The OSPRA 104 form is the written authorization that lets the New York City Department of Education forward your criminal history background check results to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) for teacher certification or school employment clearance. You complete it, sign it, and upload it through the NYC DOE’s HR Connect Web Portal at doehrconnect.custhelp.com — not by mailing it to NYSED’s Albany office.1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information The whole point of the form is to spare you a second round of fingerprinting when the city already has your prints on file.
Who the Form Is For
The OSPRA 104 is meant for people who were fingerprinted after July 1, 1990, for a license or employment with the New York City Board of Education (now NYC Public Schools) and who now need NYSED to see those background check results.1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information Two situations usually drive it:
- You’re applying for a NYSED credential — a teaching certificate, administrator certificate, or teaching assistant certificate — and NYSED needs your fingerprint results to process it.
- You’re leaving a NYC public school for a position in another New York school district or a charter school, and your new employer needs state-level clearance based on prints the city already holds.
The city and state fingerprint systems run separately. Even after you’ve cleared the city’s vetting, NYSED has no record of it until the DOE formally transfers the information, so without this form the state and your prospective employer will see no clearance on file.
One boundary to know up front: the form only works if your fingerprints are still active in the NYC DOE’s system. If they were purged, or if you never actually completed city fingerprinting, the OSPRA 104 cannot help you and you’ll need to be fingerprinted fresh. More on that below.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Pull these together before you open the PDF:
- An active fingerprint record in the NYC DOE system.
- A TEACH account at the NY.gov TEACH portal. If you already have one, log in with your existing credentials rather than creating a second account.
- Your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, home address, phone number, and email address — all matching what’s in your TEACH profile and what the NYC DOE has on file.
- An HR Connect Web Portal account, since that is where you upload the completed form.
If you’re seeking clearance for employment rather than certification alone, your prospective employer has to submit a separate clearance request through TEACH. The OSPRA 104 on its own will not trigger an employment clearance.1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information Coordinate with the hiring school so both pieces move at once.
Filling Out the Form
Download the current PDF from NYSED’s fingerprinting forms page.2New York State Education Department. Fingerprinting Forms The form has four numbered sections, and you only complete the first three. Section 4 is just the submission instructions.
Section 1: Candidate Information
Enter your full legal name (last, first, middle), gender, home address with city, state, and zip code, Social Security number, phone number with area code, email address, and date of birth.1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information Every field has to match your TEACH profile and the DOE’s records exactly. A middle initial where the DOE has a full middle name, or a married surname where the DOE still has a maiden name, can be enough to break the automated match and bounce your request.
Section 2: Applicant Signature
Sign and date. Your signature is what authorizes the NYC DOE to release your records.
Section 3: Authorization Acknowledgments
By signing you’re agreeing to three things:1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information
- You authorize the NYC DOE to forward your criminal history records from both the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the FBI to NYSED, including any future DCJS notifications.
- You understand that if DCJS no longer has your fingerprints on file, you’ll need to be fingerprinted again to satisfy Chapter 180 of the Laws of 2000.
- You understand that if you’re seeking employment clearance, your prospective employer must submit a clearance request in TEACH before NYSED will issue one.
Read the second point carefully. If you’re not sure your prints are still active, confirm with the NYC DOE’s fingerprinting unit before you submit, because the form cannot pull records that no longer exist.
Submitting Through HR Connect
The completed form goes to the NYC DOE’s Division of Human Capital through the HR Connect Web Portal at doehrconnect.custhelp.com.1New York State Education Department. OSPRA 104 – Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information Once you’re logged in:
- Click “Upload Documents” at the top of the screen.
- Fill in the required fields on the Upload Document page.
- Choose the appropriate category from the Category dropdown.
- Type “OSPRA 104 form” in the Subject field and add anything else useful in Notes.
- Click “Choose File,” attach the completed form, and click “Submit.”
Save a copy of the form for yourself and screenshot the confirmation page. HR Connect is the only submission channel. Sending the form directly to OSPRA in Albany will not get it processed.
How Long It Takes and How to Check Status
Processing time depends on who you ask. Queens College’s guidance says OSPRA 104 requests are generally handled within 15 business days.3Queens College. OSPRA 104 Information Other educator preparation programs report seven to ten days. Expect the longer end of the window during late spring and summer hiring season.
Track the result in TEACH. Log in, click “Account Information,” then “Fingerprinting,” and click “Go.” The page will show either that your fingerprints have been received by New York State or that they aren’t on file. When the DOE successfully transfers your records, this section updates to reflect your clearance.
If three weeks or more have passed and TEACH still shows no fingerprints on file, go back to HR Connect first to confirm they received and processed your upload. If HR Connect confirms it’s done on their side, then follow up with OSPRA.
If Your Fingerprints Aren’t on File
If TEACH shows nothing and the NYC DOE confirms your records were purged or never completed, the OSPRA 104 isn’t the right tool. You have two paths:
- Get fingerprinted through the NYC DOE. Schedule an appointment with the DOE’s vendor, IdentoGO, using the NYC DOE service code. Once those prints are on file, you can then submit the OSPRA 104 to forward them to NYSED.
- Get fingerprinted directly through NYSED. If you’re not going through the NYC system at all, use IdentoGO with the NYSED service code. The total fingerprinting fee through NYSED is $104.50, covering both the state and FBI background checks. This route sends the results straight to NYSED, so no OSPRA 104 is needed.4New York State Education Department. Fingerprint Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The OSPRA 104 exists so you don’t pay that fee twice when the DOE already has your prints. Once the city’s records are gone, there’s no shortcut around re-fingerprinting.
Where to Turn If Something Stalls
For status questions after the DOE has processed your form, or general fingerprinting questions, contact OSPRA directly:5New York State Education Department. Contact Us
- Address: Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 981-EBA, Albany, NY 12234
- Phone: (518) 473-2998
- Fax: (518) 402-5940
- Email: OSPRA@nysed.gov
Remember the split: the initial processing of your OSPRA 104 happens at the NYC DOE, and the clearance determination happens at OSPRA. If the form seems stuck, start with HR Connect before you call Albany.