PA Clearances for Volunteers: Costs, How to Apply, and Renewals

To volunteer with children in Pennsylvania, you generally need three background clearances before you start: a Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification, a Pennsylvania State Police criminal record check, and an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history check. Two of the three are free for volunteers. The FBI check costs $22.95, and you can skip it entirely if you have lived in Pennsylvania for the last 10 years straight. The rules on PA clearances for volunteers come from the Child Protective Services Law and apply to any unpaid role with direct contact with kids.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – Domestic Relations – Chapter 63 – Child Protective Services

Who Needs Clearances

The law covers adults applying for unpaid positions that involve “direct volunteer contact” with children, meaning you provide care, supervision, guidance, or control, or you routinely interact with kids as part of the role. A weekly soccer coach, a Sunday school teacher, a scout leader, a tutor who meets with the same student every week: all covered.

One-time helpers usually are not. A parent who chaperones a single field trip, or someone giving a guest presentation, generally does not need clearances as long as a cleared adult supervises them throughout and they have no independent responsibility for the children. The line is between a recurring role and a one-off appearance under someone else’s watch.

If you live outside Pennsylvania but volunteer in the state for more than 30 days in a calendar year, you also need all three clearances.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Volunteers FAQ

The Three Clearances

Each clearance searches a different database, which is why one alone isn’t enough.3Department of Human Services. Child Abuse Clearances

  • The Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification checks the statewide child abuse database maintained by the Department of Human Services for any founded or indicated reports of child abuse against you.
  • The Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check searches the state police database for Pennsylvania criminal convictions.
  • The FBI Criminal History Background Check is fingerprint-based and searches the national database, catching convictions from other states and federal courts.

The 10-Year Residency Exception

If you have lived in Pennsylvania continuously for the previous 10 years, you can skip the FBI fingerprint check. In its place, you sign a sworn disclosure statement affirming that you are not disqualified from serving based on the offenses listed in the law. You also qualify if you have previously obtained the FBI clearance through the Department of Human Services at any point since becoming a Pennsylvania resident.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Section 6344.2

One exception to the exception: volunteers at child day-care centers, group day-care homes, and family child-care homes must complete the FBI fingerprint check no matter how long they have lived in Pennsylvania.5Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Disclosure Statement for Volunteers

What It Costs

The child abuse certification and the state police check are both free for volunteers, once every 57 months (just under five years).4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Section 6344.2 To get the waiver, you have to affirm in writing that you haven’t received free clearances in the last 57 months and that you’re obtaining these solely for volunteer purposes.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Request a Child Abuse History Clearance

The FBI fingerprint check is not waived. As of January 2025 the fee is $22.95, paid directly during the IDEMIA registration process.7Department of Human Services. FBI Fingerprinting If you qualify for the residency exception and sign the disclosure statement instead, there’s no fee.

How to Apply

State Police Criminal Record Check

Use the Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History site (PATCH) and choose the option for a new volunteer record check.8Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History. Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History – Home Picking the volunteer category is what triggers the fee waiver, so watch for it. You’ll be asked for your name, date of birth, Social Security number, and any prior names or aliases.9Pennsylvania State Police. Request for Criminal Record Check A clean record often returns results instantly. Anything that needs further review can take two to four weeks.10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Request a Criminal History Background Check

Child Abuse History Certification

This one goes through the Child Welfare Portal, not PATCH. You’ll first need a Keystone ID account, which is Pennsylvania’s shared login for state services.11Identity Manager. Create Keystone ID – General Information Once you’re in, choose the volunteer application type so the fee is waived.

The form (CY113) asks for more than you might expect. You have to list every address where you have lived since 1975 and everyone who lived in each household with you during that period, including parents, guardians, and anyone who raised you.12Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification Partial addresses are acceptable, but a gap in your history or a missing household member will slow things down. Include every prior name, maiden names included.

FBI Fingerprint Check

Pennsylvania uses IDEMIA (operating as IdentoGo) for digital fingerprinting. Register online, pay the $22.95 fee, and schedule an appointment at one of their locations around the state.7Department of Human Services. FBI Fingerprinting Your prints go to the FBI electronically, and results come back to the Department of Human Services, which sends you your certification.

Offenses That Disqualify You

Pennsylvania law contains a permanent bar list. A conviction for any of the following prevents you from volunteering with children regardless of when it happened:13Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 6344 – Employees Having Contact With Children

  • Criminal homicide
  • Aggravated assault
  • Stalking
  • Kidnapping or unlawful restraint
  • Rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, or sexual assault
  • Aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, or indecent exposure
  • Incest
  • Endangering the welfare of children
  • Dealing in infant children or concealing the death of a child
  • Felony prostitution-related offenses
  • Obscene materials involving minors
  • Corruption of minors or sexual abuse of children
  • Attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit any of these offenses

Equivalent convictions under federal law, another state’s law, or a foreign nation’s law count too. In addition, a felony drug conviction within the past five years disqualifies you, as does being named as a perpetrator in a founded child abuse report within the past five years.13Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 6344 – Employees Having Contact With Children

Volunteers at child day-care facilities are held to a longer list of disqualifying offenses under a separate subsection of the same statute. If that’s your setting, ask the facility for their specific requirements.

Starting Before Your Clearances Arrive

Because processing can take weeks, Pennsylvania law allows you to serve provisionally for up to 30 days if two things are true: you have already applied for the required clearances, and you affirm in writing that you are not disqualified from service.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Section 6344.2 You shouldn’t have unsupervised access to children during this period, and if 30 days pass without your clearances arriving, you have to stop until they do.

Renewals and Using Them Elsewhere

Clearances are valid for 60 months (five years), measured from the date of the oldest one in your set. You need to reapply through the same process before that date.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Request a Child Abuse History Clearance An individual organization may ask for renewal more often based on its own policies or licensing rules, but 60 months is the legal minimum.

Within that five-year window, your clearances travel with you. Certificates you obtained for a youth sports league will also satisfy a school district or a scouting group; you don’t reapply for each new organization.14Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Frequently Asked Questions – Department of Education Keep the certificates somewhere you can find them, because each organization will want a copy.

Your 72-Hour Reporting Duty

Once you’re cleared, the law still tracks you. If you’re arrested for or convicted of any disqualifying offense, or named as a perpetrator in a founded or indicated child abuse report, you have 72 hours to notify the person who oversees volunteers at your organization, in writing.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Volunteers FAQ Failing to disclose is itself a misdemeanor. The duty runs the entire time you hold the volunteer role, not just during the application process.

If Your Results Contain Errors

Background checks sometimes turn up wrong information: a name mix-up, a records error, or an expunged offense still sitting in a database. If your state police check comes back inaccurate, you can request a review directly through the Pennsylvania State Police. For the FBI check, IDEMIA provides dispute contact information with your results.

If an organization is about to deny you a volunteer position based on the report, federal law entitles you to a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before the decision becomes final, and to an opportunity to respond. Don’t accept a denial without first checking whether the underlying record is actually correct.