Sterling Volunteers is a well-known name in volunteer screening. VolunteerBadge offers nonprofits a newer, lower-cost option: full national criminal checks for $5, built-in biometric identity verification, and an all-in-one volunteer platform — with no per-seat fees and no contracts.
Sterling Volunteers (part of First Advantage) built its reputation on the portable, volunteer-owned background-check profile. It's a capable, enterprise-grade service. But many nonprofits tell us they want three things it doesn't prioritize: radically lower per-check pricing, identity verification that confirms the human is who they claim to be, and an all-in-one platform that also handles applications, hour tracking, and grant reporting.
VolunteerBadge was built around exactly those needs. Background checks are $5 — a fraction of typical market pricing — with free address-history checks and adverse-action notices included. Every applicant can be verified with a government photo ID plus a biometric liveness selfie, matched against the identity on file, so you know the person behind the application is real. And the same platform runs your whole volunteer program, not just the screen.
It's a straightforward, transparent, FCRA-compliant alternative designed for nonprofit budgets — no sales calls required to see a price.
¹ Urban Institute (2017), analysis of 1.7 million employment background checks
Other 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.
Go beyond name-and-date-of-birth. Verify each volunteer with a government-issued photo ID and a biometric liveness selfie, matched against the identity they provide — so you know the human behind the application is who they claim to be.
Fully documented REST API and webhook support. Plug VolunteerBadge into your CRM, volunteer management software, or AI tool of choice. One API key. 1 credit = 1 background check, however you access us.
VolunteerBadge is the only volunteer screening platform that ties a real, verified identity to every application: a biometric face match against a government photo ID, then triangulated against the SSN trace and address history behind the check. A borrowed clean identity can't get through.
Biometric facial match
A live liveness selfie — proof a real person is present, not a photo.
Government photo ID
The selfie is matched face-to-face against their official ID document.
SSN + address triangulation
Identity cross-checked against the SSN trace and address history on the report.
Enterprise-grade verification at a nonprofit price. The same rigor banks use — built into every $5 check.
Application to cleared volunteer in three steps.
Create a digital volunteer application with built-in FCRA authorization. Send a link or embed it on your site.
A free address-history check and biometric ID verification confirm the applicant before you spend a dollar.
A full national criminal check returns an FCRA-compliant report — with adverse-action notices if needed.
Pay per check for screening. Subscribe to run your whole volunteer program.
Buy credits one at a time. No commitment, no expiry.
Save 20% vs single-check pricing. Credits never expire.
Unlimited admin users, flat. Checks billed separately at $5.
Every check follows an FCRA-compliant process, with applicant authorization captured up front and adverse-action notices generated for you when a record is found. The guardrails that protect your volunteers and your organization are included — not sold separately.
Create a free account in minutes. No contracts, no monthly minimums, no sales call. Just $5 per check when you're ready.
VolunteerBadge focuses on affordable $5 background checks, built-in biometric identity verification, and an all-in-one volunteer platform (applications, hour tracking, compliance, and grant reporting) — with transparent, self-serve pricing and no per-seat fees.
A full national criminal check is $5, with free address-history checks and adverse-action notices included. There are no monthly fees on the pay-as-you-go plan.
Yes. VolunteerBadge can verify each applicant with a government-issued photo ID and a biometric liveness selfie, matching the person to the identity they provide — an extra layer of confidence before they're cleared to serve.
Yes. VolunteerBadge follows an FCRA-compliant screening process and includes adverse-action notice generation. For a detailed feature-by-feature comparison, see our Sterling Volunteers comparison page.