A full national criminal background check on every volunteer for $5: county, state, and federal courts, sex-offender registries in all 50 states, FBI Most Wanted, and OFAC watchlists — FCRA-compliant, with biometric identity verification built in.
A volunteer criminal background check is only as good as the records it searches and the identity it is tied to. Many low-cost "instant" checks hit a single national database that is riddled with gaps; many premium services charge $25–$80 for the same coverage VolunteerBadge includes at $5. The honest middle ground is broad court coverage at a fair price — with a way to confirm the person is who they say they are.
Every VolunteerBadge check searches 650M+ records across county, state, and federal courts, sex-offender registries in all 50 states, FBI Most Wanted, and OFAC and global watchlists, and returns an FCRA-compliant report. If a county record exists but cannot be verified under FCRA guidelines, we tell you and refund the fee. Address-history checks are free on every application, and adverse-action notices are generated for you when a record is found.
The result is enterprise-grade criminal screening at a nonprofit price — affordable enough to screen every volunteer, rigorous enough to stand up to your board, your insurer, and the families you serve.
A plain-English guide to what a national criminal check surfaces — non-convictions, look-back periods, and what FCRA does and does not allow you to see.
¹ Urban Institute (2017), analysis of 1.7 million employment background checks
Other platforms charge extra for these. We don't.
We search 650M+ court records across all jurisdictions — county, state, and federal courts, sex offender registries, FBI Most Wanted, OFAC sanctions, and global watchlists. If county records exist but can't be verified under FCRA guidelines, we tell you and refund your fee. No games.
Every volunteer application includes a free address history pull. We verify what they report against what we find. Gaps, inconsistencies, or addresses they "forgot" to mention get flagged before you spend a dime on a criminal check.
Go beyond name-and-date-of-birth. Verify each volunteer with a government-issued photo ID and a biometric liveness selfie, matched against the identity they provide — so you know the human behind the application is who they claim to be.
Fully documented REST API and webhook support. Plug VolunteerBadge into your CRM, volunteer management software, or AI tool of choice. One API key. 1 credit = 1 background check, however you access us.
VolunteerBadge is the only volunteer screening platform that ties a real, verified identity to every application: a biometric face match against a government photo ID, then triangulated against the SSN trace and address history behind the check. A borrowed clean identity can't get through.
Biometric facial match
A live liveness selfie — proof a real person is present, not a photo.
Government photo ID
The selfie is matched face-to-face against their official ID document.
SSN + address triangulation
Identity cross-checked against the SSN trace and address history on the report.
Enterprise-grade verification at a nonprofit price. The same rigor banks use — built into every $5 check.
Application to cleared volunteer in three steps.
Create a digital volunteer application with built-in FCRA authorization. Send a link or embed it on your site.
A free address-history check and biometric ID verification confirm the applicant before you spend a dollar.
A full national criminal check returns an FCRA-compliant report — with adverse-action notices if needed.
Pay per check for screening. Subscribe to run your whole volunteer program.
Buy credits one at a time. No commitment, no expiry.
Save 20% vs single-check pricing. Credits never expire.
Unlimited admin users, flat. Checks billed separately at $5.
Every check follows an FCRA-compliant process, with applicant authorization captured up front and adverse-action notices generated for you when a record is found. The guardrails that protect your volunteers and your organization are included — not sold separately.
Create a free account in minutes. No contracts, no monthly minimums, no sales call. Just $5 per check when you're ready.
VolunteerBadge searches 650M+ court records across county, state, and federal courts, sex-offender registries in all 50 states, FBI Most Wanted, and OFAC/global watchlists — returned in an FCRA-compliant report for $5 per volunteer.
A full national criminal check is $5 through VolunteerBadge, with free address-history checks and adverse-action notices included. There are no monthly fees on the pay-as-you-go plan.
Coverage and identity both matter. VolunteerBadge searches court records nationwide and, critically, verifies the applicant's identity with a government photo ID and biometric selfie — because a name-and-date-of-birth match alone can be defeated by a borrowed clean identity. If a record can't be verified under FCRA guidelines, we tell you and refund the fee.
Yes. Every check follows an FCRA-compliant process, with applicant authorization captured up front and adverse-action notices generated automatically when a record is found — at no extra cost.
State-by-state screening rules for volunteers.
Coverage, look-back periods, and FCRA reportability.
What address history catches that a criminal search misses.
What you must do before screening a volunteer.
Roughly 94% of background checks find no criminal record — which is why screening every volunteer should be affordable, and why confirming the person's real identity matters as much as the record search itself. The research and industry data below back that up.