National Service Criminal History Checks (NSCHC) is a baseline screening requirement established by law to protect the beneficiaries of national service.
NSCHC is required under the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by the Serve America Act (SAA). The statutory requirement at 42 U.S.C. § 12645g is supplemented by regulatory requirements at 45 CFR §2540.200 through §2540.207 as well as the terms and conditions of AmeriCorps grants.
Quick Links
- NSCHC Federal Regulations
- Required Annual NSCHC eCourse Training & NSCHC Learning Path in Litmos
- New staff start here! Getting Started with NSCHC Resources (created 9/28/23)
- Common Findings of NSCHC Noncompliance (created 9/28/23)
- Email AmeriCorps to request a waiver to NSCHC provisions
- AmeriCorps Approved NSOPW and State Vendor, Truescreen
- Sign up for a Truescreen Account or login to MyTruescreen Account
- Need help with Truescreen? Email CNCShelp@truescreen.com or call Customer Service: 800-803-9042
- Sign up for a Truescreen Account or login to MyTruescreen Account
- AmeriCorps Approved FBI vendor, Fieldprint
- Sign up for a Fieldprint Account or login to MyFieldprint Account Login
- Need help with Fieldprint?
- For assistance with grant recipient account-related issues, email the Account Management Team at customerservice@myfieldprint.com or call 888-472-8918 x 2440
- For assistance with fingerprint scheduling and appointments, email the Applicant Call Center at customerservice@fieldprint.com or call 877-614-4364
- Need help with Fieldprint?
- Sign up for a Fieldprint Account or login to MyFieldprint Account Login
Upcoming Training
There are no trainings scheduled at this time.
Recorded Training
Thank you for attending trainings on NSCHC. You can access the slide deck and recording of the most recent training in Litmos:
- Truescreen Records Retention Updates (Sept. 6, 2023)
- Reporting NSCHC Disallowance: Process Review for Prime Grant Recipients (July 13, 2023)
- Truescreen Platform Updates (May 12 and 26, 2022)
- AmeriCorps Approved Vendors Truescreen (Feb 23, 2022) and Fieldprint (Feb. 24, 2022; UPDATED April 1, 2022)
- NSCHC Training: ASN, AC Seniors, VISTA/DOS, and All Grantee sessions (March 2022)
NSCHC Rule Quick Summary
Please refer to the NSCHC Manual for complete information on NSCHC and its compliance requirements.
What grants are required to comply with NSCHC?
Organizations that receive one of the following grants, as a recipient or subrecipient, must conduct NSCHCs:
- Operational grants provided by AmeriCorps State and National
- Foster Grandparent Program Grants
- Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Grants
- Senior Companion Program Grants
- Senior Demonstration Program Grants that receive funding from CNCS
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Grants
- September 11th Day of Service Grants
- Social Innovation Fund Grants
- Volunteer Generation Fund Grants
- AmeriCorps VISTA Program Grants
- AmeriCorps VISTA Support Grants
What individuals are required to comply with NSCHC?
The following individuals who work/serve on a grant specified above must comply with NSCHC:
- AmeriCorps members serving in State and National programs
- AmeriCorps Seniors Volunteers serving in the Foster Grandparent program who receive a stipend;
- AmeriCorps Seniors Volunteers serving in the Senior Companion who receive a stipend; or
- If staff, individuals in positions in which they will receive a salary, directly or reflected as match, under a cost reimbursement grant.
NSCHC is not required for individuals who are under the age of 18 on the first day of work or service and for individuals whose activity is entirely included in the grant recipient's indirect cost rate or cost allocation plan.
AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serving in the RSVP program and AmeriCorps members serving in the VISTA program are not required to comply with NSCHC. AmeriCorps members serving in the VISTA program will undergo a separate criminal history check process managed by the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Grant recipients may choose to conduct criminal history checks on AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serving in the RSVP program.
Who is ineligible to serve/work?
For AmeriCorps grant awards that require NSCHC, please refer to 45 CFR § 2540.202 for the list of individuals who shall be ineligible to serve or work.
What checks are required?
Three checks are required for individuals required to comply with NSCHC:
- National Sex Offender Public Website nationwide check;
- state of residence and state of service criminal history check(s); and
- FBI fingerprint-based check.
When must NSCHC be completed?
All three checks must be conducted, reviewed, and an eligibility determination made by the grant recipient or subrecipient no later than the day before a person begins to work or serve on an NSCHC-required grant.
How can the checks be conducted?
Grantees can use the following sources:
- NSOPW checks: NSOPW.gov or AmeriCorps approved vendor Truescreen
- State checks: AmeriCorps identified state repository or AmeriCorps approved vendor Truescreen
- FBI fingerprint checks: AmeriCorps identified state repository or AmeriCorps approved vendor Fieldprint
AmeriCorps Approved Vendor Information
Truescreen (NSOPW and State checks)
- Sign up for a Truescreen Account
- MyTruescreen Account Login
- Need help with Truescreen?
- CNCShelp@truescreen.com
- Customer Service: 800-803-9042, dial 0
- Technical Issues: 800-803-9042, x2006
Fieldprint (FBI fingerprint checks)
- Sign up for a Fieldprint Account
- MyFieldprint Account Login
- Need help with Fieldprint?
- Grant Recipient Account Management Team: customerservice@myfieldprint.com or call 888-472-8918 x 2440
- Applicant Call Center: customerservice@fieldprint.com or call 877-617-4364
NSCHC Guidance
- NSCHC Rule Summary
- NSCHC Manual (Updated 5/13/22) (This manual describes the requirements of the NSCHC rule)
- Previous NSCHC Change Logs
- Recommendations for Effective NSCHC Policies and Procedure (Updated 1/26/22) (This resources from the Office of Monitoring provides a checklist to assist grant recipients in developing effective NSCHC policy)
- NSCHC Steps Table (Updated 4/1/2022)
- NFF/Truescreen Waiver Table (Updated 5/13/22) (This table lists the required checks if grant recipients use the "Use of Truescreen for NSOPW and/or State Checks" and "National Fingerprint File States" Pre-Approved Waivers)
- Challenging A Not Cleared Recommendation (Updated 1/31/23)
- NSCHC Enforcement Tools (Refer to the NSCHC Manual for enforcement guidance)
- NSCHC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Updated 1/31/23)
- NSCHC Learning Path in Litmos (Access the required annual eCourse and additional NSCHC trainings)
How to Conduct NSCHC
- Using AmeriCorps Approved Vendors Truescreen and Fieldprint Manual (Updated 9/28/23)
- Truescreen and Fieldprint Prices and Average Turnaround Time (TAT) by State (Updated 5/13/22)
- These states do not allow certain forms of identification to be uploaded into Truescreen; instead of uploaded copies of identification, please use one of the following forms: Maine identification form and Wisconsin identification form
- Fieldprint and Truescreen Account Mapping Instructions (Created 6/23/2023)
- Using NSOPW and State Repositories Manual (Updated 11/18/2022)
GovDelivery Communication Center
2023
- NSCHC Resources: Two New Resources; Fieldprint Adjudication; Vendor Records (Sept. 28, 2023)
- NSCHC Truescreen Vendor Update-Records Access; Name Documentation (August 9, 2023)
- NSCHC Resources: Reporting Disallowance, Vendor Mapping (June 27, 2023)
- NSCHC Truescreen Vendor Updates (Feb. 24, 2023)
- NSCHC FAQ Update (Jan. 31, 2023)
2022
- NSCHC Resource Updates (Nov. 22, 2022)
- NSCHC FBI Vendor Update – Fieldprint Prime Mapping (November 2, 2022)
- NSCHC FBI Vendor Update – Fieldprint Prime Mapping (October 18, 2022)
- NSCHC Resource Update (May 16, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Truescreen Vendor Update (May 4, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Updates (April 5, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Training Opportunities (March 3, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Updates (Feb. 11, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Updates (Jan. 27, 2022)
- National Service Criminal History Check Updates (Jan. 20, 2022)
2021 GovDelivery Communications
2020 GovDelivery Communications
Looking for previous NSCHC GovDelivery messages? See the Archive below for all past messages.
NSCHC Archive
NSCHC Archive Materials (Archived zip files of guidance materials and resources dated after the May 1, 2021 NSCHC Rule)
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 9/28/23
- Criminal History Enforcement Tools, archived 6/23/23
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 1/31/23
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 11/23/22
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 11/18/22
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 5/13/22
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 4/1/22
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 1/26/22
- Criminal History Guidance, archived 11/1/21
Pre-May 1, 2021 NSCHC Archive Materials (Archived zip files of guidance materials and resources predating the May 1, 2021 NSCHC Rule)