ACT 153 BACKGROUND CHECKS
Please follow the directions below to obtain your required clearances. PLEASE NOTE: clearances obtained for volunteer purposes MAY NOT be used for employment. Clearances must now be updated every sixty (60) months:
Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance – Act 151 ($13.00)
The fastest way to process this clearance is to log onto www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis and use your credit/debit card. Applicants for public school employment should select School employee governed by the Public School Code as the purpose for their certification application.
If you do not have access to a computer, you should complete and mail the “Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification” form to the Childline and Abuse Registry at the address listed on the form along with a $13.00 money order. (Please note that requesting this clearance by mail may result in a delay of up to eight weeks. Therefore, it is recommended that you utilize the online request process.) To expedite your paper application processing, you are encouraged to take your completed form and $13.00 money order to State Senator Judy Schwank’s office at 210 George Street, Muhlenberg Township, Reading 19605 (610‐929‐2151).
You may download and print the form here:
CY113 form - English Child Abuse Clearance
CY113 form - Spanish Child Abuse Clearance
Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal History Record Check – Act 34 ($22.00)
The fastest way to process this clearance is to log onto https://epatch.state.pa.us and use your credit/debit card. In most cases, you should receive instantaneous results if no record exists.
If you do not have access to a computer, you should complete and mail the “Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal Record Check” form to the Pennsylvania State Police at the address listed on the form along with a $22.00 money order. (Please note that requesting this clearance by mail may result in a delay of up to eight weeks.)
You may download and print the form here: Download the Criminal History Request Form - SP4-164 (Updated 12/2017)
Federal Criminal History Record – Act 114 ($22.60)
All applicants for school employment are required to obtain a Federal Criminal History Record. The fastest way is to register online at https://uenroll.identogo.com and use your credit/debit card. Applicants for public school employment should select PA Department of Education and enter the service code 1KG6XN. Once registered, you must go to a designated facility to go through the FBI fingerprinting process to obtain this report. For details on this process, visit the Berks County Intermediate Unit site by clicking here.
Documents may also be found on the Keeping Kids Safe website at http://keepkidssafe.pa.gov.
