Background Check Submissions for US Coaches and Event Partners – Global Robotics & Science Foundation

In the interest of student safety, Global Robotics requires a background check, run through Sterling Volunteers, for all US-based coaches, Event Partners, and Event Administrators. This guide walks you through completing that background check from your events.vex.com account.

Before You Begin

Coaches: You will be prompted to complete a background check automatically when you're identified as a Primary or Secondary Coach during team registration.
- Note that both Coaches must have a completed background check before your team is able to register for an event.
Event Partners: Contact your Director of Programs to be added as an Event Partner before you continue.
Event Administrators: Your background check must be complete before any event listing you as an Event Administrator can be approved.

Already completed a Sterling Volunteers background check for another organization? You may be able to share it with Global Robotics instead of starting a new one. Contact your Director of Programs for help with this.

Completed a background check with Global Robotics before? If it has expired, log in to Sterling Volunteers directly to renew it — you don't need to repeat the steps below.

Prepare Your Information

Header of events dot vex dot com with a highlight on the rightmost option labeled Login.

Begin by logging in to your events.vex.com account.

Note: The email used to log in will be the same one you use with Sterling Volunteers.

Closer view of the upper right corner of the previous image. The options have now changed to language, admin, my account, logout. A highlight is on the my account option.

Once logged in, select My Account in the top-right menu.

A list of options from the account menu. The 6th option in the list is highlighted and reads background check colon X. The text is also highlighted in red.

A menu of your account information will appear on the left. Select Background Check.

Note: A red X next to the label (as shown in the image here) indicates you have not completed your background check.

Background check form with some fields populated. Those prepopulated fields at the top of the form are highlighted to show where they are located.

Your account details will automatically populate into the form within the Background Check window. Confirm your legal name and Birth Date are entered correctly in your account. Incorrect information here can delay your background check.

Closer view of the previous screenshot with a highlight on the callout and link below the Birth Date option.

If your First and Last Name and Date of Birth are incorrectly populated, it will need to be fixed within the Account Information for your events.vex.com account. Select Account Information below one of the gray boxes to be directed to the page where account information can be edited.

Background check form with all fields filled out. Privacy marks cover the personal information.

Continue to fill out your information in the Prepare Background Check form including:

Gender
Phone number
Street address
City
Postal Code
State/Province

Bottom of a form with a checkbox marked off. The item marked off reads i agree to have my information submitted to sterling volunteers. A submit button is below.

Once all information has been filled in, select the checkbox at the bottom of the form and then Submit.

A new page in the account information under prepare background check.A button is highlighted and reads start background check.

A new page will load. Select Start Background Check. You’ll be redirected to Sterling Volunteers to confirm your information.

Create a Sterling Volunteers Account

Sterling volunteer landing page with instructions and a form to begin the background check process.

On the Sterling Volunteers landing page, you will be prompted to fill in your information again. This includes:

Email address: This must be the same email used with your events.vex.com account.
Date of birth
Country
Zip or postal code

Close view of the form from the image above with a callout on the continue button in the lower right corner.

Select Continue when all information has been added.

Sterling volunteers form with a place for username, password. confirm new password. and checkboxes for agreeing to policies.

After your information is validated against what was provided in your VEX Events account, you will be prompted to create an account for Sterling Volunteers.

Create a username and password. Select the checkbox to agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The same form as above with privacy notes on the filled in data and a callout box on create account.

When all areas of the form are complete, select Create Account.

Background check form part 1 with information added. Privacy bars are on the information that is filled out.

Sterling Volunteers background checks involve four steps. In Step 1, personal information you have previous added will be populated. Fill out any additional areas on the form.

Note: You are NOT required to submit a Social Security Number. Select No SSN if you do not want to share it.

Orange continue button highlighted.

Select Continue to move to Step 2.

Address form filled out with privacy bars on the information.

In Step 2, confirm your home address and fill out how long you have lived at that address.

Orange continue button highlighted.

Select Continue to move to Step 3.

Sterling volunteers website showing the notices and consent forms to be agreed to.

In Step 3, review and acknowledge the required notices by marking the checkboxes to the left.

Bottom of the notice page with a name typed in the boxes to indicate a signature.

Digitally sign the form by typing your name, then select Continue.

Personal information summarized marked over with privacy marks. The checkbox noting that the information is correct is checked and highlighted.

In Step 4, confirm your personal information by selecting the checkbox next to "The Information above is correct."

Or, select Go Back & Edit to correct any mistakes.

Sterling volunteers page from the image above with a note about donations to cover the cost of the background check.

Next, choose whether to donate toward the cost of your background check and enter your payment details.

Global Robotics & Science Foundation will cover the cost of the background check if you decline to donate.

Payment area of the background check form with the continue to payment button in the bottom right highlighted.

If you choose to donate towards the cost of your background check, select Continue to Payment. The form will then expand where you can input Billing & Payment Information.

When complete, select Submit Order.

Payment area of the background check form with the submit order button in the bottom right highlighted.

If you elected not to donate, select the Submit Order button to complete your background check submission.

Notification of submission for background check.

Once all information has been filled out and the forms have been submitted, you will receive a notice that your order has been placed for the background check. An order number is provided for your reference.

What's Next

Dashboard in vex events. The sixth option in the list reads Background Check and has a green checkmark to the right.

Background checks typically take 2–10 business days to process. Once yours is complete, the status on your account dashboard will update automatically from an X with a red highlight to a checkmark.

In addition, you will receive an email from Sterling Volunteers notifying you that your background check has been reviewed.

If it's been longer than 10 business days, or you run into an error while setting up your Sterling Volunteers account (such as a token or 404 error), contact your Program Support Team for help.