As we approach the end of the 2015 calendar year, PDE is increasing its capacity to respond to technical questions surrounding background checks for school employees and volunteers resulting from recent changes to the Child Protective Service Law, including Act 153 of 2014 and Act 15 of 2015.  Please review the guidance below to assist you in meeting these requirements. 

• If an applicant does not have clearances on file that are less than 5 years old, please use the following links to complete applicable background checks.

Child Abuse Clearance:    https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home

State Criminal History Check:       https://epatch.state.pa.us/

Federal Criminal History Check:   https://www.pa.cogentid.com/index.htm

• To verify if an applicant has fingerprint results on file, please log onto your district’s Cogent account and enter the PAE registration number to view individual results.  Please print a copy for your records.

• When inputting a PAE registration number, if no results are found, please contact PDE. When contacting PDE, please have the following:
  • Applicant’s name
  • Applicant’s birthday
  • Last four digit of the applicant’s Social Security number
  • Date/location where fingerprinting took place

• If an applicant is awaiting results from name check verification, an applicant can expect to receive the results by mail from PDE.  PDE response time is approximately one week following notification from Cogent. 

If the above guidance does not answer your background check question, please send your inquiry to RA-EDBACKGROUNDCHECK@pa.gov or contact us directly at (717) 783-3750 or (717) 772-3618. If you have already left a message our team is working diligently to respond to your request in a timely manner.