Since Visitor Aware has many visitor screening options, with varying degrees of data required and security checks performed, this article will walk you through the available screening types, what checks are performed, and which data is required.


Note: In all cases except National Criminal Background Checks, you will only be notified if a validated match occurs.


Types of Screenings

  1. Sex Offender Screening
  2. Watchlist Screening
  3. Court Orders
  4. Explicit Bans
  5. National Criminal Background Checks


Sex Offender Screening

Sex offender screening is turned on by default for all education and healthcare clients and is included at no additional cost.  When this feature is turned on, all visitors and volunteers checking in are automatically screened against the National Sex Offender Registry.


When a visitor attempts entry and is a possible match for a record on the sex offender registry, Visitor Aware automatically compares the photo of the visitor attempting entry to the photos of any potential matches.


This means that every visitor is compared against any possible sex offender registry records for:

  • Name match
  • Sex match
  • Date of Birth or Age match
  • State / Region match
  • Photo Match (with a matching probability of greater than 80%)


Enabling or Disabling Sex Offender Screening

To enable or disable sex offender screening, navigate to the System Settings -> Settings -> Security Settings page (https://app.visitor-aware.com/client-settings/security), change the "Enable national sex offender search for visitors?" to your desired setting, and hit "Save" at the bottom of the screen.


Watchlist Screening

Watchlist screening is turned on by default for all education and healthcare clients and is included at no additional cost.  When this feature is turned on, all visitors and volunteers checking in are automatically screened against:

  • FBI Watchlists
  • FBI Seeking Information
  • Interpol


When a visitor attempts entry and is a possible match for a record on any of the watchlists, Visitor Aware automatically compares the photo of the visitor attempting entry to the photos of any potential matches.


This means that every visitor is compared against any possible watchlist records for:

  • Name match
  • Sex match
  • Date of Birth or Age match
  • State / Region match
  • Photo Match (with a matching probability of greater than 80%)


Enabling or Disabling Watchlist Screening

To enable or disable watchlist screening, navigate to the System Settings -> Settings -> Security Settings page (https://app.visitor-aware.com/client-settings/security), change the "Enable watchlist search for visitors?" to your desired setting, and hit "Save" at the bottom of the screen.


Court Orders

Court order screening is enabled once records are noted within the Visitor Aware system. If no court order exists, no court order screening will take place upon a visitor attempting to check in.


It is possible to assign a court order to a specific visitor profile if the visitor has previously checked in or if a profile was created via a Student Information System data sync. If no visitor profile exists for this person, a court order record can be entered and matched to the visitor by comparing:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • DOB*

*Date of Birth is not required; however, if this information is known for the visitor, please note this within the court order record within Visitor Aware to improve the matching process upon check-in.


In the event that a visitor is screened and positively identified as having an active court order, our system will flag and ban the visitor while notifying security admin.


Enabling or Disabling Watchlist Screening

To enable or modify court order records, navigate to the People -> Court Orders -> View Court Orders page (https://app.visitor-aware.com/court-orders). From this screen feel free to update, add, or modify court orders as deemed necessary.


Explicit Bans

Any existing visitor, guardian, or volunteer may be explicitly banned based on the policies for your facilities.  This functionality is available independently of any of the configuration above.


In the event that a visitor is matched to a ban during entry, our system will send notifications to security personnel.


Banning a Visitor

  • Navigate to the visitor, volunteer, or guardian's profile
  • Click on the "Security" menu below their photograph
  • Select "Ban"
  • Enter a reason for the ban
  • Hit "Save"


Removing a Visitor Ban

  • Navigate to the visitor, volunteer, or guardian's profile
  • Click on the "Security" menu below their photograph
  • Select "Remove Ban"
  • Enter a reason for removing the ban
  • Hit "Save"