers Criminal History Checks DCDEE has no discretion to override those three categories.
A much broader list of offenses “bear upon an individual’s fitness” to care for children and prompt a case-by-case review rather than automatic disqualification. These include crimes involving homicide, assault, and kidnapping; robbery, burglary, and larceny; arson and explosives; drug possession or sale under the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act; fraud, identity theft, and false pretenses; prostitution and offenses against public morality; alcohol-related offenses and public intoxication; and animal cruelty.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 110-90.2 – Mandatory Child Care Providers Criminal History Checks DCDEE can also disqualify a habitual excessive user of alcohol, an illegal drug user, or someone whose emotional impairment could endanger children. Pending charges can result in a temporary disqualification until the case resolves.
If You’re Disqualified
If DCDEE disqualifies you, your employer has to terminate you immediately once they receive the notice, even if you plan to challenge the decision. You cannot work in any licensed child care setting in North Carolina while a disqualification stands.
Reapplying is not open-ended. Call the Criminal Background Check Unit at 919-814-6401 to ask whether you’re eligible to submit a new application; you can’t reapply through the portal without the unit’s prior approval.3North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Criminal Background Check Unit – Basic Information
To challenge the decision itself, you can file a civil action in the district court of the county where you live within 60 days of receiving written notice of disqualification. The court reviews the evidence fresh rather than deferring to DCDEE, and there is no jury trial on these appeals.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 110-90.2 – Mandatory Child Care Providers Criminal History Checks You still cannot work in child care while the appeal is pending.