As a volunteer, you’ll become part of a vibrant community of dedicated individuals supporting youth across Northern California, and across the country!
To get started, all volunteers must be at least 18 years old, and those who plan to drive Girl Scouts must be at least 21. They also need to complete the following steps:
- Register as a member of Girl Scouts of Northern California.
- Complete a background check. Note that there are two different types of background check; depending on your role, you may be asked to complete either an online background check, which is valid for 3 years, or fingerprinting, which is valid for 75 years.
- Complete Mandated Reporter training and any additional training required for your specific role.
These steps must be completed before supporting youth troop members in any capacity.
Please note: registration is completed at MyGS. You’ll need to register as a member before you can begin the background check process. Additionally, access to our online training portal is only available once your background check has been cleared and you have an assigned volunteer role in the MyGS system.
There may be an additional fee for the background check. Volunteers may request financial assistance to help with the annual registration fee.
Troop Roles Guide
For detailed descriptions of each role please click here. Troop leadership is encouraged to download and print or share these resources with caregivers, so they can choose how they’d like to support their Girl Scout.
An individual who has been assigned a not- screened role has not completed the background check within 90 days. They may not volunteer with a troop, manage troop funds, supervise Girl Scouts, or be counted towards required supervision ratios. They may attend events but may supervise only their own youth. Please review our screening article or reach out to info@gsnorcal.org for help with volunteer roles.
Last updated on June 5, 2026