Alaska Daycare Background Check Requirements

Who Needs a Background Check

Every person involved in a licensed child care program must clear a background check through the Alaska Department of Health's Background Check Program. That includes the operator, all employees, any volunteer with unsupervised access to children, and every household member aged 16 or older — even if they never interact with the kids in care.

The household member requirement catches most first-time applicants off guard. Your 17-year-old child, your spouse, an adult roommate — anyone living in the licensed home needs a cleared check before your license can be issued.

The NABCS System

Alaska uses the National Applicant Background Check System (NABCS) under 7 AAC 10.900, not a simple name-based state records search. A name-based check through the Department of Public Safety ($20) is legally insufficient for child care licensing. The NABCS check includes both a state criminal history search and an FBI fingerprint-based search.

To start the process, you register for a NABCS Provider Account on the Background Check Program portal. You'll need to whitelist a computer with a static IP address for portal access. Each applicant then submits their information through the portal and mails completed FD-258 fingerprint cards (the blue-and-white FBI standard) to the Background Check Program.

Fingerprint cards can be rolled at DPS walk-in locations, local law enforcement offices, or private fingerprinting services. Expect to pay $15–$30 per card for the rolling service, on top of the NABCS application fee.

Costs and Timeline

The NABCS application fee is $87 per person as of mid-2026. A scheduled increase on October 1, 2026 raises this to $90 due to a $3 bump in fingerprint processing costs. Budget for every person in the household who needs clearance — for a couple with a 16-year-old, that's three checks at $261–$270 total.

Processing time varies. Background-check clearance is one dependency in the overall two-to-six-month licensing process, along with inspection scheduling. Delays happen when fingerprint cards are smudged or incomplete, so make sure the rolling is done by someone experienced with the FD-258 format.

Barrier Crimes

Certain criminal convictions and other conditions can create a barrier under 7 AAC 10.905. The Department of Health maintains a list of "barrier crimes" that may disqualify someone from working in or living in a licensed child care facility. These include violent crimes, sexual offenses, and certain drug offenses.

If the Background Check Program finds a barrier condition, you have 90 days to file an appeal, request a redetermination, or apply for an administrative variance under 7 AAC 10.930. Variance requests require character references, rehabilitation documentation, and sometimes clinical statements. Legal counsel significantly improves the odds of a successful variance, but there's no guarantee.

The Six-Year Recheck Cycle

Background clearances aren't permanent. Alaska requires a full recheck every six years, and the NABCS system includes "rap-back" monitoring that flags new arrests between rechecks. If a household member is arrested for a barrier crime during the six-year window, the Background Check Program notifies the CCPO, and the operator must address it immediately.

New household members who move into the home after licensing — including anyone turning 16 — must register on the NABCS portal and submit a background check application within 30 days.

Common Mistakes

The three most frequent problems that delay licensing are submitting a name-based DPS check instead of the NABCS fingerprint check, forgetting to include household members who "aren't involved" in the daycare, and mailing poorly rolled fingerprint cards that get rejected.

Start background checks early in your licensing process. They're on the critical path — nothing else moves forward until every required person is cleared.

Our Alaska Home Daycare License guide includes a background check tracker worksheet that lists every person who needs clearance, tracks submission dates, and flags the six-year recheck deadline.

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