Washington Volunteer Background Checks: WATCH, Fingerprints & RCW 43.43 (2026)
September 12, 2026
Washington gives nonprofits a way to ask for a volunteer's criminal record, not a duty to. We found no statute requiring a general nonprofit to check volunteers. Once you ask, though, four duties attach, and regulated care settings run their own required checks. This video covers how it works.
In this video
- Records on request: why Washington's rule is access, not a mandate
- Who counts as an "applicant," volunteers included
- The four duties once you request a State Patrol record
- WATCH name searches and the 2025 fingerprint channel for care providers
- Where checks are required, and the supervisor's duty to report
- The Washington State Patrol "shall disclose" a volunteer applicant's conviction record when an organization serving children under 16, vulnerable adults or people with developmental disabilities asks. Failing to ask is actionable only if it is gross negligence.
- By statute, no fee is charged to a nonprofit for the records check (RCW 43.43.838(2)). Other requesters pay $11 per WATCH name search. WATCH is a name and date-of-birth search; WSP says only fingerprints positively link a person to a record.
- Once you ask: tell the applicant beforehand, require them to disclose convictions and civil findings, share WSP's response and a copy within ten days, and use it only for the initial decision.
- Since July 27, 2025 (HB 1385), organizations providing care can apply to become qualified entities and run state and FBI fingerprint checks on volunteers, with a signed waiver.
- Checks are required in regulated care: DCYF child care (for volunteers counted in ratio or with unsupervised access), foster and group care, CASA and volunteer guardians ad litem, and adult family homes.
- Anyone in an official supervisory capacity, paid or unpaid, who witnesses or receives a credible report that a volunteer they regularly supervise abused or neglected a child must report to law enforcement within 48 hours.
Key points
Get the free Washington guide, "Sound Judgment," with every statute cited and a notice-and-disclosure form you can copy:
Washington volunteer background check requirements at a glance:
Our free guide to mandated reporting for volunteers:
For the league, church and other roles Washington leaves to your judgment, 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 never replaces a DCYF, DSHS, CASA or State Patrol fingerprint check where Washington law requires one.
This video summarizes our Washington 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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