Does Vermont require background checks for volunteers?

Not across the board. In the 21 statute chapters we read, the duty comes from where a volunteer serves. Checks are required in specific licensed settings: DCF child care licensing rules cover non-parent volunteers present more than five times in 365 days (more than three times a year in afterschool programs) and everyone 16 or older living in a family child care home, and residential treatment programs must check volunteers with unsupervised contact on hire and every three years. Schools must check employees, contractors and student teachers under 16 V.S.A. § 255, but not volunteers.

How does a Vermont nonprofit get a volunteer’s criminal record?

Anyone who accepts VCIC’s user agreement can request a Vermont conviction record by name and date of birth for $30, online through VCCRIS or by mail; VCIC says no release is needed, and the report shows convictions only, without docket numbers. A Vermont organization VCIC designates as a qualified entity serving children, elders or people with disabilities pays no Vermont fee, and one whose primary function is care can run a fingerprint-based FBI check for $10 per volunteer, plus up to $35 for prints, with results in four to six weeks.

When does a child care volunteer in Vermont need a DCF background check?

Under DCF’s April 17, 2022 licensing rules, a volunteer who isn’t the parent of an enrolled child and is present more than five times in 365 days at a licensed center or family child care home must submit a DCF Records Check Authorization before working with children. The rules write fingerprinting for staff and for anyone left alone with children, and volunteers may never be left alone with children or counted in ratios. Afterschool programs require a record check for a volunteer who comes more than three times a year.

Are volunteers mandated reporters in Vermont?

Some roles are named. Camp owners, administrators and counselors are mandated reporters of child abuse, and “camp” includes any residential or nonresidential recreational program; the statute doesn’t say whether an unpaid counselor is covered, so train volunteer counselors as if they are. Reports are due within 24 hours to DCF’s Child Protection Line, 1-800-649-5285. School staff are named only if employed or contracted and paid. Separately, since 2023 volunteers who directly provide health care, law enforcement, caregiving, counseling, education or social services to adults must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult within two business days, to Adult Protective Services at (800) 564-1612.

Will a sealed conviction show up on a Vermont background check?

It shouldn’t. Under 13 V.S.A. § 7607, a sealed record is answered “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS,” and anyone holding records who has notice of a sealing order must bar or remove the sealed offense; knowingly accessing or disclosing sealed information without authorization carries a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. Since 2025 Act 60, most misdemeanors can be sealed three years after the sentence and listed felonies after seven. Organizations shouldn’t ask volunteers about sealed or expunged records.

Does a VolunteerBadge check replace a check Vermont requires?

No. VolunteerBadge takes no fingerprints and has no part in VCIC’s or DCF’s process, so its check can’t stand in for a DCF child care background check, a residential treatment program’s check, a school’s employee and contractor check, or any VCIC or FBI check. VCIC’s own programs are inexpensive or free for qualified care providers. Use it for the roles no Vermont rule reaches, or on top of the checks that are required.

Free guide · 2026 edition · VCIC, DCF and Act 60, read for Vermont volunteer programs

The Sixth Visit: The Vermont guide to screening volunteers: the DCF check that begins with a helper’s sixth visit, conviction records any organization can buy from VCIC, a camp counselor’s 24-hour reporting duty, and a 2025 sealing law that puts far more convictions behind the words “no criminal record exists”

No Vermont statute orders nonprofits to screen every volunteer. Instead, Vermont opens its records: anyone can buy a Vermont conviction record from VCIC for $30 by name and date of birth, and a care provider VCIC designates pays no Vermont fee. The duties sit in licensed settings — a DCF records check once a child care volunteer passes five visits in a year, three-year checks in residential treatment programs — alongside a 24-hour reporting duty for camp counselors and a two-business-day duty for volunteers who serve adults. Since July 2025, far more convictions can be sealed, and a sealed record is answered “no criminal record exists.” The chapters take each rule in turn, with its source.

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

Written for Vermont child care, camp, school and senior programs that rely on volunteers
How VCIC’s $30 public search and its free qualified-entity route work — and who gets FBI prints
Child care’s sixth-visit rule, residential treatment, schools, camps and adult services, rule by rule
What 2025 Act 60 sealing means for your application form
A Vermont reporting card and a 365-day visit log you can adapt

Who The Sixth Visit is for

Child care center, family child care and afterschool directors, residential treatment and foster-care partners, day and overnight camp directors, league and recreation boards, school volunteer coordinators, PTOs and boosters, senior center, home-sharing, hospice and disability program coordinators, churches, co-ops, mentoring programs and nonprofit boards — anyone who puts volunteers to work in Vermont.

40.5%

of Vermonters volunteered through an organization in 2023 — second of the 50 states, behind Utah, by our ranking.

VolunteerBadge calculation from AmeriCorps CEV 2023 state data

$30 / $0

what a Vermont conviction search costs anyone who accepts VCIC’s user agreement — and what it costs a care provider VCIC has designated as a qualified entity.

20 V.S.A. §§ 2056c(c)(9), 2063(b)(1); VCIC Vulnerable Populations Program

5.4

child victims of maltreatment per 1,000 Vermont children in federal fiscal year 2024 — 607 children — against 7.2 nationally.

ACF, Child Maltreatment 2024

Cited to primary sources

Vermont at a glance

VCIC: the entity “decides”: Outside licensed care, none of the 21 statute chapters we read makes a Vermont nonprofit check its volunteers. VCIC says a qualified entity “decides” whether to request checks. Checks are required by agency rule in licensed child care, afterschool and residential treatment programs.; VCIC Vulnerable Populations Program; DCF child care and RTP licensing rules
Public conviction records: Anyone who accepts VCIC’s user agreement may obtain a Vermont conviction record by name and date of birth for $30. It shows the charge of conviction only, never docket numbers, and you may not make an applicant obtain or pay for their own record.; 20 V.S.A. § 2056c(a)(2), (b), (c)(4), (9)–(10)
Qualified entities and FBI prints: A Vermont organization VCIC designates as serving children, elders or people with disabilities pays no Vermont record fee. One whose primary function is care may run National Child Protection Act fingerprint checks: $10 per volunteer, up to $35 for prints, results in 4–6 weeks.; 20 V.S.A. §§ 2062, 2063(b)(1); VCIC NCPA Fact Sheet
The sixth visit in child care: A non-parent volunteer present more than five times in 365 days at a licensed center or family home must submit a DCF Records Check Authorization before working with children; fingerprints are written for staff and anyone left alone with children. Afterschool programs check volunteers who come more than three times a year. Volunteers are never left alone with children or counted in ratio.; DCF center rules 7.2, 7.7.2, 7.7.5; family rules 7.2.2, 7.7.5; afterschool rules 2.53, 5.7 (eff. Apr. 17, 2022)
Residential treatment programs: Employees, board members and trustees, volunteers, student interns and others with unsupervised contact are checked on hire and every three years — at least VCIC, the Child Protection Registry and the Adult Abuse Registry — before any unsupervised contact.; DCF Residential Treatment Program regulations 412–413, 427
Schools check staff, not volunteers: Superintendents and headmasters must run fingerprint-supported VCIC and FBI checks and both registry checks on people recommended for employment, contractors with unsupervised contact and student teachers. Volunteers aren’t on the list; each board adopts a volunteer-supervision policy, and VCIC routes volunteer checks through its care-provider procedures.; 16 V.S.A. §§ 255(a), (h), 260; VCIC Education Record Checks
Sealing under 2025 Act 60: Since July 1, 2025, most misdemeanors can be sealed three years after the sentence and listed felonies after seven; expungement is limited to conduct no longer a crime. Sealed records are answered “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS,” and knowingly accessing sealed information without authorization carries up to $1,000 per violation.; 13 V.S.A. §§ 7601(4), 7602(a)–(e), 7607(b), 7611 (2025 Act 60)
Two reporting duties: Camp owners, administrators and counselors — “camp” meaning any residential or nonresidential recreational program — report suspected child abuse within 24 hours (Child Protection Line, 1-800-649-5285). Volunteers who directly serve adults report suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult within two business days.; 33 V.S.A. §§ 4913(a)(9)–(11), (b), (c), 6903(a) (2023 Act 81)

From the The Sixth Visit executive summary

What Vermont asks of a volunteer program, in six rules

1
Checks are Vermont’s offer, not its order.
Vermont’s check duties follow the setting, not the volunteer: agency rules require them in licensed child care, afterschool and residential treatment programs. VCIC’s own guidance says a qualified entity “decides” whether to request checks, and may check every role or only some under a written policy applied uniformly.
2
Vermont convictions are public — and free to care providers.
Anyone who accepts VCIC’s user agreement can get a Vermont conviction record for $30 by name and date of birth; it shows convictions only, without docket numbers. A Vermont organization VCIC designates as serving children, elders or people with disabilities pays no Vermont fee, and one whose primary function is care can add an FBI fingerprint check at $10 per volunteer plus up to $35 for prints.
3
The sixth visit.
In licensed child care centers and family homes, a volunteer who isn’t an enrolled child’s parent and is present more than five times in 365 days must submit a DCF Records Check Authorization before working with children; the rules write fingerprinting for staff and anyone left alone with children. Afterschool programs check volunteers who come more than three times a year and supervise each one-to-one.
4
Sealed means “no criminal record exists.”
2025 Act 60 made sealing the main remedy — most misdemeanors after three years, listed felonies after seven — and limited expungement to conduct that is no longer a crime. A sealed record is answered “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS,” and on an application for employment, a license or a “civil right or privilege” a person may be asked only about records that haven’t been sealed or expunged; whether a volunteer form counts is unsettled.
5
Camp counselors report within 24 hours.
Camp owners, administrators and counselors are mandated reporters of child abuse, and “camp” includes any residential or nonresidential recreational program. School staff are named only if employed or contracted and paid, so unpaid school volunteers aren’t — though anyone may report.
6
Volunteers who serve adults report too.
Since 2023 Act 81, volunteers who directly provide health care, law enforcement, caregiving, counseling, education or social services to adults must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult within two business days. The same act ended private organizations’ route to criminal records through DAIL.

Inside The Sixth Visit, chapter by chapter

01
Open records, narrow duties
Why Vermont sells conviction records to anyone but requires checks only in licensed care, with its 40.5% volunteer rate and CM2024 data.
02
Where Vermont draws the lines
Setting by setting: which volunteers, which check, which cycle — and how to count visits.
03
Thirty dollars and a date of birth
The public VCIC conviction search: how it runs, what it shows and the rules that come with it.
04
Free searches and $10 prints: VCIC’s programs for care providers
Qualified-entity designation, the fee waiver, NCPA fingerprint checks and the “recreation” question.
05
“No criminal record exists”: Act 60 and sealed records
What 2025 Act 60 changed, what a sealed record means for applications, and who must scrub.
06
The sixth visit: licensed child care
Which programs are licensed, the DCF check, what the program learns and the rules we read.
07
Home providers and afterschool programs
Household members 16 and older, the three-visit afterschool rule and one-to-one supervision.
08
Camps, leagues and the recreation question
The sanitation-only camp rule, day-camp licensing, H.795 and registrants who volunteer.
09
Schools: checks for staff, a policy for volunteers
16 V.S.A. § 255, the § 260 volunteer policy, VCIC’s volunteer route and 2026 Act 160.
10
Residential programs, foster homes and the Child Protection Registry
Three-year checks in residential treatment, foster household rules and § 4919 registry requests.
11
Elders and adults with disabilities
The Adult Abuse Registry, what 2023 Act 81 removed and what isn’t required.
12
Twenty-four hours, two business days
Sections 4913 and 6903 side by side, the open readings, the Child Protection Line and Act 108.
13
Applications, consent, boards and fundraising
Ban-the-box, § 2480e consent, board immunity, paid fundraisers and raffles.
14
What moved, 2022 to 2026
The acts that matter to volunteer programs, and what stayed the same.
15
Next to VCIC: where VolunteerBadge fits
Beside VCIC’s $30 search and DCF’s clearance: the roles a national check suits, and the three required checks it never touches.
A
Appendix A: A Vermont checklist, program by program
The baseline, VCIC, licensed child care, residential and school programs, camps and adult programs.
B
Appendix B: A reporting card and a visit log
A §§ 4913 and 6903 card for volunteers and a 365-day visit log for licensed child care.
C
Appendix C: Sources, dated, and the doors that stayed shut
Statutes, acts, DCF rule PDFs and VCIC pages with the date each was read, plus the LexisNexis code, DCF form and other items we couldn’t open.

Get the free guide

The Sixth Visit: Vermont questions answered

Does Vermont require background checks for volunteers?: Not across the board. In the 21 statute chapters we read, the duty comes from where a volunteer serves. Checks are required in specific licensed settings: DCF child care licensing rules cover non-parent volunteers present more than five times in 365 days (more than three times a year in afterschool programs) and everyone 16 or older living in a family child care home, and residential treatment programs must check volunteers with unsupervised contact on hire and every three years. Schools must check employees, contractors and student teachers under 16 V.S.A. § 255, but not volunteers.
How does a Vermont nonprofit get a volunteer’s criminal record?: Anyone who accepts VCIC’s user agreement can request a Vermont conviction record by name and date of birth for $30, online through VCCRIS or by mail; VCIC says no release is needed, and the report shows convictions only, without docket numbers. A Vermont organization VCIC designates as a qualified entity serving children, elders or people with disabilities pays no Vermont fee, and one whose primary function is care can run a fingerprint-based FBI check for $10 per volunteer, plus up to $35 for prints, with results in four to six weeks.
When does a child care volunteer in Vermont need a DCF background check?: Under DCF’s April 17, 2022 licensing rules, a volunteer who isn’t the parent of an enrolled child and is present more than five times in 365 days at a licensed center or family child care home must submit a DCF Records Check Authorization before working with children. The rules write fingerprinting for staff and for anyone left alone with children, and volunteers may never be left alone with children or counted in ratios. Afterschool programs require a record check for a volunteer who comes more than three times a year.
Are volunteers mandated reporters in Vermont?: Some roles are named. Camp owners, administrators and counselors are mandated reporters of child abuse, and “camp” includes any residential or nonresidential recreational program; the statute doesn’t say whether an unpaid counselor is covered, so train volunteer counselors as if they are. Reports are due within 24 hours to DCF’s Child Protection Line, 1-800-649-5285. School staff are named only if employed or contracted and paid. Separately, since 2023 volunteers who directly provide health care, law enforcement, caregiving, counseling, education or social services to adults must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult within two business days, to Adult Protective Services at (800) 564-1612.
Will a sealed conviction show up on a Vermont background check?: It shouldn’t. Under 13 V.S.A. § 7607, a sealed record is answered “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS,” and anyone holding records who has notice of a sealing order must bar or remove the sealed offense; knowingly accessing or disclosing sealed information without authorization carries a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. Since 2025 Act 60, most misdemeanors can be sealed three years after the sentence and listed felonies after seven. Organizations shouldn’t ask volunteers about sealed or expunged records.
Does a VolunteerBadge check replace a check Vermont requires?: No. VolunteerBadge takes no fingerprints and has no part in VCIC’s or DCF’s process, so its check can’t stand in for a DCF child care background check, a residential treatment program’s check, a school’s employee and contractor check, or any VCIC or FBI check. VCIC’s own programs are inexpensive or free for qualified care providers. Use it for the roles no Vermont rule reaches, or on top of the checks that are required.

Beyond The Sixth Visit

The Vermont sources behind The Sixth Visit

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.