Full national criminal checks — county records, sex offender registries, FBI Most Wanted, federal courts — for $4.95 per report. Free address history checks. Built-in FCRA compliance. No contracts. No surprises.
¹ Urban Institute (2017), analysis of 1.7 million employment background checks
The Problem
Here's something the industry doesn't advertise: the vast majority of background checks come back completely clean. A 2017 Urban Institute study of 1.7 million background checks found that roughly 94% returned no criminal finding. A separate University of Georgia study found that approximately 92% of U.S. adults have no felony conviction on record. Volunteer populations — people who choose to give their time — skew even cleaner than those averages. Most are exactly who they say they are.
Yet nonprofits are routinely charged $25, $40, even $80 per report. Some providers bundle checks you don't need. Others charge monthly platform fees on top of per-check costs. It's the medical industry's over-ordering problem applied to background screening — maximum billing, minimum transparency.
VolunteerBadge was built to fix that. We designed our pricing around what a national criminal check actually costs to run — not what the market will tolerate. That number is $4.95.
Typical Provider
What nonprofits are paying right now
Est. annual cost — 200 checks
~$9,200 / year
200 checks × $40 avg + $100/mo platform fee
What it should cost
Transparent pricing, no surprises
Est. annual cost — 200 checks
$990 / year
200 checks × $4.95. That's it.
How It Works
We stripped every unnecessary step. Here's what running a volunteer background check actually looks like.
Create a volunteer application in minutes. We automatically embed FCRA-required disclosure language — applicants sign digitally, you stay compliant from the start.
No charge to create applications or collect signatures.
Always freeThe moment they submit, we pull their actual address history and cross-reference it against what they reported. Any gaps or inconsistencies are flagged before you spend a credit.
No credits used. Catches incomplete applications early.
Always freeOne click runs a full national criminal search — county courts, state records, federal courts, sex offender registries across all 50 states, FBI Most Wanted, and OFAC. Results in 24–48 hours. Plain English. FCRA guidance included.
One credit per check. No hidden fees.
$4.95 per checkOther platforms charge extra for these. We don't.
We search 650M+ court records across all jurisdictions — county, state, and federal courts, sex offender registries, FBI Most Wanted, OFAC sanctions, and global watchlists. If county records exist but can't be verified under FCRA guidelines, we tell you and refund your fee. No games.
Every volunteer application includes a free address history pull. We verify what they report against what we find. Gaps, inconsistencies, or addresses they "forgot" to mention get flagged before you spend a dime on a criminal check. It's the most underrated screening tool in the industry — and we give it away.
We own the Natural Language Prompt space for volunteer screening. Just talk to VolunteerBadge. "Run a background check on Sarah Mitchell, born March 4, 1988, last in Tucson." That's it. We handle the rest — including walking you through adverse action if a record is found.
Fully documented REST API and Webhook support. Plug VolunteerBadge into your CRM, volunteer management software, or your AI tool of choice. One API key. 1 credit = 1 background check, consumed the same way regardless of how you access us — in-app, mobile, or API.
No forms to fill out. No dropdown menus. No uploading spreadsheets. You describe the person in plain English — or through your favorite AI assistant — and VolunteerBadge runs the check, interprets the results, and tells you exactly what to do next.
If a result requires adverse action under FCRA, we generate the notice for you. You review it, you send it. No guesswork. No legal exposure from doing it wrong.
Click below to see it in action.
One check type. One price. Two ways to buy. That's it.
Buy credits one at a time. No commitment, no expiry.
$3.96 per check. Credits never expire.
Use in-app, via mobile, or via API.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a specific process before you can deny someone a volunteer position based on a background check. Get it wrong, and you're exposed. VolunteerBadge generates the adverse action notice for you — pre-filled, FCRA-compliant, ready to send.
We also issue refunds for any check where county records exist but can't be verified under FCRA guidelines. If we can't give you a clean report, you don't pay.
What every nonprofit and church should know about volunteer screening.
The background screening industry charges nonprofits $25–$80 per report. Here's what they don't advertise: roughly 94% of background checks return no criminal finding at all. There's a better way.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to your volunteer screening — and most nonprofits don't know the full process. Here's what's required, step by step, in plain English.
Most organizations skip the address history check because it costs extra. We give it away free — and it's one of the most valuable screening tools available. Here's why.
Free account. No credit card required to get started. Your first check is $4.95 — or grab 100 credits for $396 and save 20%.
Sign up with Google or email — no password needed.