Outschool is committed to learner safety on our platform. To that end, all approved Outschool educators must complete an identity verification and criminal background check before they can teach on the platform.

The service we use depends on where you live:

Outschool pays all associated fees regardless of region. At this time, we are unable to perform background checks for applicants residing in Puerto Rico, Guam, or other U.S. territories.

Background checks are initiated from Outschool teaching accounts with approved applications. We require teachers to be full-time residents (living at least 6 months out of the year) of one of the countries we support. Citizenship is not required, but please note that you will need a national identification number in order to proceed (e.g., SSN for U.S. checks). If you have citizenship or residency in multiple countries we support, choose your country of residence.

If you are currently traveling abroad, you will need to wait until you are located in one of the countries we support before submitting your application. This is due to differences in international privacy laws surrounding background checks.

Processing times vary by country and provider. See the region-specific sections below for more detail.

We background check our educators to screen for violent offenses and/or trust and safety offenses. We have these limitations to support the trust and safety of our community. For teachers with a criminal record, Outschool will consider the nature of the offense and the time since the offense. Trust and safety charges include, but are not limited to:

Due to the virtual nature of Outschool classes, we do not consider vehicle or traffic violation offenses.

Active educators are required to renew their background check one year after their last check clears, with a one-month window to have the new check approved. Enrollments are not interrupted during the one-month window. This process repeats annually for as long as you teach on Outschool. When it is time to renew your check, our team will send you an email prompting you to begin the process.

You can find the link to renew your background check in Teacher Account Settings under the Private Settings section.

If your background check fully expires, you will not be eligible to receive new enrollments until a new check is completed and returns clear. Please contact our team if your renewal takes longer than one month to avoid interruptions. For learner safety, if you fail to renew your background check or fail the renewal, your account will be immediately suspended without advance notice, and you will not be able to teach on the platform. This includes any active enrollments prior to renewal.

U.S.-based educators complete their background check through Persona. The background check itself is conducted by Persona’s screening partner, Yardstik, and most checks are completed within a few business days. County closures and changes in state laws may impact processing times.

If you're experiencing a processing delay, you can log in to your candidate profile using your Outschool email to check the status of your background check, or review the status page for the most up-to-date information on processing times.

The Canadian background check process, conducted through Checkr, requires an additional step to comply with Canadian privacy laws. Canadian teachers will receive a Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) form from Checkr once they have initiated the background check. Educators need to submit this form and additional forms of government identification to Checkr in order to complete the background check. This will include submitting 2 pieces of government ID and may include a video verification step with a member of Checkr's team. Once these pieces of documentation are submitted, the check will process within a few business days.

If you're experiencing a processing delay through Checkr, please log in to their Candidate Portal using your Outschool email to check the status or contact their support team for more detailed information.

Background checks for teachers in these countries are conducted through Checkr, but the process takes longer than it does for teachers in Canada. Please allow at least a month for your background check to process, and be sure to promptly complete any follow-up actions that Checkr requests of you. These requests will be sent to you via email from a checkr.com email address.

For Australian background checks, please enter your passport number under the National Identification Number field.

If you're experiencing a processing delay, please log in to Checkr's Candidate Portal using your Outschool email to check the status or contact their support team for more detailed information.

Teachers from the U.K. complete background checks through a service called Accurate. After starting your background check from your teacher profile settings, you'll receive an email invitation within the next 2-3 business days to complete your check via Accurate. Once Accurate receives the required information and documents, the background check takes about two weeks to a month to complete. Be aware that if you do not access the system and submit the required information within 10 days of the original request, your background check will be canceled, and you will have to request a new background check. You will receive an email from Accurate and Outschool once your background check is complete.

Please note that Outschool does not accept other DBS screenings not completed through Outschool. If you have any questions regarding the process, you can reach out directly to Accurate.