Nonprofit compliance in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has one of the broadest volunteer clearance laws in the country. Under the Child Protective Services Law as amended after the Penn State child-abuse scandal (Act 153 of 2014 and Act 15 of 2015), an adult volunteer who is responsible for a child's welfare or has direct volunteer contact — the care, supervision, guidance or control of children and routine interaction with them — must provide a Pennsylvania State Police criminal history clearance and a Department of Human Services child abuse clearance, and usually an FBI fingerprint check. The FBI check can be skipped when the volunteer has lived in Pennsylvania for the entire previous 10 years (or already holds a DHS FBI result from after moving here) and signs a sworn disclosure statement — but never for volunteers in child day-care centers, group day-care homes or family child-care homes. Clearances are renewed every 60 months.

• Child Protective Services Law — volunteers (Act 153 of 2014, as amended by Act 15 of 2015) (23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6303, 6344.2, 6344.3, 6344.4) — An adult volunteer with a child-care service, a school, or a program, activity or service who is responsible for a child's welfare or has direct volunteer contact with children must submit the clearances in § 6344(b) before being approved. A person responsible for selecting volunteers who intentionally fails to require them commits a third-degree misdemeanor (§ 6344.2(b)). Volunteers must tell the organization in writing within 72 hours of an arrest or conviction for a disqualifying offense, or of being named in a founded or indicated report (§ 6344.3(g)). The law has no exemption for nonprofits or churches.
• Pennsylvania State Police criminal history clearance (PATCH) (23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(b)(1)) — A name-based search of Pennsylvania State Police criminal history records — Pennsylvania records only, not federal. Free for volunteers through the PATCH website. Results for people with no record can come back immediately; requests marked “under review” may take two to four weeks.
• Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(b)(2)) — A Department of Human Services certification of whether the applicant is named in the Statewide database as the alleged perpetrator in a pending child abuse investigation or as the perpetrator of a founded or indicated child-abuse report. Unfounded reports and general protective services assessments are not included. Free for volunteers once every 57 months; results are issued within 14 days of receipt (online applications are fastest).
• FBI fingerprint check and the 10-year residency exception (23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6344(b)(3), 6344.2(b.1)) — A fingerprint-based FBI check through the state's vendor, IDEMIA/IdentoGO, using the DHS volunteer service code 1KG6ZJ. The volunteer fee is $25.95 from October 1, 2026, up from $22.95. Not required for an unpaid volunteer who has lived in Pennsylvania for the entire previous 10 years — or has received a DHS FBI clearance since moving here — and swears in writing that they are not disqualified. That exception never applies to volunteers in child day-care centers, group day-care homes or family child-care homes (§ 6344.2(b.1)(4)).
• Who it reaches: Adult volunteers with a child-care service, a school, or a program, activity or service who are responsible for a child's welfare or have direct volunteer contact with children (23 Pa.C.S. § 6344.2(a)); “Direct volunteer contact” needs both parts: care, supervision, guidance or control of children, and routine interaction with them — regular, repeated contact that is integral to the role (§ 6303); Covered programs include youth camps, recreational and sports programs, outreach, enrichment and educational programs, and troops and clubs sponsored by a school or a public or private organization — which reaches churches (§ 6303); School volunteers are covered like any other volunteer; volunteers in child day-care centers, group day-care homes and family child-care homes always need all three clearances, plus out-of-state and National Sex Offender Registry checks (§§ 6344.2(b.1)(4), 6344(f.1)); Not covered: a student volunteering at an event on their own school's grounds, sponsored by that school, who isn't responsible for a child's welfare (§ 6344.2(b.1)(3)).
• Check types in use: Pennsylvania State Police criminal history clearance (PATCH) — Pennsylvania records only; DHS Child Abuse History Clearance — founded or indicated child-abuse reports, and pending investigations naming the applicant; FBI fingerprint check through IdentoGO (DHS volunteer service code 1KG6ZJ), unless the 10-year residency exception applies; National Sex Offender Registry verification — required only for child day-care centers, group day-care homes and family child-care homes.
• Administered by: Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH criminal history clearance); Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, ChildLine Verification Unit (child abuse clearance and the DHS FBI check through IDEMIA/IdentoGO); Pennsylvania Department of Education (service codes for school employees).
• Typical processing: PATCH: often immediate online, or two to four weeks if under review; Child Abuse Clearance: within 14 days of receipt; FBI: results mailed in about 7–10 business days (no-record results can be viewed online sooner).

Pennsylvania is one of the 39 states that generally require a charitable organization to register before soliciting contributions from its residents — typically before the first ask, not after the first gift, and usually with an annual renewal.

• Registration is generally required before soliciting, including by mail, phone, email, or a public donate page.
• Soliciting residents of other states can trigger registration in those states regardless of where you are based — an online donate button reaches all fifty.
• Exemptions exist in most registering states (small organizations, religious organizations, membership appeals) but they are specific and usually must be claimed rather than assumed.
• Confirm current requirements with your state charity office before relying on this — thresholds and exemptions are amended frequently.

These apply regardless of which state you operate in, and they are the ones most commonly missed by small organizations that assume state registration is the whole picture.

• Annual Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N. Three consecutive years of non-filing revokes exempt status automatically — this is the single most common way small nonprofits lose their status.
• If you run background checks on volunteers, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to you as a user of consumer reports: a standalone written disclosure, separate written authorization, and the pre-adverse and adverse action sequence before acting on a result.
• Public disclosure: your exemption application and recent 990s must be made available on request.
• Employment obligations attach to paid staff regardless of exempt status — payroll tax, worker classification, and wage and hour law all apply.