Before anyone at your organization can request a background check, one leader completes a one-time identity check— a photo of a government ID and a short selfie, through our verification partner Didit. It is free and usually takes about a minute. You will find it under Settings → Verify my identity.
Why this is required
This is not an extra hoop we invented. VolunteerBadge is operated by ScreenForge Labs, LLC, a consumer reporting agency, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a CRA to confirm who a new user is before releasing any consumer report to them:
“Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report.” — FCRA §607(a), 15 U.S.C. §1681e(a)
In plain terms: background checks contain other people’s sensitive records, so we have to know that the person asking for them is real and accountable. You do this once.
Verifying your mobile number first
We also keep a verified mobile number for every organization leader, so we can reach you quickly about your account or a screening. If you have already verified your number, you will not be asked for another code the next time you open the page.
If the verification window gets stuck
The ID step runs in a secure window from our verification partner. If it stops responding part-way — the camera never starts, or an upload hangs — you have two options on the page:
- Open verification in a new tab. Some phones and browsers only let one window use the camera at a time. We close the embedded window so the camera is free for the new tab. Use this first if the camera will not start, or if you can take the first ID photo but not the second.
- Start over with a clean session.This expires the stuck attempt on our verification partner’s side and opens a brand-new one. Use it if reopening the window keeps returning you to the same frozen screen. Clicking Start verification again after a hang also starts fresh — we do not reuse a half-finished session.
If it still will not complete, try a different browser (Chrome or Safari), or another device with a working camera, and allow camera access when prompted. Good, even lighting and a plain background help the ID photos pass on the first try.
Still stuck? Email support@screenforgelabs.com and tell us what you see on screen — a real person will pick it up, and we can look at your verification attempt directly.
If verification is declined or under review
You will only see “verified successfully” when our partner Didit approves the check. If the attempt is declined, or sent for a closer look, the page says so plainly. Organization leaders must tap Try again with a clean session— that expires the last attempt and starts a new one. After a decline, volunteers are asked to try again in better light (ID flat, no glare); they can still tap Continue your application if they need to finish applying first.
After you are verified
Your account gains a verified trust badge and the screening tools unlock immediately. You will not be asked to do this again. Verifying volunteers is a separate, optional feature — see Identity verification (government ID + selfie).