Arizona Volunteer Background Checks: The Fingerprint Clearance Card Explained (2026)
September 12, 2026
Arizona has no across-the-board rule that every volunteer be checked. A DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card is required only where a specific statute names the setting, and each setting has its own deadline. This video covers which Arizona volunteers need a card, what it costs, and the reporting change that takes effect September 12, 2026.
In this video
- One card, no mandate: the closed list of card statutes
- How the Fingerprint Clearance Card works, and why it belongs to the volunteer
- Level I bars and good cause exceptions
- Deadlines by setting: child care, schools, health care and state-contracted programs
- Reporting abuse, and the September 12, 2026 change
- The card duty attaches only to people fingerprinted under a closed list of statutes in A.R.S. § 41-1758(5). Outside that list, we found no statute requiring every nonprofit to check its volunteers.
- A Fingerprint Clearance Card is the cardholder's personal property and travels between organizations. DPS charges $67, or $65 for volunteers under specific authorizations, plus the fingerprint vendor's fee. New fingerprints are due every six years.
- Forty-eight offenses bar a Level I card outright, and 68 more do unless the Board of Fingerprinting grants a good cause exception. An arrest for a listed offense suspends a card.
- Child care volunteers need the card before their first shift. DCS and DES contractors, children's behavioral health programs and domestic violence providers allow seven working days to apply; health care institutions allow 20.
- School districts must fingerprint volunteers who aren't a pupil's parent or guardian and who serve pupils without being within sight of a certificated employee.
- A.R.S. § 13-3620 reaches "any other person who has responsibility for the care or treatment of the minor." From September 12, 2026, a required reporter with direct knowledge must report to DCS personally and may not delegate the report.
Key points
Get the free Arizona guide, "Card-Carrying," with every statute cited:
Arizona volunteer background check requirements at a glance:
Our free guide to mandated reporting for volunteers:
For the church, league, camp and other Arizona roles no card statute reaches, VolunteerBadge runs volunteer background checks for $5 each, with free ID and live-selfie verification on applications and no setup fee, contract or per-seat fee. A VolunteerBadge check is not a Fingerprint Clearance Card, and it never replaces a card or a school district fingerprint check where Arizona law requires one.
This video summarizes our Arizona guide. Where they differ, the guide and the statutes it cites control. It's general information, not legal advice; confirm your obligations with your licensing agency or an attorney.
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