Background Check Authorization Form

Criminal Background Check Authorization Form — Ready-to-Use Safe Church Template

Any congregation with children's or youth ministry eventually needs a clear, consistent way to screen employees and volunteers who'll have contact with kids. This template gives you a ready-to-use authorization form for criminal background checks, so you have a professional, legally-minded document in hand before your next volunteer training or hiring conversation — not something you're drafting last-minute.

The form covers what most safe-church policies require: a clear statement of purpose, applicant identification and contact information, employee/volunteer designation, the information needed to run the check, and a signed authorization statement covering local, state, and national criminal record searches. A built-in admin notes section at the bottom gives your office a place to track when a check was requested and log the results.

Every spot where your church's name belongs is clearly highlighted, so you can move quickly through customization without hunting for what needs to change.

What's Included:

• Background Check Authorization Form, in the original Apple Pages format
• Word version (exported from Pages) for congregations without Pages access
• PDF version showing exactly how the formatting is intended to look, for reference
• Highlighted fields throughout marking where your church's name goes
• Built-in admin tracking section for request date and results

A note on formatting: Because the Word file is exported from Pages, you may notice small formatting shifts — spacing or alignment — when you open it. Use the included PDF as your visual reference for how the document is meant to look, and adjust the Word version as needed.

Important: This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Background check requirements and best practices vary by state, denomination, and insurance policy — please talk with your insurance provider before adopting this form, to confirm it aligns with the background check service and process they recommend or require.

Ideal For: Newly chartered congregations building their first safe-church policy, and established churches standardizing their volunteer and employee screening paperwork.