Caregiver requirements and background checks

Our goal is to help families and care seekers find the right caregiver for their needs, and we know how important it is to find trusted care. Caregivers must have a cleared background check and completed profile manually reviewed by our team to be approved to book jobs, and to stay active as a bookable caregiver. It’s ultimately up to the family or care seeker to vet and hire new caregivers, but we’ve started the process for you with these first steps. Learn more about safety on UrbanSitter on our Trust and Safety page.

Profile requirements

Caregivers are required to have an active membership, cleared background check, and completed profile to be approved and to remain active each year. Member Services manually reviews each caregiver profile to make sure it meets our guidelines and standards. Caregivers may be hidden if they don’t meet the requirements or their membership expires, and will be denied approval if they do not pass the background check.

Caregivers must be at least 18 years old to be approved on UrbanSitter.

Background check requirement

Caregivers are required to clear a background check before being approved and again each year of membership to remain active. Background checks are processed by our third-party safety partner Checkr. Checkr dates back 7 years in accordance with federal law and the industry standard for background check lookback periods and includes:

• County Criminal Search (Current)*
• National Criminal Search (Standard)
• Sex Offender Search
• SSN Trace
• Global Watchlist Search

Background checks are good for one year from the membership purchase date. Caregivers have a background check badge on their profile indicating they have an active, cleared check. Tap or hover over it to view the date.

For specifics about how Checkr processes background checks, review their help articles here.

*County of residence, self-reported by caregiver

Can I purchase an upgraded check or pay for a caregiver’s membership?

To cover the cost of a caregiver’s membership fee, add it in a tip after they’re approved or email Member Services. Beyond the basic background check, you can purchase an upgraded background check or driving record check for a caregiver. Learn more here.