Approved Adult Volunteer Clearance Instructions

All who volunteer with youth must obtain a variety of clearances to be an Approved Adult.  Please complete each and submit a copy of the clearance to the church office.  You are welcome to keep a copy for your own records as well.  Details are below for each application. 

If you have any questions, please contact Katy (kclowney@stjamesgettysburg.org or 717-334-2012 x 201) or Adam (youth@stjamesgettysburg.org of x 203); or if you notice a discrepancy in the directions because of an update to the external website (directions posted 3/2022).

Required Clearances for ALL Approved Adult Volunteers, to be renewed every 5 years

effective August 2026

1. Approved Adult Application Packet
2. Pennsylvania Criminal History Record
3. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification
4. FBI Fingerprints
5. National Sex Offender Registry

Approved Adult Application Packet

Complete and sign the Approved Adult Application Packet

Pennsylvania Criminal History Record

• Click New Record Check button (Volunteers only).
• Check the box after reading the acknowledgement statements and click the Accept button.
• Enter your information.
• For the Volunteer Organization Name, enter St James Lutheran Church (do not put a period after St; it cannot accept punctuation).
• For the Volunteer Organization Phone Number, enter 717-334-2012.
• Confirm your information and click the Proceed button.
• Print the certificate that is generated.  It will have a PA Keystone logo as a watermark.  Turn the certificate into the church office.

Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification

To facilitate retrieval of the clearance results, before you complete the application, contact the
Youth Minister or Church Administrator and request a “payment code.” While the church is not
charged for clearances for volunteers, if you opt for a payment code, it will automatically assign
your clearance results to the church’s account, therefore facilitating access to the results of your
clearance. If you prefer to submit the results on your own to the church office, you are welcome
to do so, simply indicate that you haven’t received a payment code from the church during the
application process.

• Click “Create Individual Account.”  Create a user profile, and then use the temporary password that they email to you. The “Keystone ID” is a user name that you create.  Write down your user name/Keystone ID and password, as you will need it to retrieve your clearance.
• Sign-in and click through the agreement notices.
• On the screen that says “My PA Child Abuse History Clearances,” click “Create Clearance Application” button.
• For the Application Purpose, select “Volunteer” (first option).
• Under Category, select “Other.”
• Under Agency Name, enter St. James Lutheran Church.
• Fill out all of the information; you will need to provide:
  • your current contact information
  • former names or alias
  • all addresses where you have previously resided
  • all of the people you currently and previously have lived with, as well as their relation to you.  (If they were a roommate, list them as “other.”)
• For the Application Payment, select
  • Yes if you obtained a payment code from office staff (if you use a code provided by the church office, it will link your results to our account, and we will easily have access to the results)
  • No if you prefer to submit your clearance results on your own
  • If you are prompted to make payment save your application and go back and check the Volunteer button.

Upon completion, if you selected to have the certificate sent via email, please forward it to
youth@stjamesgettysburg.org. If you opted to mail it to your home, please provide a copy to the
church office.

It takes a number of days for the results of the Child Abuse History Certificate to be completed.  If you do not receive it within a week, please log-in to your account and check the status of your clearance.

FBI Fingerprints

There is a fee for FBI fingerprints that is collected at time of service. If you wish for the church to pay for the fee, please submit a receipt to the office for reimbursement.

• Make an appointment online (https://uenroll.identogo.com/); closest location to Gettysburg is in New Oxford on Billerbeck Street. There are also locations in Waynesboro, Chambersburg, Carlisle, and York.
• Use Dept. of Human Services digital fingerprint screening code: 1KG6ZJ (Volunteer code) OR 1KG738 (Employee code)
  • It is highly recommended to copy & paste the code, as depending on the font, the letters and numbers can be misleading.
• Select the digital fingerprint screening location and make an appointment.
• Applicant will receive a mailed copy of clearance results.
• Submit clearance results to the church office.
• Submit fingerprint receipt to the church office for reimbursement, if applicable.

National Sex Offender Registry

• Complete and sign the one page application for the National Sex Offender Registry Verification.
• Follow directions for submitting the application to the PA Department of Human Services.
• Turn in the verification letter to the church office upon receipt.

Additional Resources & Training to Ensure the Safety and Wellbeing of all Youth at St. James