The short answer

An active California criminal record clearance can be transferred from one state-licensed facility to another. The licensee (or license applicant) submits form LIC 9182, Criminal Record Clearance Transfer Request, to the local Community Care Licensing office before the person has any contact with children in care. One form can request transfers to several facilities by attaching a list of facility numbers. Submitting after the person starts risks a $100 civil penalty.

What a clearance transfer is

Everyone who works, volunteers or lives in a licensed California child care facility, with limited exceptions, needs a criminal record clearance (or an exemption) and a Child Abuse Central Index check before they have contact with children. When someone who is already cleared starts at another facility, they usually don't need to be fingerprinted again. Their active clearance can be transferred.

CDSS advises that a person with an active clearance should not be re-fingerprinted, because that can delay the transfer.

How to request one

  1. Confirm the clearance is active. Your local Community Care Licensing Division office can verify the person's status.
  2. Complete LIC 9182. Include the person's details and the facility they're transferring from.
  3. Include a signed LIC 508 (criminal record statement) and a copy of the person's photo ID, such as a driver's license.
  4. Add a Child Abuse Central Index check if the person hasn't had one for a children's facility, or their last one was before January 1, 1999.
  5. Submit it before the person has contact with children. Late submission can mean a $100 civil penalty.

Transferring to several facilities at once

A single LIC 9182 can request transfers to more than one facility. Attach a list of each facility number the person should be associated with. This is what makes a shared substitute pool workable: a substitute can be associated in advance with every home they might cover, so they're already cleared for that home on the morning they're needed.

Only a licensee or license applicant can request the transfer. A staffing service or network can organise the paperwork, but each facility's licensee signs and submits for their own facility.

Related forms

FormUse it for
LIC 9182Transferring an active criminal record clearance between state-licensed facilities
LIC 9188Transferring an active criminal record exemption. It must be approved before the person has client contact
TLR3Transferring from the TrustLine Registry to a state-licensed facility
LIC 508Criminal record statement, signed by the individual

Transfers between county-licensed and state-licensed facilities go through the licensing agency's county liaison, not LIC 9182.

Common questions

Can one LIC 9182 cover several facilities?

Yes. CDSS allows transfers to more than one facility on one form, with a list of each facility number attached.

When must the transfer be submitted?

Before the person has contact with children at the new facility. Otherwise the facility can be assessed a $100 civil penalty.

Does the person need new fingerprints?

Not if their clearance is active. CDSS advises against re-fingerprinting, which can slow the transfer.

This guide explains public rules in plain English. It isn't legal advice. Rules change: confirm anything you rely on with your Licensing Program Analyst or the California Department of Social Services.

Sources

  1. CDSS, Transferring a clearance to a new facility
  2. CDSS, LIC 9182 Criminal Background Clearance Transfer Request
  3. CDSS, LIC 9188 Criminal Record Exemption Transfer Request
  4. CDSS, Background check process