CastleBranch at Liberty: your compliance record for practicum
CastleBranch is the vendor Liberty's School of Nursing uses for background checks and practicum compliance records. The 2022-23 MSN handbook calls it the "Practicum Compliance Database," and the current catalog tells Fast Track DNP students to "maintain compliance in CastleBranch." Liberty won't move you into practicum until you're fully compliant, and for many students this is where that record lives.
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What CastleBranch does for Liberty nursing students
CastleBranch holds the paperwork showing you're safe to place: background check, drug screen, license, CPR card and immunization records. Liberty's sources label it several ways, including "CastleBranch/Complio" on the residential fee table and "Castle Branch, Inc. (Certified Background)" in the 2022-23 RN-BSN handbook. All three names refer to the same vendor.
It is separate from InPlace, which tracks placements, logs and evaluations. The short version: CastleBranch shows you're cleared, and InPlace records what you do once you're placed. The InPlace page covers the logging side.
CastleBranch also runs order pages titled for Liberty's DNP and MSN nursing programs. They sit behind the vendor's portal, so the package contents for graduate students can't be seen publicly.
What each track sends to CastleBranch
Liberty's public sources describe CastleBranch use differently by track, and some are older than others. This table sets out what each one says and how current it is.
| Track | What Liberty says | Source and age |
|---|---|---|
| MSN (all concentrations) | License, CPR, immunizations, forms, preceptor agreements and the preceptor's CV go to CastleBranch; background check and 10-panel drug screen run through it | MSN Student Handbook, 2022-23 |
| Post-master's DNP, Fast Track | Students must maintain compliance in CastleBranch | Graduate Catalog, 2026-27 |
| FNP, PMHNP DNPs, PMHNP certificate | Background check, drug screen and an Immunization/Physical Exam Form required; a CastleBranch order page for Liberty's DNP exists | Graduate Catalog 2026-27; vendor page seen only in search results |
| RN-to-BSN | Background check and RN license verification in the first nursing course, through Castle Branch (Certified Background) | RN-BSN handbook 2022-23; current program page |
If you're in an NP track, the catalog confirms what you must provide but not where each item is uploaded. Your Gate course instructions settle that question.
The MSN upload list from the 2022-23 handbook
The most detailed public list is the MSN pre-practicum packet in the 2022-23 handbook. It's dated, so use it as a preview of the kind of items Liberty asks for, not as your checklist.
- Current RN license
- American Heart Association CPR card
- Release of Information Form
- Statement of Essential Attributes Form
- Proof of immunizations: Hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, tetanus, TB and influenza
- OSHA bloodborne pathogens sign-off
- Preceptor Verification and Agreement Forms, showing the preceptor's work contact details
- The preceptor's CV, with license numbers, education and employment history
Two items went elsewhere: the HIPAA form was handled in the pre-practicum course, and a Hepatitis B Vaccine Declination Form went to the practicum coordinator. The current MSN handbook is inside Canvas, and the MSN Gate course, NURS 527, is where today's requirements are collected.
Background check and drug screen
For NP students, Liberty's program pages say the steps after acceptance include "the purchase of a standardized background check and submission of immunization records." The 2026-27 catalog lists a background check and drug screen on every DNP admission pathway.
For MSN students, the catalog requires a criminal background check and a 10-panel drug screen before any practicum course. The 2022-23 handbook adds that both ran through CastleBranch at the student's own expense and were "good for one year."
Flagged results didn't automatically end a practicum under that handbook, but they paused it. Background findings went to the MSN Nursing Review Committee, drug screen results also went to a Medical Review Officer, and practicum placement was put on hold. If you think something may appear on your report, raise it with the practicum team before a site sees it.
A background check or drug screen done at admission may pass the handbook's one-year limit before your later practicum courses start.
Staying compliant, not just getting compliant
Liberty's DNP page says students must "become fully compliant" before moving forward with practicum, and Fast Track DNP students must maintain compliance. Several items expire, so a record that was complete at admission can lapse by your second or third practicum course.
Under the 2022-23 handbook, the influenza vaccine had to be within the past 12 months, and the background check and drug screen lasted a year. Your BLS card carries its own expiration date. Put each date in a calendar against your practicum terms and renew before it passes, not after a site or the practicum team notices.
Sites can add their own requirements on top of Liberty's, and Liberty says it is "unable to control additional onboarding requirements or fees charged by a practicum facility." A site's extras may go into the site's own system rather than CastleBranch. The clinical clearance checklist lists everything together.
What Liberty hasn't published about CastleBranch
Several practical details aren't public. The CastleBranch package contents and costs for graduate students sit behind the vendor's portal. The current DNP, MSN and RN-BSN handbooks are Canvas course items that need your Liberty login. Anything on this page drawn from the 2022-23 handbooks may have changed since, and where the Canvas version differs, the Canvas version is the one that counts.
When you need a firm answer, go to three places in this order: your Gate course in Canvas; the practicum team at APRN.DNPPracticum@liberty.edu if you're an NP or DNP student; and your program inbox, such as LUSONMSN@liberty.edu. The Gate course is where "Candidates will submit practicum requirements," in the catalog's words, so its instructions outrank anything on an outside website, this one included.
Why students choose us for the preceptor side
CastleBranch is yours to complete. Nobody else can order your background check or upload your immunization records. Where we come in is the preceptor side of the file: the preceptor agreement and the preceptor's CV have to come from a real, willing clinician, and that depends on finding one first.
We search for a preceptor and site that fit your Liberty track and help you collect the CV, license details and site information in the shape the practicum team asks for. Liberty's practicum team reviews and approves every preceptor and site, and what we hand you is built for that review. If a preceptor pulls out after their documents are filed, we start on a replacement while you update the record. To begin, use the form below or read how our service works.
Questions Liberty students ask
Is CastleBranch the same as Complio?
At Liberty, yes in practice. The residential BSN fee table lists the item as "CastleBranch/Complio," and the 2022-23 RN-BSN handbook names Castle Branch, Inc. (Certified Background). These are labels Liberty has used for the same compliance and background-check vendor. Online graduate students will usually see plain CastleBranch in Liberty's materials, as in the catalog's Fast Track DNP wording.
Can I use a background check my employer already ran?
Nothing public from Liberty says an employer's check can stand in. Liberty's NP program pages describe purchasing a standardized background check after acceptance, and the 2022-23 MSN handbook ran it through CastleBranch. Assume you'll need Liberty's own check unless the practicum team or your Gate course tells you otherwise in writing.
Who pays for CastleBranch?
Students do. The MSN catalog says students are responsible to assume all practicum costs, and the 2022-23 handbook had MSN students pay for the background check and drug screen themselves. The RN-to-BSN program page notes an extra fee for its check. The current figures appear in your CastleBranch order and course materials.
What happens if something shows up on my background check?
Under the 2022-23 MSN handbook, flagged results went to the MSN Nursing Review Committee and placement was put on hold while it was reviewed. Liberty hasn't published the current process for NP or DNP students. Contact the practicum team early and be open about it, because a site may run its own check as well.
Do I upload my preceptor's documents to CastleBranch?
In the 2022-23 MSN handbook, yes: the Preceptor Verification and Agreement Forms and the preceptor's CV went into CastleBranch with your own records. The current process for FNP and PMHNP students isn't public. Follow your Gate course, which may route preceptor documents differently, and see the preceptor site contract page for the agreement itself.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
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