Bottom Line for Nevada Nonprofits
- ✓Volunteers 18 or older at licensed child care facilities, other than a parent of an enrolled child: fingerprints within 24 hours and every five years (NAC 432A.200)
- ✓Public and charter school volunteers likely to have unsupervised contact with pupils, including unpaid coaches and chaperones: fingerprints before starting and every five years (NRS 391.104, 388A.515)
- ✓Volunteers of licensed foster care agencies who may come into direct contact with a placed child: fingerprints and child abuse and neglect screening (NRS 424.145, 424.155)
- +3 more required roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
Child Care Facility Volunteer Checks
NRS §§ 432A.170–432A.1755; NAC § 432A.200Licensed child care facilities must have every employee and adult resident, and every volunteer 18 or older other than a parent of an enrolled child, fingerprinted for a Nevada and FBI check within 24 hours and every five years, with a Statewide Central Registry check. No unsupervised contact with children until the check is done.
School Volunteer Fingerprint Checks
NRS §§ 391.104, 391.105, 388A.515, 394.155; NAC § 391.800Public and charter schools must obtain fingerprints and a Statewide Central Registry check for volunteers likely to have unsupervised contact with pupils, including unpaid coaches and chaperones, before they start and at least every five years. Since 2023 a nonprofit’s own fingerprint check no longer substitutes for the school’s, and private schools need only the Central Registry check (2023 AB 503).
Voluntary Qualified-Entity (VECHS) Screening
NRS § 179A.325Lets a qualified entity that serves children, people 60 and older or people with disabilities open an account with the Central Repository and submit fingerprints of covered individuals, contractors and vendors for a Nevada and FBI check. Each request must be voluntary; the organization makes the fitness decision and must tell the person of the right to see and challenge the record.
Name-Based Conviction Search Service
NRS §§ 179A.100(3), 179A.103An employer, volunteer organization or screening service that contracts with the Central Repository can run name-based searches on employees and volunteers with written consent; results show Nevada convictions only.
Revolving Account for Volunteers Who Work With Children
NRS §§ 179A.310, 179A.140(3)(b); NAC §§ 179A.150, 179A.180A state account that may pay the Central Repository’s costs of checking nonprofit volunteers who work directly with children; whether it is funded today is unverified. Grants go only to nonprofits registered with the Secretary of State that serve children under 16, and the nonprofit must apply before submitting the check. Not applying is not evidence of negligence.
Mandated Reporting — Named Volunteer Roles
NRS § 432B.220School volunteers, youth shelter volunteers and volunteers of child abuse advice and referral services are mandated reporters; reports are due as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 24 hours, and a school must give each volunteer written or electronic notice of the duty and keep an acknowledgment.
Who Must Be Screened in Nevada
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •Volunteers 18 or older at licensed child care facilities, other than a parent of an enrolled child: fingerprints within 24 hours and every five years (NAC 432A.200)
- •Public and charter school volunteers likely to have unsupervised contact with pupils, including unpaid coaches and chaperones: fingerprints before starting and every five years (NRS 391.104, 388A.515)
- •Volunteers of licensed foster care agencies who may come into direct contact with a placed child: fingerprints and child abuse and neglect screening (NRS 424.145, 424.155)
- •Volunteers of licensed child-placing (adoption) agencies who provide services to children: fingerprints, rechecked every five years (NRS 127A.330, 127A.340)
- •Private school volunteers likely to have unsupervised contact with pupils: Statewide Central Registry check before starting and every five years; no fingerprint requirement since 2023 (NRS 394.155)
- •Possibly required (the law is unclear): seasonal or temporary recreation programs such as camps, clinics and leagues must check each staff member within 3 days of hire and every 5 years (NRS 432A.710); the law does not say whether unpaid volunteers count, though § 432A.700 refers to a staff member or volunteer
Optional — no Nevada statute we found requires a check
- ◦volunteers of nonprofits serving children, people 60 and older or people with disabilities, through the voluntary VECHS fingerprint program (NRS 179A.325)
- ◦volunteers at hospitals, nursing homes and other licensed care facilities; NRS 449.123 covers employees, temp workers and contractors and does not mention volunteers, though federal rules, facility policy or contracts may still require checks
Types of Background Checks Required in Nevada
How to Get Background Checks in Nevada
$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 Nevada law requires.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Nevada: What You Need to Know
Nevada splits its rules by setting. Child care volunteers are checked under Division of Social Services rules (licensing moved from public health in 2023), school volunteers under the education statutes, foster care and child-placing agency volunteers under NRS 424.155 and 127A.340, and everyone else only if the organization opts into the state’s VECHS fingerprint program. Nevada’s 2023 session loosened its school rules: private schools stopped fingerprinting volunteers (a Central Registry check remains), and school districts may no longer accept a nonprofit’s fingerprint check in place of their own. Nevada names school volunteers, youth shelter volunteers and volunteers of child abuse advice services as mandated reporters, with a 24-hour deadline.
Compliance Tips for Nevada Nonprofits
- 1
If you serve children under 16 and are registered with the Secretary of State, apply to the Central Repository for a Revolving Account grant before you submit volunteer fingerprints; the regulations require the application first (NAC 179A.150, 179A.180); ask RCCD whether the account is funded before you budget around it.
- 2
To run name-based checks, sign a contract with the Central Repository first; the service returns Nevada convictions only, so use fingerprints where the law requires them (NRS 179A.103).
- 3
For a VECHS account, give each volunteer written notice of the right to see and challenge the record and have them sign the RCCD waiver before you submit fingerprints; keep the waivers for one audit cycle (NRS 179A.325).
- 4
If your volunteers help in public or charter schools, expect the school to require fingerprints and a Central Registry check unless a public entity fingerprinted them in the last six months under an FBI-approved statute; a nonprofit’s own check no longer qualifies (NRS 391.105).
- 5
Document all background check results and retain them in a confidential file; NRS 179A.110 restricts further dissemination of criminal history records beyond the purpose for which they were obtained.
- 6
Train volunteers who serve at schools, youth shelters or child abuse hotlines that they must report suspected abuse within 24 hours (NRS 432B.220).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nevada require background checks for my nonprofit’s volunteers?
Only for volunteers in specific roles or settings; no Nevada rule covers every nonprofit. Nevada has no general volunteer screening mandate. The duties are setting-specific: licensed child care facilities must fingerprint every volunteer 18 or older who is not a parent of an enrolled child within 24 hours and every five years (NAC 432A.200); public and charter schools must fingerprint volunteers likely to have unsupervised contact with pupils before they start and every five years (NRS 391.104, 388A.515); and foster care and child-placing agencies must fingerprint volunteers who work with children (NRS 424.155, 127A.340).
How long does a Nevada volunteer background check take?
Official state checks: not published for volunteer fingerprint checks; Child Care Licensing tells facilities to allow up to 90 days for NABS account information to be processed and updated. VolunteerBadge's national criminal search returns most results in minutes; a record that needs human FCRA review can take up to about 72 hours.