AmeriCorps members and the staff who run national service programs often work directly with children, older adults, and other people who depend on a program for care or support. Because of that, federal law requires a specific screening process before most of these members and staff can begin work or service. It is called the National Service Criminal History Check, usually shortened to NSCHC, and it is not the same thing as an ordinary employment background check. The requirement comes from the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by the Serve America Act, and the implementing rules sit at 45 CFR Part 2540. AmeriCorps also publishes a plain language summary and compliance manuals on its own National Service Criminal History Checks page, which is the best place for a current grantee to confirm the latest guidance.
Which grants trigger the requirement
The NSCHC is not tied to AmeriCorps as a brand. It is tied to specific federal grants. Organizations that receive any of the following as a recipient or subrecipient must comply: AmeriCorps State and National operational grants, Foster Grandparent Program grants, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program grants, Senior Companion Program grants, certain Senior Demonstration Program grants, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service grants, September 11th Day of Service grants, Social Innovation Fund grants, Volunteer Generation Fund grants, AmeriCorps VISTA Program grants, and AmeriCorps VISTA Support grants. A nonprofit, school, or local government that holds one of these awards is on the hook for the screening requirement, regardless of how small the award is, unless a narrow exception applies.
Who actually has to be checked
Receiving a covered grant does not mean every person touched by the program needs a check. Under 45 CFR 2540.201, a check is required for an individual selected to work or serve as an AmeriCorps State and National member, as a Foster Grandparent who receives a stipend, as a Senior Companion who receives a stipend, or in any staff position where the person is paid a salary, directly or reflected as matching funds, under a cost reimbursement grant. Three groups fall outside that rule. First, anyone under 18 on their first day of work or service is exempt, though a check is required once that person later serves in a covered position at 18 or older. Second, staff whose time is entirely covered by the grant recipient’s indirect cost rate or cost allocation plan are exempt. Third, and this surprises a lot of grantees, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serving in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program are not required to undergo an NSCHC at all, even though RSVP grants are on the covered grant list, because RSVP volunteers typically do not receive a stipend. A grant recipient may still choose to screen RSVP volunteers voluntarily. AmeriCorps VISTA members are also excluded from this specific process. VISTA uses its own separate criminal history check managed by the VISTA program rather than the standard NSCHC pathway.
The three required components
Where a check is required, it is not a single search. 45 CFR 2540.204 sets out three separate components that a grant recipient or subrecipient must obtain for every covered individual, unless a waiver applies.
| Component | What it searches | Common source |
|---|---|---|
| National sex offender check | Nationwide search of public sex offender registry data | National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW.gov) |
| State criminal history check | Criminal records in the individual’s state of residence and state of service, which may be two different states | State criminal history record repository or an agency designated alternative |
| FBI fingerprint based check | Nationwide criminal history records held in the FBI database | Submitted through a state repository or an agency approved vendor |
A grant recipient can run these three searches directly or use an agency approved vendor to obtain and document them, but the organization that holds the grant remains responsible for making the eligibility determination, not the vendor.
Who is ineligible to serve or work
Passing the three component searches is necessary but not automatically sufficient. Under 45 CFR 2540.202, an individual is ineligible for a covered position if the person refuses to consent to the check, makes a false statement in connection with the check, is registered or required to be registered on a state sex offender registry or the National Sex Offender Registry, or has been convicted of murder as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1111. Beyond those federal floor rules, a grant recipient, subrecipient, or service site may also set its own suitability criteria for a covered position, as long as those criteria are consistent with federal and state civil rights and nondiscrimination law. In other words, the federal rule sets the minimum disqualifiers; it does not stop a program from declining to place someone for other documented, nondiscriminatory reasons.
Timing: the check must be done before service begins
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the rule, and it changed in a final rule that took effect in 2021. Older guidance allowed some programs to let a person begin work while a check was still pending, as long as that person was accompanied or supervised around program beneficiaries until the results came back. The current rule removed that option. Under 45 CFR 2540.205, all three components must be conducted, reviewed, and an eligibility determination made by the grant recipient or subrecipient before the person begins to work or serve in a covered position. The Federal Register notice adopting the current rule explains the reasoning directly: establishing a clear before service deadline was meant to eliminate the prior confusion over how accompaniment of individuals with pending checks should be documented, and to make sure no one with a disqualifying conviction has already had contact with program beneficiaries by the time a problem surfaces. There is a limited exception for people who serve consecutive terms with the same organization in a covered position without a break longer than 180 days, who generally do not need a repeat check if the original one complied with the rule.
Procedural steps beyond running the checks
Running the three searches is not the whole obligation. 45 CFR 2540.206 requires grant recipients and subrecipients to also obtain the person’s consent before running the state and FBI components, provide notice that selection for the position is contingent on the results, give the person a reasonable chance to review and challenge the factual accuracy of a result before being excluded on that basis, take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of the information, keep documentation of the check as part of the organization’s grant records, and cover the cost of the check. A grant recipient generally cannot pass the cost of the NSCHC on to the member or staff member being screened, outside of a specific waiver.
Waivers and documentation
AmeriCorps may waive parts of the rule for good cause or another lawful basis under 45 CFR 2540.207. A waiver request has to be submitted in writing to the agency rather than assumed, and it does not excuse a grantee from documenting whatever alternative process it follows instead. Grant monitors regularly review NSCHC files during site visits, so grant recipients should be able to produce, for every covered individual, the consent form, proof that all three components were obtained before the start date, the eligibility determination, and any suitability decision the organization made on top of the federal floor. Programs that fall behind on this paperwork, not just on the underlying checks, are a common source of monitoring findings, since an undocumented check is treated the same as a check that was never done.
How this compares to other volunteer and youth protection screening
The NSCHC is a federal mandate specific to national service grants, but many organizations running AmeriCorps programs also place volunteers in roles that fall under separate state or program level screening rules. For comparison, see our guides to Guardian ad Litem and CASA volunteer background checks and scout leader background check requirements, both of which cover vulnerable population screening outside the NSCHC framework. Staff positions that sit outside the NSCHC’s scope, such as administrative hires not paid from the grant, are typically screened the ordinary way, through a Fair Credit Reporting Act compliant background check rather than the federal national service process. Reveal Background works with nonprofits and public agencies on that standard employment screening layer, separate from the federally mandated NSCHC process described here.
Frequently asked questions
Does every AmeriCorps member need a National Service Criminal History Check?
Members serving in AmeriCorps State and National positions generally need the check, as do stipended Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers and staff paid from a covered grant. Members under 18 on their first day, staff covered entirely by an indirect cost rate, and AmeriCorps VISTA members, who go through a separate VISTA specific process, are handled differently.
Can a person start serving while the FBI fingerprint check is still pending?
No, not under the current rule. All three components, the national sex offender check, the state criminal history check, and the FBI fingerprint check, must be completed, reviewed, and an eligibility determination made before the person begins to work or serve in the position.
Are RSVP volunteers required to get an NSCHC?
Generally no. Even though Retired and Senior Volunteer Program grants are on the list of covered grants, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serving in RSVP are not required to undergo the check because they typically do not receive a stipend. A grant recipient may still choose to screen them voluntarily.
What disqualifies someone under the federal rule?
Refusing to consent to the check, making a false statement in connection with it, being registered or required to register on a state or the national sex offender registry, and having been convicted of murder are the federal disqualifiers. Grant recipients may also apply their own nondiscriminatory suitability criteria on top of those floor rules.
Can AmeriCorps waive part of the NSCHC requirement for a grantee?
Yes, AmeriCorps may waive provisions of the rule for good cause or another lawful basis, but a grantee has to request the waiver in writing rather than assume one applies, and must still document whatever process it follows in place of the waived requirement.
How long are NSCHC results valid if a member serves another term?
If a person serves consecutive terms with the same organization in the same type of covered position without a break in service longer than 180 days, a new check is generally not required, as long as the original check complied with the rule’s requirements.
This article is general information, not legal advice. National Service Criminal History Check requirements are set by federal regulation and AmeriCorps program guidance, and grant recipients should confirm current requirements directly with AmeriCorps and qualified counsel before making eligibility decisions.
