Frequently Asked Questions

Volunteer FAQs

About Sterling Volunteers

What is Sterling Volunteers?

Sterling Volunteers offers volunteer screening services to nonprofits and volunteer programs all across the country. We are the only screening provider that allows volunteers to own and share their background check with multiple nonprofits in a safe, tamper-free environment. This results in significant savings for organizations, their volunteers, and the communities they serve.

Sterling Volunteers provides a secure online volunteer screening platform that allows you, the volunteer, to enter and control your information when ordering a background check. If desired, once a volunteer is verified, he or she has the option to use their background check to apply for volunteer positions with other volunteer organizations both within and outside of the Sterling Volunteers community. It’s the fastest, easiest and most affordable way to connect volunteers with the causes that inspire them most.

How do I “Get Verified”? I’m interested in getting screened and finding an organization.

To order a volunteer background check, contact The Advocates—our trained client services team—to obtain a special code to place your order via the Sterling Volunteers platform. Use your code to order your check online. Once your background check is complete, simply login to the Sterling Volunteers community to access your profile and find organizations with which to share your background check.

To email The Advocates and get started

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Security and Privacy Concerns

What if my background is being checked? What are my rights?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act was enacted in 2003 and amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FACT Act entitles consumers to obtain one free copy of their consumer files from certain consumer reporting agencies during each 12-month period.

If Sterling Volunteers has prepared a background screening report in your name for one or more of our clients, you have access to that report at any time via Sterling Volunteers’ platform. Log in to your account to read your report.

Want more information on the FCRA? Email The Advocates.

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Do you sell my information to 3rd parties?

We will not share your personal information with third party marketers for direct marketing purposes. We may use and share the information internally to provide and improve the site and the services; deliver correspondence, communications, or services, such as newsletters, events or training; solicit your feedback, and inform you about the site and the services, our products and services and the products and services of our promotional partners.

Access our privacy policy

About Volunteer Background Screening

What information is required for an accurate, thorough background check?

Three things: 1) first name and last name, correctly spelled and exactly as it appears on your birth certificate or other legal documentation (i.e. no nicknames or shortened names); 2) date of birth; and 3) Social Security Number (SSN)*.

*While this is required only for certain volunteer background checks, it is recommended to ensure the most accurate results.

Organization FAQs

About Volunteer Background Screening

What does a typical background check consist of?

It varies depending on your sector and the specific regulations that your organization may be governed by. For example, will the volunteer work with vulnerable populations? The typical background check is meant to verify whether or not the volunteer is being truthful about not/having a criminal record. Criminal record searches and reference checks are the most common background checks, though Sterling Volunteers highly recommends combining these common checks with other searches. While database searches are the most common type of volunteer background check, we run county/state searches to supplement often incomplete and out-of-date databases. The database searches we do run are always validated to ensure we provide you with the most accurate information. Again, your sector may also require you to run other types of checks, such as abuse registries if your volunteers work with children.

Consult with a representative and learn what an appropriate volunteer program looks like for your organization.

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What kinds of background checks deliver the best results?

This depends on the breadth and depth of the background check your organization desires/is required to obtain. Most organizations Sterling Volunteers works with conduct a search of courthouse criminal records in the counties where a volunteer has resided in the past seven to 10 years. This is a standard best practice. Many organizations choose to supplement this standard background check with searches of various databases, including government sanctions lists, motor vehicle records and others. The more comprehensive a background check is, the more accurate and reliable the results.

Consult with a representative and learn what an appropriate volunteer program looks like for your organization.

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What information is required for an accurate, thorough background check?

Three things: 1) first name and last name, correctly spelled and exactly as it appears on your birth certificate or other legal documentation (i.e. no nicknames or shortened names); 2) date of birth; and 3) Social Security Number (SSN)*.

*While this is required only for certain volunteer background checks, it is recommended to ensure the most accurate results.

Why is a Social Security Number (SSN) trace so important?

While a Social Security Number isn’t required to run most criminal record checks, Sterling Volunteers’ Complete Criminal Locator uses SSN trace to automatically find and search up to 20% more criminal records than other volunteer background screening vendors. This ensures that we provide volunteer organizations with the most comprehensive volunteer screening results possible to help protect their people and their missions.

Request a demo of the Complete Criminal Locator.

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How much does background screening cost?

It depends how much breadth and depth your organization wants in your background checks. Sterling Volunteers delivers the most robust, accurate criminal record background checks available. Depending on the complexity of the screening – and what makes the most sense for your organization – the cost may be as low as $10 per background check. Sterling Volunteers offers many volunteer screening options and can help you build a program tailored to your needs.

Consult with a representative and learn what an appropriate volunteer program looks like for your organization.

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How long does a background check usually take?
We often use the term Turnaround Time (TAT) to describe how long a background check takes. The TAT can vary significantly based on the types of searches conducted in the check and on the vendor that provides them. Sterling Volunteers can claim the fastest TAT in the industry for county courthouse records – the most common background check for volunteers. The majority of searches will be returned in 24 to 72 hours. In some cases, especially if we find criminal information or if a volunteer has lived in multiple jurisdictions, the search can take a bit longer.

About Sterling Volunteers

What is Sterling Volunteers?

Sterling Volunteers offers volunteer screening services to nonprofits and volunteer programs all across the country. We are the only screening provider that allows volunteers to own and share their background check with multiple nonprofits in a safe, tamper-free environment. This results in significant savings for organizations, their volunteers, and the communities they serve. We provide a secure online volunteer screening platform that allows the volunteer to enter and control their information when ordering a background check. If desired, once a volunteer is verified, he or she has the option to use their background check to apply and volunteer with other volunteer organizations both within and outside the Sterling Volunteers community. It’s the fastest, easiest and most affordable way to connect volunteers with the causes that inspire them most.

What volunteer background check packages are offered by Sterling Volunteers?

We currently offer an Advanced Package as well as a Complete Package to our clients, both of which include SSN trace, the Department of Justice (DOJ) National Sex Offender Registry Search (Dru Sjodin/NSOPW), the OFAC Watchlist, and a validated nationwide criminal search. We highly recommend our Complete Package, which also includes Locator Select and delivers the most comprehensive and complete results.

Consult with a representative and learn what an appropriate volunteer program looks like for your organization.

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Can I order products a la carte?

Yes! We currently offer driving records, credit reports, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Locator Select, Abuse Registries, Federal and Civil Searches, and personal references on an a la carte basis.

Require a product not listed above? Ask us if we offer it.

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Do you offer Abuse Registries and/or fingerprinting?

Sterling Volunteers offers solutions for most volunteer screening programs to meet state and regulatory requirements.

Do you have further questions about Abuse Registries or fingerprinting? We’re happy to help.

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Can Sterling Volunteers really check 20% more criminal records than other companies? How?

Sterling Volunteers’ Complete Criminal Locator tool combines three proprietary technologies into one comprehensive tool. First, Locator Select expands the breadth of a criminal records search for arrest records and convictions based on potential aliases and addresses listed on a credit history report. Then, Sterling Volunteers’ enhanced nationwide criminal records search pulls data from millions of records. A SSN Trace is then used to verify the information collected and to find additional records, if any. All of this results in the most robust criminal records search with up to 20% more records checked than other volunteer screening services.

Watch a video:

How does Sterling Volunteers work?

Making Sterling Volunteers Work for Your Organization

Who determines whether someone is eligible or ineligible to volunteer with my organization?

As the organization, you are responsible for determining the fitness of all screened volunteers. Sterling Volunteers does not establish, recommend, evaluate or verify the suitability or legality of any custom evaluation criteria, nor does Sterling Volunteers make the final decision regarding eligibility for volunteer service.

Request a demo to see how the Sterling Volunteers platform works.

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I want to “renew” my volunteer background checks each year. Can I do that on this platform?

Of course! We’ve made it easy to monitor and retain your volunteers. You can set the renewal time by position. The system will then alert you when your volunteer background check is about to expire and can, at your direction, send your volunteers an email asking them to renew. You can also do a bulk upload of volunteer renewals to our platform. Of course, you can change the payment options for renewal, too.

Request a demo to see how the Sterling Volunteers platform works.

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What is the difference between a database Sex Offender search and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Sex Offender Registry Search (Dru Sjodin/NSOPW)?

The National DOJ Sex Offender Registry Search / National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) is a comprehensive DOJ sex offender search – it is the only up-to-date, comprehensive source of sex offender information. Database sex offender searches, on the other hand, are updated intermittently and inconsistently by the various states. While the NSOPW is maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice, it is the responsibility of each jurisdiction in the United States to keep sex offender information for their area accurate, up-to-date, and accessible by the NSOPW. Sex offenders are not reportable under Nevada state law, so Sterling Volunteers is not able to return results for offenders registered in Nevada. Oregon only reports information for those sex offenders considered to be “predatory.”

Do you have further questions about sex offender checks? We’re happy to help.

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What is a “Nationwide Criminal History Search with Validation”?

A Nationwide Criminal History Search uses the full name and date of birth provided by the volunteer during the order process to search over 900 criminal information data sources from DOJ Sex Offender Registry. Although this sounds comprehensive, the quality and breadth of data varies by state, and is limited for over two-thirds of the nation’s states (defined by limited data sources or stale information updated infrequently). At Sterling Volunteers, we recognize the limitations of this search. Still, it’s a valuable locator tool that helps us identify areas outside of address history where criminal history might have occurred – areas where the volunteer has worked, traveled or gone to school. We always validate potential matches found in the Nationwide Criminal History search at the primary source of information (county or state courthouses) for criminal history records. This helps us ensure clients that the data reported about their volunteers is the most accurate and up-to-date possible.

Do you have further questions about this search? We’re happy to help.

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Security and Privacy Concerns

Does a volunteer applicant have to consent to a background check?

Yes. Certain state laws and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law that regulates who is permitted to access a person’s consumer report information and how it can be used, generally require that you must obtain written or electronic consent from the applicant prior to a third-party screening company like Sterling Volunteers conducting any criminal record search, credit history check or reference check.

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Does VV resell the information collected on the volunteers to 3rd parties?

We will not share personal information with third party marketers for direct marketing purposes. We use and may share the information to provide and improve the site and the services; deliver correspondence, communications, or services, such as newsletters, events or training; solicit feedback, and inform users about the site and the services, our products and services and the products and services of our promotional partners.

Access Our Privacy Policy
How secure is the website used to collect information on the volunteers?

The Sterling Volunteers platform is extremely secure. Sterling Volunteers complies with all national and local regulations with respect to the storage and transmission of sensitive data and is hosted in ISO 27001-audited data centers. The Sterling Volunteers platform is audited regularly throughout the year with external vendors. These audits include a network perimeter security assessment, an application penetration test and a physical security assessment.

Do you have further questions about Sterling Volunteers’ platform security? We’re happy to answer them.

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How can I make sure my background checks are legal?

At Sterling Volunteers, compliance is our expertise. Our background checks comply with all federal and state background screening laws, and our compliance team stays on top of each state’s current and pending legislative and regulatory changes. Verified Volunteer’s automated screening technology also applies relevant content filters based on the state and location of each volunteer background check, ensuring that every screening we do is 100% compliant with all applicable regulations.

Do you have further questions about volunteer background screening compliance? We’re happy to answer them.

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How should we determine which background check is right for us?

There is much variation between state and industry laws. However, your sector and applicable regulations will likely give you a good starting point.

For instance, requiring a motor vehicle records check and/or drug testing is likely appropriate for any volunteer in charge of operating machinery or driving others in a vehicle. We always recommend the most robust searches for those working directly with vulnerable populations such as the elderly, disabled, or children. We can help talk you through best practices and your options.

Consult with a representative and learn what an appropriate volunteer program looks like for your organization.

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