Bottom Line for Georgia Nonprofits
- ✓Volunteers with unsupervised access to children in qualified care entities
- ✓Volunteers at DCH-licensed nursing homes, assisted living, adult day care, personal care homes, hospice, and home health agencies
- ✓School volunteers with direct student contact (under local school board policies and district requirements)
- +1 more covered roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
Exchange of National Criminal History Background Checks — Care Providers
O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34.2Authorizes and in certain circumstances requires qualified entities providing care to children, elderly, or persons with disabilities to conduct fingerprint-based state and federal criminal history checks on volunteers with unsupervised access.
Long-Term Care Background Check Program
O.C.G.A. § 31-7-350 et seq.Mandates fingerprint-based GBI and FBI background checks for all individuals — including volunteers — who have direct access to patients or financial information at DCH-licensed long-term care facilities.
Georgia Criminal Records Disclosure
O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34Governs disclosure of criminal records to private persons and organizations; establishes the framework under which nonprofits may access GCIC records for screening purposes.
Who Must Be Screened in Georgia
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •Volunteers with unsupervised access to children in qualified care entities
- •Volunteers at DCH-licensed nursing homes, assisted living, adult day care, personal care homes, hospice, and home health agencies
- •School volunteers with direct student contact (under local school board policies and district requirements)
- •Volunteers with access to patient financial information at licensed healthcare facilities
Types of Background Checks Required in Georgia
How to Get Background Checks in Georgia
$5 per check — includes national criminal database, sex offender registry across all 50 states, SSN trace, and FCRA Certified Compliance Team review.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Georgia: What You Need to Know
Georgia transitioned from Fieldprint to IdentoGO (Idemia) as the GAPS vendor effective February 3, 2025. GCIC fee updates took effect January 1, 2025. Atlanta's large nonprofit sector in education, faith-based services, and healthcare makes Georgia a high-volume background check state. The Long-Term Care program is strictly enforced by DCH. Georgia does not have a standalone youth-serving organization law like New Jersey — screening requirements arise through sector-specific licensing.
Compliance Tips for Georgia Nonprofits
- 1
Register your organization through the GAPS portal at ga.state.identogo.com before submitting volunteer fingerprints — the vendor transition to IdentoGO in February 2025 requires re-enrollment for organizations previously using Fieldprint.
- 2
For long-term care volunteers, background checks must be renewed every 5 years per DCH requirements; maintain a tracking log by volunteer start date.
- 3
School district volunteer screening requirements vary by county — contact your local district's volunteer coordinator to understand which roles require a GBI check versus a simpler sex offender registry search.
- 4
If your nonprofit serves both children and elderly (e.g., intergenerational programs), you likely trigger requirements under both § 35-3-34.2 and the Long-Term Care program — run checks through GBI for both pathways.
- 5
Review the GCIC fee schedule annually (updated January 1, 2025) and budget accordingly; fees are paid per applicant at the fingerprinting site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Exchange of National Criminal History Background Checks — Care Providers apply to my nonprofit?
Georgia law applies to nonprofits with volunteers working in covered roles — typically involving direct, unsupervised contact with children, elderly individuals, or vulnerable adults. Georgia requires fingerprint-based background checks for volunteers with unsupervised access to children, elderly, or disabled individuals under O.
What happens if we skip background checks in Georgia?
Failing to screen volunteers in Georgia can expose your organization to negligent supervision liability, loss of insurance coverage, and — in sectors with mandatory requirements — regulatory penalties. Under the federal FCRA, running checks without proper procedures also creates compliance risk.
How long does a Georgia volunteer background check take?
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) — Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC); fingerprinting through GAPS via IdentoGO (new vendor effective February 3, 2025) typically processes checks in GBI GCIC: average 2 hours for electronic fingerprints; FBI adds 3–7 business days. VolunteerBadge's national criminal database search returns results instantly for most volunteers.