If your religious organization is currently hiring volunteers or employees, it’s important to conduct background checks on all applicants.
This process helps you make better hiring decisions by confirming that candidates are qualified, honest, and safe.
Our guide below provides essential information on church background checks and the relevant laws that apply.
Key Takeaways
- Background checks for churches can investigate the criminal history, employment, education, professional license, and other relevant information about applicants; this information allows employers to make informed hiring decisions and protect workplace safety.
- Places of worship should conduct background checks to prevent fraud, theft, and other crimes from occurring within their organizations.
- To ensure background checks are completed legally, employers should draft background check policies, train staff, comply with notice and consent rules, choose a reliable background check provider, review the results, individually assess convictions, and complete the adverse action steps.
- Religious organizations must know and comply with relevant federal and state background check laws.
What is a Church Background Check?
A church background check is a thorough screening process that can investigate the criminal history, past employment, education, and other key details about an applicant, volunteer, or employee.
Why Are Background Checks Essential for Churches?
Most people view their worship centers, synagogues, mosques, temples, or cathedrals as places to enhance spiritual awareness and commune with fellow worshippers.
Few people suspect that their pastors, church employees, volunteers, or treasurers would steal funds or commit other crimes.
However, church fraud and similar crimes are real and prevalent. According to a study conducted by insurance provider Brotherhood Mutual, church fraud is expected to reach $80 billion annually worldwide by 2025.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reports in its 2025 Report to the Nations that the median loss experienced by religious organizations from fraud is $89,000. Most religious houses of worship can’t easily absorb losses that high.
Other crimes also sometimes happen in church, including sexual assault and abuse perpetrated by clergy.
To protect their institutions and attendees, religious organizations must conduct thorough background checks on all personnel, including pastors, priests, church employees , treasurers, youth ministers, volunteers, church bus drivers, Sunday school teachers, and others who will have access to money or direct contact with children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people.
What Does a Church Background Check Include?
What you might see in a background check report depends on the searches you request.
These can vary based on the position you are hiring for, but most religious organizations ask for the following searches:
Criminal History
If an applicant or volunteer has a criminal record or pending criminal case, a criminal history search discloses the following details:
- Case number
- Offense type
- Offense severity
- Offense date
- Disposition
- Disposition date
- Sentence (if information is available)
While a criminal conviction should not automatically result in a denial, those involving theft, sexual offenses, violent crimes, and others that could threaten the safety of the organization, its parishioners, or money can be used as a basis for denying employment.
It’s important to understand that convictions for which an applicant or volunteer has received an expungement or pardon can’t be reported.
Sex Offender Registry Search
A sex offender registry search reveals whether the applicant or volunteer is a registered sex offender and the following information if they are:
- Names and aliases used
- Registered address
- Distinguishing physical characteristics (tattoos, scars, etc.)
- State of conviction
Identity Verification
Identity verification is a process that background checks companies like iprospectcheck perform to confirm the named individual is who they claim to be and that the records revealed belong to them and not to someone with a similar name.
This is a preliminary step to ensure the accuracy of the information reported.
Employment History
Employment verification displays the following details about each of the applicant’s or volunteer’s past jobs:
- Name and address of each employer
- Employment dates
- Positions held/Titles
Education Verification
Education verification confirms the following information reported by an applicant on their resume:
- Names and addresses of schools attended
- Attendance dates
- Degrees or diplomas conferred
Reference Checks
Checking the professional references provided by an applicant gives insight into their past performance, experience, and skills.
This information is useful to determine their suitability for the job.
Motor Vehicle Records Checks
If your organization needs to hire employees to drive church buses, conducting an MVR check will be important.
An MVR check reports the following details about an applicant’s driver’s license:
- License validity
- License type
- License number
- Issuance date
- Licensee’s address
- Licensee’s name
- Expiration date
- Traffic citations
- Major traffic crimes
- Suspensions/revocations
Know Before You Hire
How to Conduct Background Checks for Church Workers And Volunteers
1. Create a Thorough Background Check Policy
Before your organization performs background checks, create an effective policy that adheres to all legal requirements.
Include information about the types of searches you’ll perform for different roles and the steps HR staff should take before, during, and after conducting a background check.
2. Train HR Staff
Thoroughly train the staff who will complete church background checks to ensure they understand and will comply with all relevant laws.
3. Follow Notice and Consent Requirements
Follow the notice and consent rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
These rules require you to disclose that you will complete a background check on a standalone form and obtain the applicant’s signed consent.
Your background check provider will not initiate a background search until you affirm you have complied with these rules.
4. Choose a Reliable Background Check Provider
Not all background check providers return high-quality information.
Before you hire a provider, make sure they are reliable, accurate, fast, and legally compliant.
At iprospectcheck, we leverage extensive access to reliable information sources combined with advanced research methods to quickly return accurate, current, and reliable background check reports.
We stay informed about the changes in the law as they occur and comply with the FCRA and other relevant laws.
5. Review Results
When you receive your reports, review them carefully to evaluate the candidate’s honesty, experience, qualifications, and fit.
If you want to move forward, contact the applicant and schedule onboarding and a start date.
If you find concerning information in the report, proceed with the following steps:
6. Individually Assess Criminal Records
An applicant’s criminal conviction should not be an automatic bar to employment.
Individually assess a conviction as it relates to the job’s duties and workplace safety concerns before basing a decision not to hire them on their criminal record.
7. Follow the Adverse Action Process
If you decide against hiring an applicant based on information learned in a background check, you must complete the FCRA’s adverse action steps:
- Send a pre-adverse action notice and include a copy of the report that contains the concerning information.
- Give the applicant a reasonable time to respond with evidence that the report is inaccurate or of rehabilitation.
- Send a final adverse action letter if you ultimately decide not to hire the applicant, and enclose a copy of their FCRA rights.
iprospectcheck: Your Trusted Partner for Accurate Background Checks
At iprospectcheck, we perform background checks for all types of religious organizations across the U.S. including churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, interfaith organizations as well as faith-based non-profits.
We return reliable, accurate, and legally compliant reports.
To learn more about our background checks and receive a free quote, contact us today: (888) 509-1979.
DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.
FAQs
How far back do church background checks go?
How far back a church background check goes depends on the types of reports you request.
The FCRA’s seven-year rule restricts CRAs from reporting certain information older than seven years for jobs paying less than $75,000.
State laws might also limit how long convictions can be reported.
While employment and education information can be reported as far back as you would like, most employers limit requests to information from the last seven years.
How long do background checks for churches take?
How long it might take to receive church background check reports depends on the types of searches you request and your provider.
At iprospectcheck, our access to resources and advanced research methods allow us to return many reports within a few hours.
Reports requiring information from jurisdictions that only maintain paper records can take longer, but most reports are available within two to four days.
How often should churches do background checks?
A background check is a snapshot in time of an applicant’s history to that date.
Since information can change, it’s a good idea to conduct post-employment background checks on employees and volunteers each year at the time of their annual performance reviews.
