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	07/18/2024	Today, July 18th, 2024, SBI will be taking the criminal history system off-line so that they can deploy a server upgrade. They will shut off at 8:30 AM and they expect this update to take approximately 2 hours. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
	12/02/2022	Updated crime matrix information- please read. Starting today, Friday December 2^nd, the MBCC will start using the Direct Access Worker disqualification matrix for all applicants. There will no longer be a separate matrix for CNAs and DCWs. Both links to the disqualification matrices will now show the same matrix until we can get the coders to remove one of the links. Please print off a copy of the new matrix and discard any copies of the old ones. This website was developed before the rules for the Maine Background Check Center and the Maine Registry for Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers were finally adopted. 10-144 CMR Ch. 60, Maine Background Check Center Rule, contains the list of criminal offenses and the corresponding durations of disqualification required by statute. 10-144 CMR Ch. 128, Certified Nursing Assistant and Direct Care Worker Registry Rule, incorporates that list by reference. This website has been updated to include the list of criminal offenses and the corresponding durations of disqualification adopted through the formal rulemaking process.

	04/14/2022	MBCC announces its interpretation of the 5-year background check recheck process. There is a statutory and rule requirement for mandated users of the MBCC to conduct periodic subsequent background checks every five years following the date of hire or the anniversary date of a previous background check (“the 5 year recheck”). 22 M.R.S. § 9054(5), 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 60 § 3(G). The statute reads: An employer shall conduct a periodic subsequent background check in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. Criminal history record checks for all direct access workers must be completed every 5 years subsequent to the date of hire or the anniversary date of a pervious background check completed through use of the Background Check Center. The corresponding rule reads: Employers must follow the same process used to obtain an initial comprehensive background check to obtain a periodic comprehensive background check. Subsequent comprehensive background checks must be obtained at least every five years following the date of hire or the anniversary date of a previous comprehensive background check. MBCC will continue to monitor and generate reports through rap back monitoring without the need for employers to submit a 5 year recheck request. This 5 year recheck requirement was based on anticipated implementation of biometric background check processes, which involves fingerprinting employees to access federal criminal history data, and is limited to a 5 year recheck window. Because the MBCC did not implement the use of biometric processes and does not access federal conviction data, the information that the 5-year recheck was designed to capture is not available to MBCC. Therefore, the Division of Licensing and Certification will not pursue enforcement of this requirement. This notice affects only the recheck requirements under the statutory and rule sections cited herein. It does not relieve an employer of obligations existing under any other statute or rule, including other provisions that may require an employer to conduct background checks or rechecks at various intervals.

		CNA application tip. When entering an application for a CNA that does not have a valid license because they are still in training or are waiting to take the test, enter them as "Certified Nurse Assistant in Training" for their job category/position. In this way a license number is not required. Those who are entered as a CNA but do not have a valid license will not be able to have their applications processed until a valid license number is granted.

The Maine Background Check Center (MBCC) is a secure, web-based system operated by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in partnership with the Maine Department of Public Safety (DPS) and regulated employers that provide care and services to vulnerable Maine citizens.

Before the MBCC, employers accessed information repositories individually. This required a large amount of time, many paper reports, and risk of exposing sensitive and personal information belonging to applicants. The MBCC will greatly improve the process of vetting applicants and over time save money for employers. The MBCC will also streamline the review process and reduce the amount of tracking of paper documents that currently exists.

The MBCC has a feature known as the “Quick Check.” The screening process will start here, before any cost is incurred. The employer can access public registries to determine immediately if any disqualifiers are on record which may influence the decision to hire.

The ultimate goal of the MBCC is the protection and well-being of citizens receiving services in long-term care, residential care, and home or community-based settings throughout Maine.

There are many publications located on the MBCC website available for downloading.

If you are a provider and need to enter or monitor an employee(s) background check application you can login now on the top, right side of this page under "Employer Login".
If you do not have a login account for your entity, please contact the Maine Background Check Center at MBCC-Admin.DHHS@maine.gov


	DLC closed Tuesday June 4th Tuesday, June 4th, 2024, the entire Division of Licensing and Certification will be closed for the day. The MBCC system will still be operational, but the phone line will not be staffed and nothing that requires an Identification Specialist to process will be handled until staff return on Wednesday the 5th.
05/10/2024	MBCC planned outage notification Today, Friday, May 10th, 2024, Maine's Office of Information Technology (OIT) will be taking the MBCC off-line so that they can move the entire MBCC program to a new server. OIT will shut off the MBCC at 7:30 AM and they expect this update to take approximately 3 hours. During this time you will not be able to access the MBCC home page or log into the system. Once the update is completed you will be able to access the MBCC home page once again. OIT may take additional time to ensure all connections have been made the the MBCC works correctly.
02/27/2024	Today, February 27th, 2024, SBI will be taking the criminal history system off-line so that they can deploy a server upgrade. They will shut off at 8:30 AM and they expect this update to take approximately 2 hours. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
12/20/2023	The State of Maine has been hit with a wide spread storm and is experiencing flooding and state wide power outages. The Governor has declared a Civil Emergency and most State offices have been closed from noon on Monday though at least today.
11/06/2023	Today, November 6th, 2023, SBI will be taking the criminal history system off-line so that they can deploy a server upgrade. They will shut off at 9:30 AM and they expect this update to take approximately 2.5 hours. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
06/27/2023	Update- SBI is still having communication issues with thier data broker. They are also still planning on going off line for an unrelated server updated later this morning. As soon as the communication has been restored, we will complete all background check requests as soon as we can.
06/26/2023	SBI is currently having a communication issue with their data broker. This is keeping the MBCC from receiving criminal history report information. As soon as the communication has been restored, we will complete all background check requests as soon as we can.
06/26/2023	Tomorrow, June 27th, 2023, SBI will be taking the criminal history system off-line so that they can deploy a server upgrade. They will shut off at 8:30 AM and they expect this update to take approximately 2.5 hours. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
06/06/2023	The DLC office will be closed on Thursday, June 8th, 2023 for a division wide training. There will be nobody in the office to answer phone calls or respond to emails. All background checks, messages and emails will be attended to as soon as staff return to the office on Friday.
04/19/2023	SBI will be going off-line Wednesday, April 19th, for a computer code update at about 8:30AM. SBI expects that this will take 3 hours or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
01/18/2023	SBI will be going off-line today, Wednesday, January 18th, for a computer code update at about 9:00AM. SBI expects that this will take 2 hours or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
11/18/2022	A server upgrade at has severed MBCC’s contact with their licensing program, which is used to verify all Maine issued professional licenses. At this time all Maine issued licenses will come back as “undetermined” and will need to be submitted to the MBCC for an error correction. This means that our Quick Check's link to Maine Regulatory Licensing & Permitting (Professional and Occupational Licensing and CNA/DCW Registry) is also not connecting to the ALMS program. Maine’s Office of Information Technology is working on this and hopes to have it back online as soon as possible. If you need to verify a professional license, you can do so manually at this link - https://www.pfr.maine.gov/almsonline/ALMSQuery/SearchIndividual.aspx.
11/01/2022	SBI will be going off-line today, Tuesday, November 1st, for a computer code update at about 9:00AM. SBI expects that this will take 2 hours or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
09/22/2022	This is a reminder that the updated payment portal will go into affect tomorrow morning.
09/12/2022	The Maine State Treasury payment portal will be up and running starting next Friday, September 23rd, 2022. In anticipation of that upgrade, the MBCC has put a quick introduction to the PayMaine2 payment portal under the "About" tab on the left side of your screen.
09/06/2022	The Maine State Treasury is working on upgrading their payment portal and it will soon look different to MBCC users. They are calling it "PayMaine2". The goal of the Treasury is to have this process up and running for the MBCC before the end of this month. The process will be the same and customers will still be able to choose between a credit card and an ACH bank payment, but it will look very different. The emailed receipt and the downloadable payment report will also look different. MBCC staff will post instructions and a walk though as soon as possible.
04/27/2022	SBI will be going off-line today, April 27th, for a computer code update at about 9:00AM. SBI expects that this will take 2 hours or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
09/29/2021	SBI will be going off-line at 11:15 AM this morning for a period expected to last about 30 minutes. Any background checks submitted during this time will experience a slight delay in receiving the results. No other MBCC functions will be affected.
01/28/2021	SBI will be going off-line today, January 28th, for a computer code update at about 11:30AM. SBI expects that this will take 2 hours or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC except for receiving criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
07/10/2020	MBCC system update Today the MBCC has made a new code deployment. There are three new items that will affect your experience with the MBCC. The first is there is now a spot for a telephone extension, should you wish to add one to your user profile The second is the addition of a payment report that many of you have asked for. This report will allow you to check the payments for any facility you have access to. The last change is there is now a hard stop at the alias section when entering in an application. The system will now require you to simply select a yes or no to continue. To find more detailed instructions, please visit the MBCC “About” page.
03/19/2020	MBCC communications The most effective way to communicate with the MBCC will be via email at this point in time. Due to the Governor’s request, as many Department of Health and Human Services personnel as possible are working remotely to avoid the possibility of spreading the COVID-19 virus. During this time the MBCC will have reduced staff working in the office. This means that the amount of staff available to answer incoming phone calls will be reduced or, depending on daily circumstances, eliminated. However, our ability to respond to emails will not be affected. It is therefore recommended that if you wish to communicate with the MBCC, you do so through our email where your question or concern will be addressed almost immediately. During this time of uncertainty, we are doing our best to fast-track any and all background check requests. Thank you for your understanding. MBCC email: MBCC-Admin.DHHS@Maine.gov
01/09/2020	Starting at 5PM tomorrow, Friday, January 10^th, the State of Maine’s Treasurer’s office will bring PayMaine off-line for maintenance. During this time the MBCC will also be down for maintenance and will be unavailable for use. Both PayMaine and the MBCC will be brought back on-line at 7AM on Monday, January 13^th.
01/10/2020	As a reminder, starting at 5PM today, Friday, January 10^th, the State of Maine’s Treasurer’s office will bring PayMaine off-line for maintenance. During this time the MBCC will also be down for maintenance and will be unavailable for use. Both PayMaine and the MBCC will be brought back on-line at 7AM on Monday, January 13^th.
10/31/2019	SBI will be going off-line today, October 31st, for a follow up computer code update at 1:30 PM. SBI expects that this will take 1 hour or less. During this time no criminal history results will be distributed. This will not affect anything else with the MBCC other than the receiving of criminal histories. As soon as they are back on-line, the MBCC will process all requests that came in during that time as quickly as we can.
08/21/2019	State Bureau of Identification outage update The State Bureau of Identification has completed their server upgrade and they will slowly begin communication with outside groups one at a time. The MBCC is now able to communicate with SBI and the payment portal has been reactivated.
08/20/2019	State Bureau of Identification outage alert This is a reminder that today, August 20^th, the State Bureau of Identification (SBI) will go off-line for a server upgrade. They will stop accepting background check requests at 2:30PM. SBI will be off-line until after noon tomorrow. During this time no background check requests will be accepted by them and the payment module of the MBCC will be turned off. Providers will still be able to use the MBCC to enter new applications- up to the point where you would ordinarily make payment- and to process applications where the criminal history results have already been received. If you try and check out, you will receive an error message. This error message will be shut off as soon as SBI resumes communication. If you have any further questions, please contact the MBCC.
08/16/2019	State Bureau of Identification outage alert On Tuesday, August 20^th, the State Bureau of Identification (SBI) will go off-line for a server upgrade. They will stop accepting background check requests between 2PM and 3 PM. They will be off-line until noon on the 21^st. During this time no background check requests will be accepted by them and the payment module of the MBCC will be turned off. Providers will still be able to use the MBCC to enter new applications- up to the point where you would ordinarily make payment- and to process applications where the criminal history results have already been received. If you try and check out, you will receive an error message. This error message will be shut off as soon as SBI resumes communication. If you have any further questions, please contact the MBCC.
12/04/2018	Governor Paul LePage has announced the administrative closing of Departments and Agencies on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, during the National Day of Mourning in honor of former President George H. W. Bush. You may continue to enter applications into the system during this time. The office will re-open Thursday, December 6, 2018, at 8:00 a.m., at which time we will begin processing any background check that comes back with a criminal history.
10/17/2018	This message provides notice of rulemaking by the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification, that Maine Background Check Center Rule, 10-144 C.M.R. Chapter 60, has been adopted. You can access the complete rule and related documents by going to the Division of Licensing and Certification’s rulemaking webpage at https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlc/rulemaking/index.shtml. The link will be posted on this page under the Rules & Policy tab. Interested parties may request paper copies by calling (207) 287-5825 or Maine Relay 711. Additional information regarding the rulemaking process and weekly rulemaking updates can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/guide.html.
10/11/2018	-Important information - The MBCC will be going off-line Friday at 5PM while PayMaine performs a production code deployment and testing. MBCC will be back on-line Sunday morning. During this down time no work may be performed in the MBCC. If you experience any problems with the payment portal after Sunday, please let MBCC staff know so that we may pass along the information to PayMaine.
10/01/2018	SBI will be deploying a production code update tomorrow morning, October 2nd. They will stop all communication at 7:00am tomorrow which means that any application’s payment made after that time will not return a criminal history report until SBI is back on-line and resumes communication. SBI expects this update to take approximately 4 hours. Once their deployment is completed all applications will be processed in a timely fashion. If anyone has any questions please let us know.
07/17/2018	The State Bureau of Identification (SBI) will be deploying an updated code to their production server this morning starting at 8:30 AM. During this time background checks can be completed and submitted as usual, but there will be a delay in getting the criminal history processed and returned to you. SBI expects this outage to last until about 11 am, but as soon as they are back on-line we will begin processing the criminal histories as quickly as we can.
05/29/2018	-Program Update- Starting tomorrow morning at 7AM the MBCC will be making a code deployment to make some changes to multiple areas, but specifically the payment module. With the new payment module, you will be able to add and remove applicants much like a shopping cart at an online retailer. With this shopping cart you will be able to make payments with up to 25 applicants at once instead of one payment per applicant. We are working on uploading an updated section to the user manual in the training portal. If you have any questions or if you experience any issues with the new payment module, please contact the MBCC at 888-572-5839. Our office hours tomorrow are 8am-5pm.
02/05/2018	MBCC is now open for all: Personal Care Agencies, Placement Agencies, Assisted Living Facilities, Adult Day Care, Mental Health Agencies, Substance Abuse Agencies and Temporary Nurse Agencies. The one year time frame for grandfathered employees also begins on 02/05/2018.
05/09/2018	-NOTIFICATION OF AGENCY RULEMAKING- The Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention performs rulemaking to implement or update policies and regulations regarding programs administered by the agency. This message provides notice of a proposed new rule, in accordance with 5 M.R.S. §8053. The new rule being proposed is 10-144 C.M.R. Chapter 60, Maine Background Check Center Rule. This rule is being proposed to comply with the Maine Background Check Center Act, 22 M.R.S. Ch. 1691. During the comment period, please address all comments and questions to the agency contact person: Jonathan Leach, Policy Analyst, at 207-287-9395 or Jonathan.H.Leach@Maine.gov. The complete rule and the Notice of Agency Rulemaking are available online at http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/rules/. PUBLIC HEARING: Room 16, 286 Water Street, Augusta, ME; 9:00 a.m., May 31, 2018. Interested parties may request a printed copy of the proposed rule by calling 287-9395 or Maine Relay number 711. The agency may impose a fee for costs associated with providing copies by mail.
04/12/2018	The MBCC office will be closed on Monday, April 16^th for the Patriot’s Day holiday. Applications may be entered, but any needing processing will not be handled until Tuesday the 17^th.
01/05/2018	The notification letters have gone out to all Personal Care Agencies, Placement Agencies, Assisted Living Facilities, Adult Day Care, Mental Health Agencies, Substance Abuse Agencies and Temporary Nurse Agencies. You may sign up for and use the system any time you like, but starting on 02/05/2018 you are required to use the system for all new hires.
11/20/2017	MBCC is now open for all: Levels I, II, and IV Residential Care Facilities The one year time frame for grandfathered employees will start on this date
10/16/2017	The notification letters have gone out to all Residential Care providers levels I, II, and IV. You may sign up for and use the system any time you like, but starting on 11/20/2017 you are required to use the system for all new hires. The one year time frame for grandfathered employees will begin on 11/20/2017.
06/12/2017	MBCC is now open for all: Level Three Residential Care Facilities The one year time frame for grandfathered employees will start on this date
05/22/2017	Rap Back is now active. All prior applicants since day one have been added to the subscription list so no further action is required.
05/01/2017	MBCC is now open for all: Hospice Agencies; Home Health Agencies; Intermediate Care Facilities - Intellectual Disabilities The one year time frame for grandfathered employees will start on this date.
04/12/2017	MBCC training videos have been added to the training portal alongside the user manual. The link to the training portal will be added to this page shortly. Until then, the training portal may be accessed by clicking the link below: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/dlrs/mds/training/mbcc.shtml
03/06/2017	MBCC open for all Long Term Care providers. All new employees are to be run through the MBCC. The one year time frame for grandfathered employees will start on this date.

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