Bottom Line for Michigan Nonprofits
- ✓Area agency on aging volunteers with in-person or in-home client contact, or access to client property or confidential information (MCL 400.586l)
- ✓Unsupervised volunteers (16+) in MiLEAP-licensed child care centers and homes — fingerprint-based eligibility determination (MCL 722.115n; R 400.8201; R 400.1919)
- ✓Children’s camp volunteers with direct care or unsupervised contact — documented criminal record check, plus Central Registry clearance at age 21+ (R 400.11109(7); MCL 722.119(5))
- +2 more required roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
MCL 400.586l — Area Agencies on Aging Volunteer Background Checks
Mich. Comp. Laws § 400.586lAdded by 2021 PA 28 (effective March 30, 2022) and applying retroactively from October 1, 2020, requires each area agency on aging to conduct a criminal background check revealing information similar to an ICHAT check and a national and state sex offender registry check for each new volunteer who has in-person client contact, in-home client contact, access to client property, or access to confidential client information. Background check must be completed before the volunteer begins working with clients. Renewal required every 3 years.
MCL 722.115d — Childcare Background Checks
Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.115dRequires every child care organization to run an ICHAT (or equivalent state-of-residence) check before a conditional offer of employment, and bars employing anyone convicted of a listed offense. In licensed centers and homes, unpaid volunteers with unsupervised access to children are “child care staff members” (MCL 722.111(1)(a)) and must receive MiLEAP’s fingerprint-based eligibility determination under MCL 722.115n and 722.115q, renewed at least every 5 years.
Mich. Admin. Code R 400.8201 and R 400.1919 — Comprehensive Background Check; Fingerprinting
Mich. Admin. Code R. 400.8201 (centers, eff. May 7, 2025); R. 400.1919 (homes, eff. Apr. 27, 2026)Before any unsupervised contact with children, MiLEAP must determine the eligibility of every licensee, child care staff member and unsupervised volunteer (16+), using fingerprints. Supervised volunteers must instead be cleared by the licensee against the Michigan or national public sex offender registry before any contact (R 400.8213(2); R 400.1903(1)(r)).
National Child Protection Act (Federal) — Fingerprint Checks for Qualified Entities
34 U.S.C. § 40102 (federal; formerly 42 U.S.C. § 5119a); applied in MI via MSP fingerprint systemUnder the federal National Child Protection Act/Volunteers for Children Act, Michigan schools and youth-serving nonprofits may be able to request fingerprint-based volunteer checks through MSP; confirm the correct MSP reason code first. We found no Michigan statute requiring schools to check volunteers, so the level of check is each district’s decision.
Who Must Be Screened in Michigan
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •Area agency on aging volunteers with in-person or in-home client contact, or access to client property or confidential information (MCL 400.586l)
- •Unsupervised volunteers (16+) in MiLEAP-licensed child care centers and homes — fingerprint-based eligibility determination (MCL 722.115n; R 400.8201; R 400.1919)
- •Children’s camp volunteers with direct care or unsupervised contact — documented criminal record check, plus Central Registry clearance at age 21+ (R 400.11109(7); MCL 722.119(5))
- •School volunteers (district policy — we found no state statute requiring checks)
- •Child placing agency volunteers — unsupervised volunteers need a Central Registry clearance before contact, and anyone listed may not have unsupervised contact (MCL 722.119(3); R 400.12206(4))
Types of Background Checks Required in Michigan
How to Get Background Checks in Michigan
$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 Michigan law requires.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Michigan: What You Need to Know
We found no Michigan statute requiring school volunteer background checks, so volunteer screening is left to local district policy. About 26.4% of Michigan residents formally volunteered in 2022–23 (AmeriCorps), yet the only statutes that name volunteers as a screening trigger are sector-specific. MCL 400.586l (2021 PA 28, effective March 30, 2022, retroactive to Oct. 1, 2020) was a targeted expansion of screening to area agency on aging volunteers.
Compliance Tips for Michigan Nonprofits
- 1
We found no Michigan statute requiring school volunteer background checks, so consider running them voluntarily and ask your insurer whether it expects them.
- 2
Use ICHAT for a first-pass Michigan check on volunteers. By statute the $10 per-search fee may not be charged to a nonprofit charitable agency running volunteer name checks (MCL 28.273(2)), so ask MSP about fee-exempt access. ICHAT is a name-based search of Michigan records only: it won’t show other states’ records and can miss a record filed under another name.
- 3
For aging services volunteers under MCL 400.586l, complete the criminal history (ICHAT-equivalent) check and the national and state sex offender registry checks before the volunteer’s first client contact or access to client property or confidential information — the statute has no exception allowing client contact while results are pending.
- 4
For licensed childcare volunteers, remember that every unsupervised volunteer (16+) in a licensed center, group home or family home needs MiLEAP’s fingerprint-based eligibility determination before unsupervised contact, and every supervised volunteer needs a public sex offender registry clearance before any contact. The rule is the same across facility types (R 400.8201, R 400.8213(2); R 400.1919, R 400.1903(1)(r)).
- 5
Run a Michigan Sex Offender Registry check (free, searchable on MSP public website) as a baseline screen alongside ICHAT for all volunteers with child or elder contact — this two-step free check catches the most serious disqualifying status quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Michigan require background checks for my nonprofit’s volunteers?
Only for volunteers in specific roles or settings; no Michigan rule covers every nonprofit. We found no Michigan statute requiring background checks for school volunteers: MCL 380.1230 reaches employees and regular contractors, not volunteers.
How long does a Michigan volunteer background check take?
Official state checks: ICHAT: online name search; child care eligibility determination: within 45 days by statute (MCL 722.115n(7)). VolunteerBadge's national criminal search returns most results in minutes; a record that needs human FCRA review can take up to about 72 hours.