Bottom Line for Nebraska Nonprofits
- ✓Volunteers in licensed child care programs who care for or supervise children or have unsupervised access to them (FBI fingerprint check; since July 18, 2026 they may start under constant supervision after a first qualifying result; renewed every five years)
- ✓Staff and volunteers age 18 and older at residential child-caring agencies (FBI fingerprint check before contact with children and every five years)
- ✓CASA volunteer advocates (FBI check, child abuse registry, driving record and three references before appointment)
- +3 more required roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
Child Care Licensing Background Check
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-1912, 71-1912.02Every child care staff member of a licensed program, meaning anyone not related to all the children who is paid or whose activities involve caring for or supervising children or unsupervised access to them, needs a national fingerprint check through the Nebraska State Patrol plus sex offender, criminal and child abuse registry searches before starting and at least once every five years. Since July 18, 2026 a new staff member may start under supervision once the first fingerprint result clears, and a fingerprint-cleared volunteer may count in the staff-to-child ratio for up to ten hours a week through Dec. 31, 2028 (§ 71-1912.02).
CASA Volunteer Background Check
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-3709Before appointment, the CASA program director must obtain an FBI criminal history check through the Nebraska State Patrol, a child abuse central registry check, a driving record check and at least three character references, plus the same records from other states if the applicant has lived in Nebraska less than 12 months. Volunteers must be at least 21 and commit to one year of service.
Residential child-caring agency and foster care checks
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-1928.01, 71-1903; 391 NAC 7Anyone 18 or older working in a residential child-caring agency needs a national fingerprint check and state registry searches at least every five years, and DHHS rules apply this to staff and volunteers 18 and older before any contact with children. Foster parents and household members 18 and older are fingerprinted before placement, except in DHHS-declared emergencies.
DHHS-contracted transportation
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-6,120No one convicted of, or facing an unresolved charge for, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude may transport vulnerable adults or people under 19 under a DHHS contract, whether as an employee or as a volunteer, and drivers need a national fingerprint check through the State Patrol.
Who Must Be Screened in Nebraska
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •Volunteers in licensed child care programs who care for or supervise children or have unsupervised access to them (FBI fingerprint check; since July 18, 2026 they may start under constant supervision after a first qualifying result; renewed every five years)
- •Staff and volunteers age 18 and older at residential child-caring agencies (FBI fingerprint check before contact with children and every five years)
- •CASA volunteer advocates (FBI check, child abuse registry, driving record and three references before appointment)
- •Employees and volunteers who transport vulnerable adults or minors under a DHHS contract (FBI fingerprint check)
- •Staff and volunteers age 19 and older at licensed child-placing agencies (criminal history check under 391 NAC 8)
- •Representatives of congressionally chartered youth organizations, such as Scouting groups, before providing activities to students at a school (district-set background check, § 79-297)
Optional — no Nebraska statute we found requires a check
- ◦church nursery, Sunday school, camp, youth sports, mentoring and school volunteers (we found no Nebraska statute requiring checks; screening is organization policy)
Types of Background Checks Required in Nebraska
How to Get Background Checks in Nebraska
$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 Nebraska law requires.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Nebraska: What You Need to Know
Nebraska treats adult criminal history as a public record (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-3520), so anyone may buy a State Patrol name-based report, while never-charged and dismissed arrests drop out of the public record under § 29-3523. The State Patrol runs FBI fingerprint checks only where a state or federal law authorizes one, and its authorized list has no general category for youth-serving nonprofits. Religious classes, recreation camps and summer-only programs are outside child care licensing (§ 71-1910), DHHS says volunteer-run church nurseries and Sunday schools are not licensed care, and since 2026 the state no longer issues recreation camp permits. DHHS pays the $45.25 State Patrol fingerprint fee for child care workers through April 30, 2029. Nebraska’s only consumer-report statute gives a person the right to a copy of their file (§ 20-149); screening companies otherwise follow the federal FCRA.
Compliance Tips for Nebraska Nonprofits
- 1
Licensed child care: send each volunteer who cares for, supervises or may be alone with children through the DHHS Children’s Services Licensing fingerprint application before they start, keep the DHHS eligibility letter in their file, and start renewals 90 days before the five-year mark; DHHS says a private vendor’s FBI check does not count.
- 2
DHHS says volunteer-run church nursery and Sunday school programs are not licensed child care, so the fingerprint law does not reach their volunteers; a State Patrol name-based report and a sex offender registry search are an inexpensive baseline if you choose to screen.
- 3
For CASA programs, § 43-3709 requires an FBI check through the State Patrol, a central registry check, a driving record and at least three references before appointment, plus records from every state the applicant lived in during the prior year if they have lived in Nebraska less than 12 months.
- 4
Nebraska’s ban-the-box law (§ 48-202) covers only state and local government job applicants, so you may ask about criminal history on a volunteer application, but do not ask about sealed cases (§ 29-3523(8)).
- 5
To check the DHHS child or adult abuse registries, the volunteer signs an identity-verified authorization (a parent or guardian’s identity is verified for anyone under 19) and your organization enrolls with DHHS to receive results; the rule fee is $2.50 per check, and since LB668 (2026) the statute caps it at $5.
- 6
Use the State Patrol sex offender registry: § 29-4013 gives volunteer organizations that serve minors or vulnerable adults access to public notification information, free for 501(c) nonprofits if a fee applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nebraska require background checks for my nonprofit’s volunteers?
Only for volunteers in specific roles or settings; no Nebraska rule covers every nonprofit. Nebraska has no general volunteer background check law; checks are required by setting. A licensed child care program must clear every child care staff member, which includes any volunteer who cares for or supervises children or has unsupervised access to them, through a DHHS-requested FBI fingerprint check and registry searches before work and at least every five years (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-1912).
How long does a Nebraska volunteer background check take?
Official state checks: State Patrol name-based reports return online at once or within 3 business days if reviewed; for child care checks the State Patrol usually receives FBI results in 5 to 10 business days (up to 45), then DHHS decides within 1 to 2 business days and sends the letter within about 2. VolunteerBadge's national criminal search returns most results in minutes; a record that needs human FCRA review can take up to about 72 hours.