Safe Environment training

Every Knight who helps at an event where young people may be present needs a current Safe Environment certificate. The Diocese of Dallas runs the training through a website called Virtus. This page tells you, step by step, how to get your certificate, how to renew it, and how to put it on file with the parish.

Why it matters. The Diocese, the Bishop and the Supreme Council all require it. A Knight without a current certificate cannot sign up for volunteer slots, and a unit whose members are not cleared can lose the right to hold events on parish or diocesan property.

Already have a certificate? Put it on file (3 minutes)

  1. Sign in to the members area and open My profile.
  2. Answer the question “Do you have a Safe Environment certificate?” with Yes.
  3. Press Upload my certificate and follow the pictures. You can upload the PDF from Virtus, or a photo or screenshot of your Virtus Compliance Summary page. An officer checks it and you get an email.

Open my profile

Never done the training? Start here (about one hour)

  1. Go to virtusonline.org and press the green button FIRST-TIME REGISTRANT. (If you already have a Virtus account from your parish, sign in instead and skip to step 4.)
  2. When it asks for your organization, choose Diocese of Dallas. Pick your parish as your location and Volunteer as your role. Write down the User ID and password you create.
  3. Ask your parish Safe Environment Director to assign the training. Every parish has one; the office number is on your parish website. Say you have created your Virtus profile and need “Protecting God's Children” assigned. (Some parishes assign it automatically.)
  4. Sign in again. Your home page shows six boxes. Green means all good; red or pink means something to do. The top-left box, Current Training, holds your course.
  5. Take “Protecting God's Children” online. It takes about an hour. You can stop and come back.
  6. The Background Checks box will ask you to approve a background check. Approve it; the parish runs it. It takes a few days.
  7. When the Compliance Summary box says Compliant, press Details, then Print my Certificates, and save the PDF. Then put it on file with the parish (the three steps above).

Renewing

The training is renewed every year and the background check every two years; the roster tracks both dates. Virtus emails you (“Safe Environment Renewal”) about a month before it lapses: sign in, take the short renewal course, then upload the new certificate from your profile. The parish's roster shows you as “lapses soon” sixty days ahead, so you will hear from an officer too.

Knights and the Diocese: how it fits together

The Knights of Columbus are what the Diocese calls a Non-Parish-Based Organization. The Diocese does not clear Knights as a group; each Knight is cleared through his own parish, and the parish keeps proof of that clearance on file. That is why we ask you to upload your certificate rather than asking the parish for it. The Dallas Diocese Chapter also runs periodic virtual certification sessions and keeps a Safe Environment page with the registration portal and frequently asked questions.

If your parish cannot place you (you are not registered at one, or its program does not take Knights), the Dallas Diocese Chapter (DDC) is your provider instead: it assigns the training, runs the background check and tracks both renewal dates. Ask an officer and he will put you in touch with the DDC Safe Environment director.

Supreme's own program is separate and much narrower. The Knights of Columbus Safe Environment Program (training through Praesidium, renewed every three years) applies only to a council's Grand Knight and its Program, Community and Family directors. The roster shows it only for those offices; it is not a requirement for every Knight.

Dallas Diocese Chapter: Safe Environment Program

Common questions

I lost my Virtus password.
On the Virtus sign-in page press I NEED LOGIN HELP, or “Need login information?” under the password box. Your User ID is usually your email address.
I have a Virtus account with another diocese.
Virtus accounts are per diocese. Create a new one for the Diocese of Dallas; the parish director can tell you if your other training transfers.
I took the class in person years ago.
It must be renewed yearly, so you need the current online course. Start at “Never done the training?” above.
I don't use computers much.
Ask an officer. We will sit with you at the hall, or an officer can upload the certificate for you if you bring a copy.
Who sees my certificate?
Only you and the officers. It is kept until it lapses and is replaced, and it is never shared with the directory.

Open my profile Ask an officer