Frequently asked questions

No. It is a private program operated by Roll Payments LLC. It is not a government program, not a licensing body, and not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, any registry operator, any sanctioning body, or any insurer.

No. Certification means the academy's coaches were screened against public records, completed the required trainings, and have their certificates on file, and that the academy adopted a written code of conduct. It reduces risk. It does not guarantee anyone's conduct, and no screening catches everyone.

Independent of the academy: the academy does not certify itself, and the program is not owned by any academy, affiliation, or sanctioning body. Verifier of the academy's compliance with the program's requirements, not of people. Roll Payments, which operates the program, also provides payment services to academies. More on the about page.

That is the name the program began under. The program and this site are Safe Academy 360.

Five items. A records screen the moment they are added, then SafeSport training, mandated reporter training, and CPR and first aid training, each certificate uploaded through the platform, and the academy's code of conduct signed electronically. When all five are complete the coach receives their own certificate. The full path.

No governing body requires it of most jiu jitsu academies. SafeSport training is required inside the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement, and most jiu jitsu gyms sit outside it, so most coaches have never taken it. Safe Academy 360 requires every certified coach to complete SafeSport training directly with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, because it is the most widely recognized abuse prevention course in American sport. Safe Academy 360 is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Center.

The practical ones: every coach screened against public records and trained in abuse prevention, mandated reporting, and CPR and first aid; a written code of conduct that covers one on one contact, changing rooms, and communication with minors; a known way to report a concern; and a check on who registers. Safe Academy 360 certifies an academy against exactly that list, and the parents page turns it into questions to ask any gym.

No. Each uploaded certificate is reviewed as a document and kept on file with its expiry date. Safe Academy 360 describes certificates as submitted and on file, not verified.

Each credential has its own expiry date. When any one of a coach's credentials expires, that coach's status shows lapsed until a current certificate is uploaded and reviewed, and the academy's certification shows not current until then. The dates are visible to the academy and the coach ahead of time, with reminders 60, 30, and 7 days out.

Yes, five: an abuse prevention training policy, a mandated reporter policy, a records screen of the owner, the adopted code of conduct, kept where students and parents can read it, and CPR and first aid cover at the academy. The academy's certification also depends on every active coach's credentials being current. What happens when one coach lapses.

The public sex offender registries of all 58 US jurisdictions and state prison records, by legal name and date of birth. County court and federal records are not searched. Results show how many registries answered and any returned record with its source and a link to the public listing, and everyone screened is screened again each month. An absence of matches is not proof of anything: registry data is incomplete and matching is name based.

No, and it does not use that phrase. At registration, the adult account holder's legal name and date of birth are checked against the public sex offender registries of all 58 US jurisdictions and state prison records, and again each month. A returned record is compared with the person by Safe Academy 360 reviewers, and the academy receives a link to the public listing for its own review. No report about the person is compiled, and an absence of matches is not proof of anything. If you are searching for background checks for martial arts students, this is the honest version of what a registry search can and cannot do. The difference, in full.

No. Public surfaces show academy status and credential counts only. Nothing about a named person's screening is published, including the fact that they passed review.

Yes. Screening is disclosed in the registration agreement a student accepts. Before a coach is screened, the owner confirms in writing that the coach has been told and has agreed, and the coach's own credentials page shows the screen and its result.

Safe Academy 360 reviewers decide one thing: whether the public record and the person are the same person, by comparing the registry photo and date of birth with the person and calling the owner, usually within two business days. The academy decides what happens next. Safe Academy 360 does not decide who may join or coach at an academy. The process in order.

Every month. Everyone Safe Academy 360 has screened, coaches and adult members alike, is screened again each month on the same legal name and date of birth against the same sources. The academy does nothing, and a new record raises an alert like a first one. Why the repeat matters.

No. The screen runs on the adult account holder: the member for an adult registration, and the parent or guardian who registers a child.

Yes. The quick screen on the academy's Safe Academy 360 page takes a legal name and date of birth, typed in, and returns the same result from the same sources in about a second. People screened this way are screened again each month with everyone else, and a returned record is reviewed the same way. It is included in the academy price.

Enter the certificate number from the academy's placard on the verify page, or find the academy in the directory. Both show whether the certification is current and when renewal is due.

The same eight questions on the parents page. They apply to any academy.

$25 per month per academy location, plus $5 per month for each certified coach. No setup fee.

Registration screening, the quick screen, and the monthly repeat screen are included at any volume, so there is no per check fee and no threshold above which the price changes. The $5 per coach does not include the cost of the courses themselves; SafeSport, mandated reporter, and CPR and first aid are paid to their providers. Pricing in full.

Fill in the enrollment form with the academy's details and the number of coaches to certify. We follow up from there.