Bottom Line for Massachusetts Nonprofits
- ✓School volunteers with direct and unmonitored contact with children (M.G.L. c. 71, § 38R — mandatory)
- ✓Volunteers at any organization primarily engaged in activities or programs for children 18 or younger — CORI before acceptance (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172H)
- ✓Volunteers at recreational camps for children — CORI with juvenile data plus a SORB sex offender registry check, every camping season, before service (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172G; 105 CMR 430.090(D), (F))
- +3 more required roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 38R — School Volunteer CORI Checks
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 38RMandates that all schools conduct criminal background checks on current and prospective employees and volunteers who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children. CORI must be obtained at least every three years. Applies to volunteers who regularly provide school-related transportation to students.
CORI Reform Act — M.G.L. Chapter 6, Sections 167–178B
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, §§ 167–178B (as amended by 2010 Acts Ch. 256)The Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform Law governs access to and use of criminal records maintained by the DCJIS. Establishes procedures for how organizations may request, use, and store CORI information. Organizations that run five or more criminal background checks a year, from any source, must have a written CORI policy (§ 171A; 803 CMR 2.18).
M.G.L. Chapter 6, Section 172H — Children’s Programs Must Obtain CORI
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 172HRequires any entity or organization primarily engaged in providing activities or programs to children 18 or younger to obtain all available CORI from DCJIS before accepting any person as an employee, volunteer, vendor or contractor. DCJIS lists organizations that run programs for children under 18 at Required 2 access, which adds non-conviction records and adult convictions of any age to what a Standard check returns.
M.G.L. Chapter 6, Section 172G and 105 CMR 430.090 — Camp Volunteers
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 172G; 105 CMR 430.090(D)Camp operators must obtain CORI and juvenile court data from DCJIS and a sex offender registry check from SORB on every volunteer, each camping season, and make a suitability determination before the volunteer starts. Written documentation is kept three years.
M.G.L. Chapter 6, Sections 172C and 172E — Elder, Disability and Long-Term Care Volunteers
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, §§ 172C, 172ELong-term care facilities, assisted living residences and continuing care facilities shall obtain CORI on volunteers (§ 172E), as must home care, municipal and publicly funded agencies whose volunteers serve elders or people with disabilities at home or in the community, including meal delivery (§ 172C); a § 172C violation is also a c. 93A violation.
Who Must Be Screened in Massachusetts
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •School volunteers with direct and unmonitored contact with children (M.G.L. c. 71, § 38R — mandatory)
- •Volunteers at any organization primarily engaged in activities or programs for children 18 or younger — CORI before acceptance (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172H)
- •Volunteers at recreational camps for children — CORI with juvenile data plus a SORB sex offender registry check, every camping season, before service (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172G; 105 CMR 430.090(D), (F))
- •Child care volunteers with unsupervised access to children in EEC licensed, approved or funded programs, and every volunteer in a family child care home (606 CMR 14.05 — CORI, DCF, SORI, national registry and fingerprint checks)
- •Volunteers with potential unsupervised contact with clients in EOHHS agencies and their contracted vendor programs, including DCF, DMH, DDS and Elder Affairs vendors (101 CMR 15.03–15.04)
- •Volunteers at long-term care facilities, assisted living residences and continuing care facilities, and volunteers who serve elders or people with disabilities at home or in the community for home care, municipal or publicly funded agencies (M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 172C, 172E)
Types of Background Checks Required in Massachusetts
How to Get Background Checks in Massachusetts
$5 per check — a national criminal database search, sex offender registries in all 50 states and an SSN trace, with human FCRA review when a record needs it. It never replaces a check Massachusetts law requires.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Massachusetts: What You Need to Know
A person relying on volunteers who relies solely on DCJIS CORI is not liable for negligent hiring for that reliance, unless a law requires additional checks, if the decision is made within 90 days and the identity-verification rules were followed (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172(e)). Standard CORI shows misdemeanors for 5 years and felonies for 10, but if a conviction falls in that window the volunteer’s entire adult conviction history is returned (803 CMR 2.05(4)(b)). We found no statute extending Massachusetts’ ban-the-box rule (M.G.L. c. 151B, § 4(9½)) to volunteer applications, but M.G.L. c. 6, § 171A requires anyone deciding on a volunteer opportunity to hand over the criminal record before questioning the applicant about it, and 803 CMR 2.20 sets notice, copy, dispute and documentation steps before an adverse decision.
Compliance Tips for Massachusetts Nonprofits
- 1
Register your organization with DCJIS’s iCORI system — registration renews every two calendar years and requires CORI training and a signed iCORI Agency Agreement (803 CMR 2.04). Fees are set by the Secretary of Public Safety and Security and DCJIS may waive them; confirm the current fee before budgeting.
- 2
If your organization runs five or more criminal background checks a year, from DCJIS or any other source, you must keep a written CORI policy containing the provisions of the DCJIS Model CORI Policy (M.G.L. c. 6, § 171A; 803 CMR 2.18), plus a need-to-know list updated at least every six months.
- 3
Schools must obtain CORI at least every three years on volunteers who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children (c. 71, § 38R) — track each volunteer’s last check date.
- 4
Run a Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) check alongside CORI for any volunteer with child contact — these are separate databases and CORI alone does not capture sex offender registrant status. The public SORI search (ESORI) returns only Level 2 and 3 offenders (803 CMR 1.26).
- 5
Before an adverse decision based on CORI or any other criminal history, follow 803 CMR 2.20: give the volunteer a copy of the CORI and your CORI policy, identify the information the decision rests on, offer an opportunity to dispute its accuracy along with DCJIS’s information on correcting a record, and document every step — the rules apply to volunteer decisions too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Massachusetts require background checks for my nonprofit’s volunteers?
Only for volunteers in specific roles or settings; no Massachusetts rule covers every nonprofit. Massachusetts screens volunteers through CORI, the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services’ name-based record check, and mandates it in several volunteer settings.
How long does a Massachusetts volunteer background check take?
Official state checks: We found no published DCJIS or SORB turnaround standard; confirm current processing times with the agency. VolunteerBadge's national criminal search returns most results in minutes; a record that needs human FCRA review can take up to about 72 hours.