Is the President’s Volunteer Service Award still available?

Updated October 21, 2026 · Laurelroll

What the pause means for you

• Hours you already served still count as service. The pause stopped the award, not your record. Keep your log and any signed forms.
• A school or club that was a certifying organization cannot issue the PVSA now. It can still recognize volunteers in its own name.
• Be careful with sites that look official. Only the government site can say whether the PVSA is back. Paid programs that use the same hour levels are run by private groups.

The hour levels the PVSA used

Hours were counted over 12 months, by age group. Many schools still use these levels as a target.

What you can do instead

1. Ask your school or district. Many have their own service recognition, such as a cord, a transcript note or a school award. That counts for more locally than any outside award.
2. Ask the organization you served with for a letter or certificate on its letterhead, signed by your supervisor.
3. Private replacement awards use the same levels. Some charge per award (we saw $15 to $40 per award package in October 2026). Others are free only to members or to schools on their platform. Read who runs the program before you pay.
4. The Laurelroll Service Honor is free and uses the same levels. Every hour behind it is confirmed by a supervisor through a private link, and anyone can check it on a verify page. It is our own recognition: not the PVSA, and not a government award.

If you run a former certifying organization

You can still recognize your whole roster at once. Paste a list of names and hours, and each volunteer gets a level or a certificate of service, plus a verify page. See Still certifying volunteers after the PVSA pause.