Texas Home Daycare Background Check: CBCU Process, IdentoGO, and Who Gets Screened

Background checks are the single most common bottleneck in the Texas home daycare application process. Not because they are difficult — the forms are straightforward — but because most applicants do not realize how many people in the household need screening, how many separate databases get searched, and what happens when someone has lived outside Texas recently. Getting the process started early and knowing exactly what to expect keeps your application timeline from stretching by weeks.

Who Must Be Screened

HHSC requires background checks for specific people connected to the operation — not simply everyone who happens to be present in the home. The full list:

• The primary caregiver, applicant, or sole proprietor
• All employees, prospective employees, and contract workers
• Regular volunteers
• Every household member aged 14 or older, regardless of whether they have any role in the daycare

That last point catches people off guard. If your 16-year-old lives at home, they need a background check before you can accept children. If your spouse works from home and is present during operating hours, they need one too. If an adult child lives with you, same thing.

The Screening Layers

The HHSC Centralized Background Check Unit (CBCU) runs multiple searches for each person:

Texas name-based checks:

• Texas DPS criminal history search
• DFPS Child Abuse Central Registry (Texas's database of substantiated child abuse, neglect, and exploitation findings)
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR)

Fingerprint-based national checks:

• FBI criminal history database via retained electronic fingerprints
• Texas DPS fingerprint database

Fingerprinting is required for all primary caregivers, employees, and prospective employees, and for any household member aged 14 or older who resides in the home or has unsupervised access to children.

Out-of-state checks: If anyone on the screening list has lived outside Texas during the past five years, you also need criminal history, sex offender registry, and child abuse registry checks from each state where they previously resided. These are separate from the CBCU process and must be requested directly from the agencies in those states.

How to Submit Background Check Requests

The process starts in the HHSC Child Care Regulation Provider portal. After creating your account and beginning your application, you submit background check requests for each person electronically. HHSC charges a $2 administrative fee per person, paid through the portal.

After submission, each person who requires fingerprinting receives a Universal Enrollment ID (UEID) via email. They use this ID to schedule an appointment at an IdentoGO location — the official fingerprinting vendor for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

At the IdentoGO appointment, the subject pays the fingerprinting fee directly to the vendor. The total typically runs $45–$60, which covers the DPS fingerprint search, the FBI national search, and IdentoGO's vendor processing fee. The appointment itself takes about 15–20 minutes.

Results go directly from IdentoGO to HHSC — you do not receive a paper report. HHSC reviews the results and notifies you of eligibility through the portal. If a check flags an issue, the HHSC CBCU contacts you for additional information or documentation.

When a Check Raises an Issue

If a check flags an issue, the HHSC CBCU contacts you for additional information or documentation. Follow its instructions and contact HHSC about the applicable review process before allowing the person to be present at the operation.

If a household member is not cleared, follow CBCU's instructions about whether they may be present during operating hours. Ask HHSC about the applicable review process if you need to contest the result.

Timeline and Tips

Background check processing time varies with complexity and out-of-state requirements. Cases involving out-of-state checks can take longer because they require checks from other states.

Start background checks as early as possible in your application process. While they are processing, use the time to prepare your physical space, complete training requirements, and finalize your business formation. For Registered and Licensed homes, the pre-licensing inspection cannot be scheduled until all background checks have cleared, so any delay here pushes your entire timeline.

For a complete background check tracker that helps you log each household member's screening status, submission dates, and clearance results, the Texas Home Daycare License Guide includes a ready-to-use template alongside the full application sequence.

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