Volunteer screening in North Dakota: the complete guide
The statutes that apply, which of your volunteers they reach, which agency runs which check, what organizations here actually get wrong, and the order to do it in.
What makes North Dakota different
North Dakota’s official criminal history record comes only from the BCI, and a general BCI check shows every conviction however old but drops dismissed or undisposed charges after three years (N.D.C.C. § 12-60-16.6). Sealing a court record under ch. 12-60.1 does not remove the conviction from the BCI record, and the sealing order must still release the information to an entity with a statutory duty to run a background check (§ 12-60.1-04(8)); since August 1, 2025 courts close dismissal and acquittal records after 61 days (§ 12-60.1-05). The BCI mails the record subject notice of a release unless the request carries the subject’s signed authorization (§ 12-60-16.8). North Dakota’s ban-the-box law covers only state and local government employers, not school districts, private employers or volunteers (§ 12.1-33-02.2). Nonprofit volunteers are immune from civil liability for good-faith acts except willful misconduct, gross negligence or driving (§ 32-03-45), and volunteer coaches keep immunity only after a league or team safety orientation and training program (§ 32-03-46).
The short version: North Dakota has no general volunteer-screening law. Licensed child care programs must put any volunteer who cares for, supervises or guides children, or who may have unsupervised access to them, through a fingerprint-based state and FBI check at least every five years (N.D.C.C. §§ 50-11.1-02(28), 50-11.1-06.2). Child-placing agencies must check volunteers with direct contact (§ 50-12-03), and licensed developmental-disability providers must check volunteers who work with the people served (N.D. Admin. Code 75-04-01-06). Other nonprofits may order a $15 BCI state record check, or $5 if the Attorney General approves them as serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults (§ 12-60-16.9). North Dakota has no state FCRA analog.
The statutes, one at a time
These are the laws that create the obligation. Read the citation, not a summary of it, before you build a policy around it.
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Early Childhood Services Background Investigations
N.D.C.C. §§ 50-11.1-02(28), 50-11.1-06.2; N.D. Admin. Code 75-03-08-12.1, 75-03-09-12.1, 75-03-09-27, 75-03-10-14, 75-03-11.1-08.5
A volunteer who helps care for, supervise or guide children, or who may have unsupervised access to them, is a staff member and must give fingerprints for a state and FBI criminal history check through HHS and the BCI. The check is valid for five years, the rules require a new fingerprint check at least every five years, and HHS may charge up to $30 to process it.
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BCI Criminal History Record Checks
N.D.C.C. §§ 12-60-16.6, 12-60-16.8, 12-60-16.9, 12-60-24
Any requester may obtain a North Dakota criminal history record from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for $15, or $5 for an Attorney General–approved nonprofit serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults; the BCI notifies the subject unless a signed authorization is attached. FBI fingerprint results go only to the agencies and entities listed in § 12-60-24(2), which does not include private nonprofits.
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Child-Placing Agency Volunteer Checks
N.D.C.C. § 50-12-03; N.D. Admin. Code 75-03-36-13
Since 2023 a licensed child-placing agency must run a criminal history record investigation on each employee, volunteer or field-placement student with direct contact with families or children, and nonemployees also need an annual child abuse and neglect index check.
Which of your volunteers this reaches
Run your actual roster against this list. The roles below are where North Dakota's requirements apply; everyone else is a risk decision rather than a legal one.
- Child care volunteers who help care for, supervise or guide children, or who may have unsupervised access to them, in licensed family, group, center, preschool and school-age programs (fingerprint-based state and FBI check, repeated at least every five years; N.D.C.C. §§ 50-11.1-02(28), 50-11.1-06.2; NDAC 75-03-09-12.1, 75-03-09-27(5))
- Volunteers and field-placement students of licensed child-placing agencies who have direct contact with families or children (N.D.C.C. § 50-12-03; NDAC 75-03-36-13)
- Volunteers of licensed developmental-disability service providers who work with the people served (federal and state checks; NDAC 75-04-01-06(2))
- Nonemployees of psychiatric residential treatment facilities for children who have contact with a child, volunteers placed with or present in qualified residential treatment programs who have direct contact with residents, and anyone providing care in a foster care facility (N.D.C.C. §§ 25-03.2-04.1(1), 50-11-06.8(1); NDAC 75-03-40-25)
- Optional, not required: children’s advocacy center volunteers who have contact with children, whom HHS may check (N.D.C.C. § 50-25.1-11.1(3))
- Optional, not required: school volunteers, chaperones and volunteer coaches with unsupervised student contact; a school board may pay for a state and FBI check, but we found no statute requiring one (N.D.C.C. § 12-60-24(2)(y))
- Optional, not required: youth sports, camp, faith-based and other nonprofit volunteers; we found no statute requiring checks, and a BCI state check costs $15, or $5 for an Attorney General–approved nonprofit serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults (N.D.C.C. § 12-60-16.9)
Which check, from which agency
North Dakota does not use one check for everything. These are the distinct instruments in play — they search different databases and are not interchangeable.
- BCI name-based or fingerprint-supported state criminal history record check ($15; $5 for an Attorney General–approved nonprofit serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults; § 12-60-16.9)
- FBI fingerprint check through HHS and the BCI for licensed child care, child-placing, residential and foster care settings (§§ 50-11.1-06.2, 12-60-24)
- State and out-of-state child abuse and neglect records searches for child care staff (HHS), and an annual child abuse and neglect index check for child-placing agency nonemployees (NDAC 75-03-36-13)
- National, in-state and out-of-state sex offender registry searches (HHS child care check)
- Attorney General Offenders Against Children list (crimes against children not on the sex offender registry)
Administered by: North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Office of Attorney General (state criminal history record checks); North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, including Early Childhood Services licensing (child care, foster care, child-placing and residential checks through the ND Gateway Portal since November 3, 2025)
Typical processing: About 7–10 business days for a BCI state criminal history record check, per the Attorney General; HHS child care fingerprint checks are submitted and tracked through the ND Gateway Portal, and we found no published FBI turnaround
What organizations in North Dakota get wrong
These are the specific, local mistakes — the exemption that gets misapplied, the second database nobody runs, the deadline that arrives before anyone has written a policy.
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Licensed child care: treat any volunteer who helps care for, supervise or guide children, or who could be alone with them, as a staff member; submit the HHS authorization form no later than the first day, and, per HHS, do not allow unsupervised access until HHS approves the fingerprint check (N.D.C.C. § 50-11.1-02(28); form deadline NDAC 75-03-09-28(2)).
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Other nonprofits can order a BCI state record check for $15, or $5 after the Attorney General approves the organization as serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults (SFN 54305); attach the volunteer’s signed SFN 51156 authorization, or the BCI will mail the volunteer a notice (N.D.C.C. §§ 12-60-16.8, 12-60-16.9).
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Calendar the recheck: a child care fingerprint check is valid for five years and lapses if the person is separated from employment by a child care provider for more than 180 days (N.D.C.C. § 50-11.1-06.2(10)).
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A BCI check covers North Dakota records only and excludes tribal, federal, juvenile and other states’ records, so add a multistate or national search for volunteers who have lived elsewhere or near reservations.
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Search the Attorney General’s Offenders Against Children list as well as the sex offender registry; it lists people convicted of crimes against children who are not on the registry.
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Volunteer coaches keep North Dakota’s liability shield only after completing the league’s or team’s safety orientation and training program (N.D.C.C. § 32-03-46).
The order to do it in
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Write the policy before you screen anyone
Decide which roles require a check, who reviews a result, and who makes the final call — in writing, before you have a result to review. Deciding under pressure with a parent on the phone is how organizations end up with a decision they cannot defend. Our free policy generator will draft one you can edit.
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Sort your roster by unsupervised access, not by job title
The statutes above turn on contact and supervision, not on what a role is called. A "greeter" who walks children to the restroom has unsupervised access; a "coach" who is never alone with anyone may not.
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Match each role to the right instrument
Where North Dakota mandates a specific channel — fingerprint, a named registry, an agency portal — use that channel for that role. Use a broad multi-source check as the baseline for everyone else.
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Collect consent correctly the first time
FCRA requires a standalone written disclosure and a separate written authorization. Bundling either into a volunteer application or a waiver is the single most common compliance defect, and it is the one plaintiffs' lawyers look for.
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Run the check, then follow adverse action if anything surfaces
Pre-adverse notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, a reasonable window to dispute, then the final notice. Build the waiting period into your start dates rather than discovering it under pressure.
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Set a re-screen interval and let it run
A clearance describes the day it was run. Most organizations use one to two years; some insurers require annual for roles with unsupervised access to children.
Questions North Dakota organizations ask
Does North Dakota require background checks for all volunteers?
North Dakota has no general volunteer-screening law. Licensed child care programs must put any volunteer who cares for, supervises or guides children, or who may have unsupervised access to them, through a fingerprint-based state and FBI check at least every five years (N.D.C.C. §§ 50-11.1-02(28), 50-11.1-06.2). Child-placing agencies must check volunteers with direct contact (§ 50-12-03), and licensed developmental-disability providers must check volunteers who work with the people served (N.D. Admin. Code 75-04-01-06). Other nonprofits may order a $15 BCI state record check, or $5 if the Attorney General approves them as serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults (§ 12-60-16.9). North Dakota has no state FCRA analog.
Which of my volunteers does North Dakota law actually reach?
Based on the statutes cited on this page: Child care volunteers who help care for, supervise or guide children, or who may have unsupervised access to them, in licensed family, group, center, preschool and school-age programs (fingerprint-based state and FBI check, repeated at least every five years; N.D.C.C. §§ 50-11.1-02(28), 50-11.1-06.2; NDAC 75-03-09-12.1, 75-03-09-27(5)); Volunteers and field-placement students of licensed child-placing agencies who have direct contact with families or children (N.D.C.C. § 50-12-03; NDAC 75-03-36-13); Volunteers of licensed developmental-disability service providers who work with the people served (federal and state checks; NDAC 75-04-01-06(2)); Nonemployees of psychiatric residential treatment facilities for children who have contact with a child, volunteers placed with or present in qualified residential treatment programs who have direct contact with residents, and anyone providing care in a foster care facility (N.D.C.C. §§ 25-03.2-04.1(1), 50-11-06.8(1); NDAC 75-03-40-25); Optional, not required: children’s advocacy center volunteers who have contact with children, whom HHS may check (N.D.C.C. § 50-25.1-11.1(3)); Optional, not required: school volunteers, chaperones and volunteer coaches with unsupervised student contact; a school board may pay for a state and FBI check, but we found no statute requiring one (N.D.C.C. § 12-60-24(2)(y)); Optional, not required: youth sports, camp, faith-based and other nonprofit volunteers; we found no statute requiring checks, and a BCI state check costs $15, or $5 for an Attorney General–approved nonprofit serving only minors or vulnerable elderly adults (N.D.C.C. § 12-60-16.9). Those categories are where North Dakota's requirements bite. Volunteers outside them are a policy decision for your organization rather than a statutory one — which does not mean the answer is "skip it", only that the reason to screen is risk management rather than a citation.
Who administers the check in North Dakota?
North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Office of Attorney General (state criminal history record checks); North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, including Early Childhood Services licensing (child care, foster care, child-placing and residential checks through the ND Gateway Portal since November 3, 2025). Typical processing is About 7–10 business days for a BCI state criminal history record check, per the Attorney General; HHS child care fingerprint checks are submitted and tracked through the ND Gateway Portal, and we found no published FBI turnaround.
Does a VolunteerBadge check satisfy North Dakota's requirement?
It depends on what your state or licensor mandates, and we would rather be straight with you about it than sell past the question. Our $5 check is a broad multi-source criminal and sex-offender search from an FCRA-regulated consumer reporting agency — an excellent primary screen and, for many volunteer roles, the whole answer. It is not a fingerprint or live-scan check. Where North Dakota specifically mandates a fingerprint-based state or FBI channel for a role, that requirement stands on its own and our check supplements rather than replaces it.
We operate in more than one state. Whose rules apply?
Generally the rules of the state where the volunteer serves, not where your organization is incorporated. Organizations near a border routinely have volunteers under two different regimes at the same event. For North Dakota that most often means Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota. The practical approach is to screen to the strictest standard among the states you operate in, so one process covers all of them.
What happens if we run a check and find something?
That is where federal law takes over from state law. Running background checks makes you a user of consumer reports under the FCRA, so before you decline anyone based on the report you must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, allow a reasonable window to dispute, and only then send the final notice. It is not optional, and it is the step organizations most often miss.
Operating across a North Dakota border?
Volunteers are generally governed by the state where they serve. If your programs cross a line, these are the neighbors you are most likely to need.
General information, not legal advice. We are a consumer reporting agency, not a law firm. The statutes cited above are real and current as of August 21, 2026, but they are amended — and a citation is not a substitute for reading how it applies to your specific program. Confirm with North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Office of Attorney General (state criminal history record checks); North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, including Early Childhood Services licensing (child care, foster care, child-placing and residential checks through the ND Gateway Portal since November 3, 2025), your licensor, your insurer, or your own counsel before relying on any of it. Spot an error? Tell us — we would rather fix it.
Screen your North Dakota volunteers for $5
A broad national criminal search, all 50 state sex-offender registries plus the national registry, and the FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse-action workflow built in — because step four and step five above are where organizations get into trouble.
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