New Jersey's Online CARI Check Service

Welcome to New Jersey's online Child Abuse Record Information (CARI) service. You may use this service to file a CARI check application with the Department of Children and Families’ Office of Legal Affairs. Please note that your browser must be the most current version. Please see the FAQS for any question.

Child Care Facilities and various agencies and programs are required to create an account to administer the CARIs of their applicants. Please select the ‘Create New CARI Account’ button below in order to begin. If you are only filling out an application, you do not need to login or create an account.

Create New CARI Account Login to my CARI Account

Out of State CARI Check

To file a CARI check for a facility that is not within New Jersey, click the "File an Out of State CARI" button below. You will need to provide the facility/program information in addition to the information normally required for filling a CARI.

File a CARI Check

What you will need:
  • Address History dating back to 1980.
  • Names and Dates of Birth of all children (if applicable).
  • Related Law and/or Statute (if filing an Out-of-State CARI Check)
  • The Program or Facility that you are submitting the CARI under.

Please Note: CARI checks will not be performed for informational purposes only. There must be a related program associated with the CARI submitted.

Child Abuse Record Information

CARI background checks are used to determine whether an individual who is subject to a CARI background check has a substantiated report of a child abuse and/or neglect.

A "CARI" or "Child Abuse Record Information" means the information in New Jersey's child abuse registry as established in N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.11, which may be released to a person or agency outside the Department’s Child Protection and Permanency only prescribed by Law.


Additional Information & Resources

For individuals who are residing in a state other than New Jersey, it is required that the program obtain a child abuse background check from the state where the staff member currently resides. This also applies to individuals who have lived in a state other than NJ within the past five years of the dated CARI application.

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006