Does South Carolina require background checks for volunteers?

Only where a statute names the setting: licensed, registered and approved child care (S.C. Code § 63-13-40); child-placing agencies, group homes, qualified residential treatment programs and contracted providers, for volunteers with direct, unsupervised contact with children (§ 63-7-2340, since May 21, 2024); DSS child-welfare contractors, for volunteers with direct unsupervised contact with a child in DSS custody (§ 63-13-190(A)(2)); and national service positions (§ 23-3-47). Public school districts must run a National Sex Offender Registry check on volunteers who work in schools or interact directly with students (§ 59-19-117(B)). Churches outside child care, youth sports leagues, most camps and mentoring programs set their own standard.

What is SLED CATCH, and who gets the $8 rate?

CATCH is SLED’s name-based search of South Carolina criminal records. It costs $25, or $8 for a 501(c)(3), a bona fide church, a charity that has filed a registration or exemption with the Secretary of State, a bona fide mentor, or a local parks-and-recreation volunteer program (§ 23-3-115(B)). An organization using the $8 rate may not charge the volunteer more than $8. SLED’s page also carries a notice of an online service fee from July 1, 2026, alongside an older $1.00 convenience-fee line, so confirm the add-on with SLED. CATCH covers South Carolina only, can show arrests with no disposition, and doesn’t search the sex offender registry.

Does § 63-13-40 require fingerprints for South Carolina child care volunteers?

Usually, yes. Section 63-13-40 requires anyone employed by or providing caregiver services at a licensed, registered or approved facility to clear SLED and FBI fingerprints, the DSS Central Registry and the national and state sex offender registries, plus other-state checks for five years, repeated every five years. The statute has no volunteer exemption. DSS regulations excuse only a parent, grandparent or skilled helper, 16 or older, who assists infrequently, without compensation and supervised by staff at all times during direct care (Regs. 114-501(A)(40)). Family child care home volunteers must be fingerprinted (Regs. 114-531).

What does § 63-13-1110 mean for a registrant who wants to volunteer with children?

Not in a role that includes instruction, supervision or care of minors where a minor is present, unless a circuit court order approves it and it is recorded in the offender’s registry file. Doing so without one is a felony punishable by up to five years (§ 63-13-1110). Offenders convicted of listed child offenses are also barred from volunteering for a “child-oriented business” (§ 23-3-538). SLED CATCH doesn’t search the registry, so search the S.C. Sex Offender Registry separately.

Which South Carolina volunteers must report abuse?

For child abuse, generally not by title. Section 63-7-310 lists professions, and the only volunteer role it names is a non-attorney guardian ad litem serving the S.C. Guardian ad Litem Program or Richland County CASA; everyone else may report and is encouraged to. Group-care volunteers have a separate regulatory duty to report (Regs. 114-591(F)(1)). For vulnerable adults, staff and volunteers of adult day care centers and facilities must report, and anyone with actual knowledge of abuse, neglect or exploitation must report within 24 hours or the next working day (§ 43-35-25).

Does a VolunteerBadge check replace a SLED fingerprint check or a DSS Central Registry check?

No. Where South Carolina law requires a SLED and FBI fingerprint check, the DSS Central Registry check or a district’s registry check — child care, group care, DSS contractors, national service, public schools — South Carolina requires that check itself, and no commercial report substitutes for it. VolunteerBadge complements CATCH for the many roles no statute covers: it reaches past the state line and searches all-50-state sex-offender registries.

Free guide · 2026 edition · For South Carolina churches, child care, group homes and youth programs

The Eight-Dollar Door: The South Carolina guide to screening volunteers: SLED’s $8 CATCH rate and what it can’t show, the child care and group-home checks, the felony that reaches every youth program, and two reporting laws with two different rules

South Carolina has no statewide rule that every volunteer be checked. It names settings instead — child care, group homes and child-placing agencies, DSS contractors, national service and, for a registry check only, public schools — and it gives every charity a door into state records: an $8 SLED CATCH search that shows South Carolina records only and doesn’t search the sex offender registry. The guide takes each in turn, from § 23-3-115 to § 43-35-25.

By the VolunteerBadge research team · Sources checked September 12, 2026

Written for South Carolina church child care, group homes, leagues and mentoring programs
The $8 SLED CATCH rate — who qualifies, and what a CATCH report can’t show
Child care, group homes, DSS contractors and schools, statute by statute
Two reporting cards: one for children, one for vulnerable adults

Who The Eight-Dollar Door is for

Executive directors, volunteer coordinators, child care and church child care directors, group home and child-placing agency staff, school and PTA volunteer leads, league and camp organizers, mentoring and senior-program coordinators — anyone in South Carolina who needs to know when CATCH is enough and when a statute demands fingerprints.

10.8

maltreatment victims per 1,000 South Carolina children in 2024 (12,442 children), against 7.2 nationally; referrals rose 26.6% from 2020 to 2024.

ACF, Child Maltreatment 2024

SLED’s CATCH fee for a charity, church, bona fide mentor or parks-and-recreation volunteer program, instead of $25 — and the most a charity may charge the volunteer. CATCH shows South Carolina records only and doesn’t search the sex offender registry.

S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-115(B); SLED CATCH (read Sept. 12, 2026)

28.8%

of South Carolinians volunteered through an organization in 2023 — 34th of 51 by our computation, up from 21.8% in 2021.

AmeriCorps / Census CEV 2023

Cited to primary sources

South Carolina at a glance

Named settings only: Checks are required in named settings: licensed, registered and approved child care; child-placing agencies, group homes, QRTPs and contracted providers, for volunteers with direct, unsupervised contact; DSS child-welfare contractors; and national service. Public school districts run a National Sex Offender Registry check on volunteers. Everywhere else, screening is your choice.; S.C. Code Ann. §§ 63-13-40, 63-7-2340, 63-13-190, 23-3-47, 59-19-117(B)
The $8 CATCH rate: A SLED CATCH search costs $25, or $8 for 501(c)(3)s, churches, charities registered or exempt with the Secretary of State, bona fide mentors and parks-and-recreation volunteer programs. An organization using the $8 rate may not charge the volunteer more than $8, and searches may not be resold. SLED’s page notes an online service fee from July 1, 2026 alongside an older $1.00 convenience-fee line.; S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-115(B); SLED CATCH (read Sept. 12, 2026)
What CATCH can’t show: CATCH searches South Carolina records only, by name. SLED may release arrest history with no disposition, and CATCH doesn’t search the sex offender registry. SLED runs fingerprint checks only when a statute requires them.; SLED CATCH, “Search Expectations & Limitations”; S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-115(A)
The registrant felony: A person required to register as a sex offender who works or volunteers, with or without pay, where a minor is present in a role that includes instruction, supervision or care of minors commits a felony — up to five years — unless a circuit court order approves it. A separate, retroactive bar keeps offenders convicted of listed child offenses from volunteering for a “child-oriented business.”; S.C. Code Ann. §§ 63-13-1110, 23-3-538
Child care checks: Anyone employed by or providing caregiver services in licensed, registered or approved child care clears SLED and FBI fingerprints, the DSS Central Registry, both sex offender registries and five years of other-state checks, repeated every five years. The volunteer exemption is in DSS regulations only: 16 or older, infrequent, unpaid and supervised by staff at all times. Family child care volunteers are fingerprinted.; S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-40(D); S.C. Code Regs. 114-501(A)(40), 114-531
Group care and DSS contractors: Since May 21, 2024, volunteers with direct, unsupervised contact with children at child-placing agencies, QRTPs, residential facilities and contracted providers need SLED and FBI fingerprints. Group care rules add yearly SLED and registry rechecks and FBI prints every five years. Since May 19, 2026, DSS-contractor volunteers need prints if they have direct unsupervised contact with a child in DSS custody.; S.C. Code Ann. §§ 63-7-2340(A), 63-7-2350; S.C. Code Regs. 114-591(L); 2026 Act No. 232
Schools: a registry check: Every public school district must run a National Sex Offender Registry check on volunteers who work in a school as mentors, coaches or in any other capacity, and on chaperones and others with direct interaction with students. The statute requires the registry check, not a criminal history check, for volunteers.; S.C. Code Ann. § 59-19-117(B)
Two reporting laws: Child abuse: a profession list; the only volunteer named is the non-attorney GAL for the S.C. GAL Program or Richland County CASA, and everyone else may report. Knowing failure by a named reporter: up to $500, six months, or both. Vulnerable adults: adult day care and facility volunteers must report, as must anyone with actual knowledge, within 24 hours or the next working day; failure carries up to $2,500 or a year.; S.C. Code Ann. §§ 63-7-310, 63-7-410, 43-35-25, 43-35-85(A)

From the The Eight-Dollar Door executive summary

Six South Carolina rules behind the eight-dollar door

1
Named settings, not a statewide rule.
The screening duties we found are sector-specific: licensed, registered and approved child care; child-placing agencies, group homes and treatment programs; DSS child-welfare contractors; national service; and public schools, where the duty is a National Sex Offender Registry check, not a criminal history check.
2
The $8 door.
501(c)(3)s, churches, charities registered or exempt with the Secretary of State, bona fide mentors and parks-and-recreation volunteer programs pay $8 for a SLED CATCH search, and may not charge a volunteer more. CATCH is name-based, South Carolina-only, can show arrests with no disposition, and doesn’t search the sex offender registry.
3
One felony reaches every program.
A person required to register as a sex offender who works or volunteers where a minor is present, in a role that includes instruction, supervision or care of minors, commits a felony punishable by up to five years — unless a circuit court order approves it (§ 63-13-1110).
4
Child care’s volunteer exemption is in the regulations.
Section 63-13-40 has no volunteer exemption. DSS rules excuse only an unpaid helper, 16 or older, who assists infrequently and is supervised by staff at all times during direct care (Regs. 114-501(A)(40)). Family child care home volunteers are fingerprinted (Regs. 114-531).
5
Group-care volunteers have been law since 2024.
Since May 21, 2024, volunteers with direct, unsupervised contact with children at child-placing agencies, QRTPs, residential facilities and contracted providers need SLED and FBI fingerprints (§ 63-7-2340). The bill often cited, S.1112, died in the House; H.3220 — 2024 Act No. 195 — enacted the requirement.
6
Two reporting laws, two rules.
For children, South Carolina names professions; the only volunteer it names is the non-attorney guardian ad litem, and everyone else “may report, and is encouraged to report.” For vulnerable adults, it names adult day care and facility volunteers, and anyone with actual knowledge must report within 24 hours or the next working day.

Inside The Eight-Dollar Door, chapter by chapter

01
CATCH, named settings, a registrant felony
CATCH, the named settings and the registrant felony on a page, with South Carolina’s 2024 child-welfare figures.
02
SLED, DSS or the district: who runs each role’s check
Role by role: which South Carolina statute applies, if any, and whether SLED, DSS or the district runs the check.
03
The eight-dollar door: SLED CATCH
Who gets the $8 rate, the rules that come with it, the online fee notice and what CATCH can’t show.
04
The felony that reaches every program
Section 63-13-1110, the § 23-3-538 child-oriented business bar and how to search the registry.
05
Child care: what counts — and who registers instead
The four-hour definition, the camp and Bible school exclusions and church child care registration.
06
Child care checks under § 63-13-40
The full check, provisional starts, five-year rechecks, who is barred and how DSS runs it.
07
Child care volunteers: the exemption lives in the regulations
Regs. 114-501(A)(40)’s three conditions and why family child care volunteers are fingerprinted.
08
Group homes, child-placing agencies and DSS contractors
The 2024 law, “volunteer” versus “volunteer staff,” annual rechecks and the 2026 contractor change.
09
Schools, youth sports, camps and national service
The district registry check, the concussion law, S.809, camp exclusions and § 23-3-47.
10
Older adults: staff checks and a duty for volunteers
Direct-care checks for employees and contractors, and the adult protection act’s reporting rule.
11
Two reporting laws, two rules
Section 63-7-310 and § 43-35-25 side by side: who, when, where and the penalties.
12
Records, fair chance and charity registration
Expungement and 2026 Act 248, pardons, the FCRA and the 2026 charity thresholds.
13
Act No. 195 to the 2026 acts
From 2024’s Act No. 195 to the 2026 acts on contractors, expungement and charities — and the bills that stalled.
14
Past CATCH and the state line
A complement to CATCH that reaches past the state line — never a replacement for a required check.
A
Appendix A: A CATCH-to-camps checklist
The baseline, CATCH, child care, group care and DSS contractors, and schools, camps and leagues.
B
Appendix B: Two reporting cards
One for suspected child abuse and one for vulnerable adults, ready for your county’s numbers.
C
Appendix C: S.C. Code, regulations and SLED sources
Related guides and every S.C. Code, regulation and SLED source, each dated when read.

Get the free guide

The Eight-Dollar Door: South Carolina questions answered

Does South Carolina require background checks for volunteers?: Only where a statute names the setting: licensed, registered and approved child care (S.C. Code § 63-13-40); child-placing agencies, group homes, qualified residential treatment programs and contracted providers, for volunteers with direct, unsupervised contact with children (§ 63-7-2340, since May 21, 2024); DSS child-welfare contractors, for volunteers with direct unsupervised contact with a child in DSS custody (§ 63-13-190(A)(2)); and national service positions (§ 23-3-47). Public school districts must run a National Sex Offender Registry check on volunteers who work in schools or interact directly with students (§ 59-19-117(B)). Churches outside child care, youth sports leagues, most camps and mentoring programs set their own standard.
What is SLED CATCH, and who gets the $8 rate?: CATCH is SLED’s name-based search of South Carolina criminal records. It costs $25, or $8 for a 501(c)(3), a bona fide church, a charity that has filed a registration or exemption with the Secretary of State, a bona fide mentor, or a local parks-and-recreation volunteer program (§ 23-3-115(B)). An organization using the $8 rate may not charge the volunteer more than $8. SLED’s page also carries a notice of an online service fee from July 1, 2026, alongside an older $1.00 convenience-fee line, so confirm the add-on with SLED. CATCH covers South Carolina only, can show arrests with no disposition, and doesn’t search the sex offender registry.
Does § 63-13-40 require fingerprints for South Carolina child care volunteers?: Usually, yes. Section 63-13-40 requires anyone employed by or providing caregiver services at a licensed, registered or approved facility to clear SLED and FBI fingerprints, the DSS Central Registry and the national and state sex offender registries, plus other-state checks for five years, repeated every five years. The statute has no volunteer exemption. DSS regulations excuse only a parent, grandparent or skilled helper, 16 or older, who assists infrequently, without compensation and supervised by staff at all times during direct care (Regs. 114-501(A)(40)). Family child care home volunteers must be fingerprinted (Regs. 114-531).
What does § 63-13-1110 mean for a registrant who wants to volunteer with children?: Not in a role that includes instruction, supervision or care of minors where a minor is present, unless a circuit court order approves it and it is recorded in the offender’s registry file. Doing so without one is a felony punishable by up to five years (§ 63-13-1110). Offenders convicted of listed child offenses are also barred from volunteering for a “child-oriented business” (§ 23-3-538). SLED CATCH doesn’t search the registry, so search the S.C. Sex Offender Registry separately.
Which South Carolina volunteers must report abuse?: For child abuse, generally not by title. Section 63-7-310 lists professions, and the only volunteer role it names is a non-attorney guardian ad litem serving the S.C. Guardian ad Litem Program or Richland County CASA; everyone else may report and is encouraged to. Group-care volunteers have a separate regulatory duty to report (Regs. 114-591(F)(1)). For vulnerable adults, staff and volunteers of adult day care centers and facilities must report, and anyone with actual knowledge of abuse, neglect or exploitation must report within 24 hours or the next working day (§ 43-35-25).
Does a VolunteerBadge check replace a SLED fingerprint check or a DSS Central Registry check?: No. Where South Carolina law requires a SLED and FBI fingerprint check, the DSS Central Registry check or a district’s registry check — child care, group care, DSS contractors, national service, public schools — South Carolina requires that check itself, and no commercial report substitutes for it. VolunteerBadge complements CATCH for the many roles no statute covers: it reaches past the state line and searches all-50-state sex-offender registries.

Beyond The Eight-Dollar Door

The South Carolina sources behind The Eight-Dollar Door

Checked September 12, 2026. The guide cites each one where it is used.

General information, not legal advice. Laws and agency practice change. Confirm anything you rely on with the agencies named here, your licensor, your insurer or qualified counsel. Spot an error? Tell us and we will fix it.

VolunteerBadge is owned and operated by ScreenForge Labs, LLC, an FCRA-regulated Consumer Reporting Agency that has obtained its FCRA Certificate from the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA). This guide is general educational information and is not legal advice. Laws change; this guide's sources were checked as of September 12, 2026.