Obtaining a fingerprint check from the FBI can take up to 12 weeks.
Fingerprinting enables law enforcement to accurately identify a criminal. Before fingerprinting, criminals faced branding, tattooing or other maiming to identify them. For employers, fingerprinting is insurance that a prospective employee has a clean background. This is especially important if the employee will be working with children, the elderly or in positions of trust where finances or other sensitive information is involved.
Instructions
1. Call your state identification bureau and determine if you need to go through them, another state agency or can contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations directly for a fingerprint check.
2. Complete an authorized applicant form, available by calling the FBI or by downloading the form from the FBI website. Complete it and mail it in.
3. Obtain a set of fingerprints. This can usually be done for a fee by sending the employee to the local police station or sheriff's office. Call first to see if there is an ideal time of day for this procedure. You can do this yourself, but make sure the prints are rolled and legible. Check the FBI website for examples.
4. Send the applicant form and the original fingerprint card with the name and date of birth of the person fingerprinted on the card to the FBI Criminal Justice Information Service Division. Law enforcement commonly uses a standard fingerprint form, FD-258, for the fingerprints.
5. Enclose a cashiers check or money order for $18, payable to the Treasury of the United States, with the form and fingerprint card. You can also pay by credit card, but must enclose a printed copy of the Credit Card Payment Form, available on the FBI website. If you are making multiple requests or if the request is for a couple or family, you must enclose $18 per person.
6. Wait up to 12 weeks for the FBI to process your request.
