Fingerprinting for a background check usually costs between $20 and $100. The total depends on three things: the rolling fee your provider charges to capture the prints, the government processing fees added by the FBI and any state agency involved, and the method you choose. A simple ink card at a police department sits at the low end; a Live Scan submission that runs both a state and federal check sits at the top.
What Makes Up the Total
The price at checkout is a stack, not a single number. Knowing the pieces helps you compare providers honestly.
- Rolling fee. This is what the provider charges to take your prints, whether by ink or digitally. It generally falls between $10 and $50 and goes to a police department, private vendor, or Post Office.
- Government processing fees. If your prints are submitted for a state or federal background check, those agencies charge their own fees on top. The FBI charges $12 for a standard fingerprint-based submission for noncriminal justice purposes as of January 1, 2025, down from $13.25. State fees vary and commonly run $20 to $40.1Federal Register. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division User Fee Schedule
- Method. Ink cards are cheaper than Live Scan. Mobile service, where a technician comes to you, adds a travel surcharge.
- Purpose. Fingerprinting for volunteers working with children, the elderly, or people with disabilities qualifies for a reduced FBI fee of $10.2Federal Register. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division User Fee Schedule
Cost by Method
Ink Card Fingerprinting
Traditional ink fingerprinting rolls each finger on an ink pad and presses it onto an FBI FD-258 card. It’s the cheapest option and still accepted for FBI Identity History Summary Checks. Rolling fees at a police department or sheriff’s office are usually $10 to $25 for the first card, though private vendors sometimes charge more. You then mail the card to the FBI or the requesting agency yourself, so add postage and a longer wait to the ledger.
Live Scan Digital Fingerprinting
Live Scan captures your prints electronically and sends them straight to the requesting agency, cutting the mail step out. Convenience shows up in the price. Rolling fees at a private Live Scan provider generally run $20 to $50, and government processing fees stack on top. When both a state agency and the FBI need to run checks, totals often land between $50 and $100. Prices vary by provider and region, so a quick call ahead confirms what you’ll actually pay.
U.S. Post Office Fingerprinting
Select Post Office locations offer digital fingerprinting for FBI Identity History Summary Checks, firearm-related programs, and a handful of other federal purposes. The USPS fee is $50 per person.3United States Postal Service. Register for Fingerprinting at the United States Postal Service Not every location participates, so verify that a nearby Post Office offers the service before you go.4United States Postal Service. Register for Fingerprinting at the United States Postal Service
Mobile Fingerprinting
Mobile technicians travel to your home or office. That’s useful for people with limited mobility or employers fingerprinting a group on-site, but it costs more. On top of the rolling fee, most mobile providers charge mileage, often following the federal GSA rate of roughly $0.70 per mile. Some add lodging fees for distant appointments. For a single person, mobile service can easily double what you’d pay walking into a provider’s office.
The FBI Fee, in Detail
Almost every fingerprint-based background check touches the FBI, so its fee affects most people getting printed. The $12 standard rate applies to noncriminal justice submissions as of January 2025, and the reduced $10 rate applies to qualifying volunteer submissions.1Federal Register. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division User Fee Schedule2Federal Register. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division User Fee Schedule
If you’re using a Live Scan provider, the FBI fee is usually bundled into your total at the counter. If you’re mailing ink cards directly to the FBI for a personal Identity History Summary Check, you pay the $12 separately. State processing fees are set by each state’s criminal justice agency and get added on when both a state and federal check are required.
Who Pays When It’s for a Job
Whether your employer or you pays depends almost entirely on state law. No federal statute explicitly bars employers from passing background check costs to applicants. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs how these checks are run but says nothing about who pays. The Fair Labor Standards Act adds one guardrail: once you’re an employee, an employer cannot deduct background check costs in a way that drops your pay below minimum wage for that workweek.
Several states go further and prohibit employers from charging applicants for fingerprinting or background checks at all. If your employer is asking you to pay, check your state’s labor laws before you swipe a card. Many employers in regulated fields like healthcare and education absorb the cost as a hiring expense, but that’s company policy, not a universal rule.
Rejected Prints and the Cost of a Redo
Fingerprint rejections happen more often than people expect, usually because print quality is too poor for the automated system to read. People who work with their hands, older adults with worn ridges, and anyone with dry or scarred skin are especially prone. A rejection means being reprinted and resubmitted, and most providers charge another rolling fee for the second try.
The FBI recommends having multiple sets of prints taken by an experienced technician, ideally at a law enforcement agency, and mailing all the cards together with your request.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions If your prints are rejected twice for image quality, the FBI allows a name-based check as a fallback. Moisturizing your hands for a few days before your appointment, and avoiding anything that dries out or damages your fingertips, cuts the odds of paying twice.
If It’s for an Immigration Application
Fingerprinting for USCIS works differently and doesn’t fit the private-provider price ranges above. USCIS collects prints at an Application Support Center during a biometrics appointment it schedules for you after you file.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment USCIS eliminated the separate $85 biometric services fee for most filings in 2024 and folded those costs into the underlying application fee. Two exceptions still carry a separate $30 biometric fee: filings handled on behalf of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and Temporary Protected Status applications.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule