UC's background check, drug screen and state checks for clinicals
UC requires a multi-part background check and a drug screen as Critical Requirements, both run through CastleBranch. Ohio residents and anyone doing clinicals in Ohio also complete a fingerprint check, and APRN students placed in 18 states add a supplemental state check. UC's own documents describe the drug-screen panel two different ways, so confirm which test applies before you go.
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Tell us your UC track and where you could do clinicals. A placement advisor replies with what each option adds to your checks and paperwork.
18states where UC adds a supplemental background check
7years covered by the county criminal searches
What UC screens and why sites care
Two Critical Requirements look at your history: a criminal background check and a drug screen. The 2026–27 Student Handbook runs both through CastleBranch, and neither can be outstanding when your clinical hours begin. The ordering deadlines and the current CastleBranch purchase hold are covered on our Critical Requirements page.
Sites rely on the results as much as UC does. UC's May 2026 guide for preceptors assures them that students have passed a drug screen and a criminal background check, and your CSC can back that up for a site with a compliance summary or Letter of Good Standing. Some sites then run checks of their own during onboarding.
If you're an RN-to-BSN or DNP student, be aware that an older UC page limits those programs to a background check, while the current handbook applies the fuller list. Confirm which applies to you in Canvas.
What the background check covers
The handbook spells out what the check covers. Between them the searches look at where you've lived, what records exist under your name, and whether your nursing license is in good order.
- County criminal searches going back 7 years
- Residency history
- A national record search, including the sex-offender registry
- A healthcare fraud and abuse check against the OIG, GSA and OFAC lists
- Professional license verification
UC's public documents don't describe how a finding is reviewed. If you know something may appear, raise it privately with your CSC before you commit to a site, so a site's onboarding isn't the first place it comes up. The license search runs alongside UC's separate RN license verification through NCSBN QuickConfirm, covered on our RN license page.
The drug screen, described two ways
UC's documents disagree on the panel. The May 2026 Preceptor Guide says students have passed a 12-panel drug screen. The 2026–27 handbook describes a 10-panel + MDMA + Oxy screen conducted by CastleBranch, and an older UC CastleBranch overview says 10-panel. The test attached to your CastleBranch order, or your CSC, will tell you which one you're actually taking.
Some points don't vary. The screen goes through CastleBranch vendors only, so a test from your employer or a walk-in clinic won't substitute. Under the handbook, a dilute, positive or donor-error result means retesting at your own expense, and a hair follicle test may be required. UC's older overview also mentions a Medical Review Officer process for questionable results.
A drug screen collected anywhere other than a CastleBranch vendor site won't meet UC's requirement, however recent or clean it is.
Ohio's fingerprint-based check
The handbook adds a layer for Ohio: Ohio residents, and anyone doing clinical hours at an Ohio site, need a fingerprint-based background check run at both the national and the state level. That reaches the tri-state tracks directly. AGACNP students and AGPCNP and PNP-AC certificate students must live in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana, so the Ohio residents among them need it, as does anyone from Kentucky or Indiana placed at an Ohio site.
Ohio also appears on the supplemental state list below, and the handbook doesn't say whether the fingerprint check satisfies both. Ask your CSC whether you need one order or two. Fingerprinting is among the costs the handbook assigns to students. For Ohio's own rules on APRN students and preceptors, see our Ohio clinical rules page.
Supplemental state checks in 18 states
APRN students (MSN, DNP and post-master's) doing clinicals in the states below complete an extra state-specific background check. The list is on page 50 of the 2026–27 handbook.
| Region | States |
|---|---|
| Midwest | Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin |
| Northeast | Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania |
| South | Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas |
| West | Washington (MSN and post-master's certificate students only) |
Kentucky and Indiana are not on the list, which matters for tri-state students weighing a Cincinnati site against one across the river. Washington applies only to MSN and certificate students, which fits the fact that UC's DNP programs can't place clinicals there; our page on where UC can place clinicals explains why.
UC's CastleBranch instructions also describe a separate State Specific Package Code, to be ordered by the preceptor packet deadline when it applies. The instructions don't say which states trigger it, so ask your CSC whether yours does. If it does, the order is tied to your packet date, not to the first day of term.
Site checks, moves and who pays
A site can ask for its own background check or drug screen. UC's Clinical Planning page lists background checks among the items a site's onboarding may include, so allow time for UC's checks and the site's; our site onboarding page covers that stage.
The handbook lists repeat drug screens, fingerprinting and any added background checks among the costs you carry, along with travel and site fees. If you change states mid-program, a new state package or a fresh check may follow; see moving during UC clinicals.
Why students bring us in: our preceptor search keeps your screening in view. For each site we suggest, we find out whether its onboarding adds a background check or drug screen to UC's, and whether an Ohio location brings the fingerprint check with it, so you see the whole workload before you commit. Your CSC approves the site and preceptor, working from a file already checked against UC's list. The request form on this page is the way to begin.
Questions UC students ask
Is UC's nursing drug screen 10-panel or 12-panel?
UC's documents differ. The May 2026 Preceptor Guide says 12-panel, the 2026–27 Student Handbook says 10-panel + MDMA + Oxy, and an older CastleBranch overview says 10-panel. The test attached to your CastleBranch order is the one that counts, so check it there or ask your CSC before you visit a collection site.
Do I need a fingerprint check for UC nursing clinicals?
If you live in Ohio or do clinical hours in Ohio, yes. The 2026–27 handbook says those students complete a national and state fingerprint-based background check. Students who live and train elsewhere complete the standard check plus any supplemental check their clinical state requires.
Do Kentucky or Indiana clinicals need a supplemental check?
Not under UC's current list. The handbook's 18 supplemental-check states don't include Kentucky or Indiana. A Kentucky or Indiana site may still run its own check during onboarding, and an Ohio resident placed across the river still owes the Ohio fingerprint check, because that rule follows residency as well as clinical location.
What if my UC drug screen comes back dilute?
Under the 2026–27 handbook, a dilute, positive or donor-error result means a retest at your own expense, and a hair follicle test may be required. Retest promptly. The drug screen is a Critical Requirement, and an unresolved result can keep you from clinical hours.
Can I use my employer's background check instead?
No. UC's handbook says the background check is conducted through CastleBranch, and the drug screen must go through CastleBranch vendors, so an employer's results don't replace either. With CastleBranch purchases on hold as of this update, ask your CSC what to do rather than ordering a check somewhere else.
Related pages
CastleBranch and Critical RequirementsUC College of Nursing Critical Requirements in CastleBranch: every item, order and document deadlines by term, and what the current purchase hold means.Ohio rules for NP clinicalsWhat Ohio law means for UC NP students training in Ohio: the Board's limited role, standard care arrangements, fingerprint checks and who may precept you.State authorizationUC runs graduate clinicals in all but seven states, keeps Washington closed to DNPs, limits three tracks to OH, KY and IN residents and rules out territories.Clinical site onboardingSite onboarding for UC clinicals: the platforms UC names, the Letter of Good Standing and liability verification your CSC sends, and systems to clear first.Kentucky and Indiana clinicalsUC clinicals in Northern Kentucky or southeast Indiana: preceptor licenses, PA rules, compact licenses, background checks and what neither state settles.Moving during UC clinicalsRelocating during your UC nursing program? Check state authorization, your RN license, CastleBranch and new preceptors before you move, not after.
Last checked 2026-09-24
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