How to Get a Fingerprint Clearance Card: Apply, Fees, and Renewal

To get a fingerprint clearance card, you submit your fingerprints for a criminal background check through your state’s issuing agency or, for federal purposes, directly through the FBI. The process has three parts: gather your identifying documents, have your prints captured at an authorized live scan vendor, law enforcement office, or participating Post Office, and pay the processing fees. Federal fees start at $18, and total out-of-pocket costs usually land between $50 and $100 once you add the fingerprinting service and any state charges. Electronic submissions come back in a few days; ink cards mailed in take two to four weeks.

Who Actually Needs One

A fingerprint clearance card confirms you’ve passed a background check tied to your actual prints rather than just your name. Name-based searches miss records filed under aliases and produce false hits for people with common names, so fingerprint-based checks are the standard for positions where a mistake carries real consequences.

Teachers, childcare workers, foster parents, home health aides, and nursing facility employees are almost universally fingerprinted before starting work. Many states also require clearance for school bus drivers, coaches, and volunteers who work with children regularly. The same is true in law enforcement, corrections, financial services, and any role tied to a security clearance. Some states issue a physical card you carry; others simply run the check and report the result to your employer or licensing board. The underlying process is the same either way.

What to Have Ready Before You Go

Pull your paperwork together before scheduling a fingerprinting appointment so the process doesn’t stall. At a minimum you need your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number. The FBI requires that your Social Security number appear on the fingerprint card if you want it included on your response letter.¹ Bring a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, U.S. passport, passport card, or uniformed services ID.

If your check is being run through an employer or licensing board, ask them for the specific agency code or Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) that must appear on your fingerprint card. Without the correct ORI, the FBI will reject the submission. The “Reason Fingerprinted” field also has to be filled in with both your position and the authorizing statute. For non-law-enforcement applicants, that means citing the specific state statute that requires your background check.²

Be prepared to disclose past criminal history, including arrests that didn’t result in conviction, dismissed charges, and expunged records. Expunged records can still appear in the FBI database because the FBI relies on contributing agencies to send updates and not every jurisdiction does so promptly. Disclose up front rather than get flagged later.

Where to Get Fingerprinted

You have three main options for having your prints captured, and the one you pick affects both your cost and how fast your results come back.

Live Scan

Live scan is the fastest option. A technician places your fingers on a glass scanner that digitizes each print and transmits it electronically. Image quality is generally higher than ink, which cuts down on rejections. Private fingerprinting vendors, many police departments, and some state agency offices offer live scan. Your employer or licensing board can usually point you toward an approved provider.

Ink and Paper on an FD-258 Card

If live scan isn’t available, your prints can be taken with traditional ink on an FD-258 card at local law enforcement agencies and some printing companies. One practical move: have multiple sets taken at the same appointment. If one card gets rejected for image quality, you’ll have a backup ready and won’t need to schedule another visit.¹

U.S. Post Office Locations

Certain Post Office locations offer digital fingerprinting specifically for the FBI’s Identity History Summary Check program. The service costs $50 per person, and you have to bring the confirmation email from your FBI electronic request plus a valid ID. Not every Post Office participates, so confirm availability before you go.³

Getting Prints That Won’t Be Rejected

Rejected fingerprints are one of the most common delays in the clearance process, and the problem gets worse with age. Years of manual labor, some medical conditions, and naturally light ridge patterns can all produce prints scanners can’t read. If your prints are rejected, you’ll be re-fingerprinted, pay processing fees again, and restart the background check timeline.

To improve your odds on the first try:

Apply lotion to your hands a few hours before the appointment, but not right before, since fresh lotion causes smudging.
Drink plenty of water the day of your appointment. Dehydrated skin produces faint prints.
Skip abrasive soap right before the session.
If you work with your hands, try to schedule the appointment after a day or two off so any cuts and abrasions can heal.
Tell the technician if you know your prints tend to be faint. Experienced operators adjust their technique for difficult prints.

If your fingerprints are rejected twice for image quality, the FBI allows a name-based check as a substitute. The request has to be submitted within 90 days of the second rejection.⁴ It’s a useful fallback for people whose prints simply won’t scan cleanly no matter how well they prep.

Submitting Your Application and Paying the Fees

How you submit depends on whether you’re going through a state agency or directly through the FBI. Many state agencies accept applications through online portals, by mail, or in person. The FBI’s Identity History Summary Check can be submitted electronically through its website or by mailing a completed fingerprint card.¹

The FBI charges $18 for an Identity History Summary Check. Additional sealed copies sent to different addresses cost another $18 each. The FBI does not accept personal checks, business checks, or cash. If you can’t afford the fee, you can request a waiver by contacting the FBI before submitting your application.¹

State processing fees are separate and vary widely. On top of the background check fee, you’ll pay the fingerprinting vendor for the capture itself. Private live scan vendors typically charge $20 to $50, while Post Office locations charge $50. Add up the capture fee, any state check fee, and the federal fee, and most applicants pay $50 to $100 total. Some employers reimburse these costs, so ask before you pay out of pocket.

How Long Results Take

Electronic submissions are much faster than paper. Live scan results from state-level checks often come back within one to seven days, with many returning in 24 to 72 hours when nothing complicates them. FBI results for electronic submissions typically arrive in three to five days. Ink cards sent by mail take two to four weeks because of mailing time and manual processing on the receiving end.

For electronic FBI submissions, you can opt in to receive status notifications by email during the request process.¹ State agencies usually provide a confirmation receipt or transaction control number for checking status online. Don’t assume silence means everything is fine. Agencies sometimes need additional information and won’t move forward until they get it.

Whether a Past Record Disqualifies You

Not every criminal record disqualifies you. What matters is the type of offense, how long ago it happened, and the specific requirements of your state and the position you’re seeking. Across most jurisdictions, the offenses that reliably trigger disqualification include violent felonies, sex offenses, crimes against children, and serious drug offenses. Fraud and embezzlement are particularly problematic for banking and fiduciary roles.

How far back the check reaches depends on state law. Many states limit reporting of non-conviction records and older convictions to seven years, though convictions for serious offenses can be reported indefinitely. Federal checks through the FBI have no built-in time limit and will return your complete criminal history on file regardless of age.

Some states also distinguish between categories of clearance: a position working directly with children may have a stricter list of disqualifying offenses than a role in financial services. If you have a record and aren’t sure whether it disqualifies you, contact your state’s issuing agency before paying for the application. Many publish lists of precluding offenses or offer pre-screening so you can gauge eligibility without spending money.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

Mistakes in criminal records are more common than most people realize. Dismissed arrests, mistaken identity, and expungements that never reached the FBI’s database can all produce inaccurate results. If your clearance is denied based on wrong information, you have the right to challenge the record.

Under federal regulations, you can contest your FBI record by applying directly to the agency that originally submitted the disputed information, or by sending your challenge to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The FBI will forward the challenge to the contributing agency and request verification or correction. Once the originating agency confirms the error, the FBI updates its records.⁵

The catch: the FBI is a passive repository. It stores what other agencies send and doesn’t independently investigate. If a state or local agency submitted bad data, the FBI won’t correct the record until that agency fixes its own files first. For expungements, the court order has to reach the state bureau, which then notifies the FBI. If your state hasn’t forwarded the update, you may need to contact the state identification bureau directly to get it moving.

Challenging a record is free, and the FBI processes challenges in the order received, with an average turnaround of about 45 days. Include copies of any supporting documentation, such as court orders, disposition records, or expungement paperwork. Questions about expunging state-level records should go to the state identification bureau where the offense occurred, since expungement laws vary significantly by jurisdiction.¹

Renewal and Expiration

Fingerprint clearance cards don’t last forever. Validity periods are set by each state’s issuing agency, with common terms ranging from four to six years. Some states let you renew using the fingerprints already on file; others require a completely new set of prints and treat renewal as a fresh application. Check with your state’s issuing agency well before your card expires. Most have a window in which renewal is allowed, and processing delays can leave you without valid clearance.

If your card expires before you renew, you’ll usually need to start over with a new application, new fingerprints, and full fees. For anyone in a position that requires continuous clearance, setting a calendar reminder six months before expiration is cheap insurance against a gap in your credentials.

1
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Guidelines for Preparation of Fingerprint Cards and Associated Criminal History Information
3
United States Postal Service. Register for Fingerprinting at the United States Postal Service
4
Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI Name Checks for Fingerprint Submissions Rejected Twice
5
eCFR. 28 CFR 16.34