Finger Printing Services

Securing a criminal background check prior to employment, licensure, or certification provides a hiring or licensing authority an important resource, which aids in the evaluation of the applicant. These applicants are often candidates for positions that place them in a position of trust for some of California’s most vulnerable citizenry, elderly, and dependent adults and children. As such, it is vital for the hiring or licensing authority to be aware of specified active arrests or convictions. Entrusting applicants with the responsibility of the position prior to a criminal background check potentially jeopardizes the safety and integrity of the workplace and may leave some individuals exposed to unnecessary harm. Employment and licensing authorities may also face legal liability if applicants with specified active arrests or convictions are employed or licensed when statute prohibits such action based on the successful completion of a criminal background check.

• The background check process begins when an applicant agency provides an applicant with a BCIA 8016, REQUEST FOR LIVE SCAN SERVICE form. The applicant completes the form with his/her personal information and takes the form to a live scan operator where the applicant must provide the appropriate identification. In California, fingerprinting must be performed by a certified fingerprint roller.
• The live scan operator checks the applicant’s identification, inputs the applicant’s personal descriptor information, captures the applicant’s fingerprints electronically, and transmits the data to the DOJ. At the conclusion of the session, the applicant should be provided with an applicant transaction identifier (ATI) number, a number used to identify the transaction. The assignment of an ATI number, generated by the live scan device, does not necessarily mean the fingerprint images and personal information was submitted to the DOJ. 
• Once the transaction is received by the DOJ, the fingerprint images are used to automatically search against all other fingerprint images in the fingerprint database. If there are no fingerprints matching the applicant’s fingerprints, the transaction is generally processed electronically without technician intervention within 48 to 72 hours. If an applicant’s fingerprints match fingerprints in the database,that can take an indeterminate amount of time to process. The applicant agency automatically sent a delay notice response. 
• The response may be sent electronically or via hard copy mail, depending on how the applicant agency requested to receive their responses.

The Applicant Background Check Status provides the applicant with a view of the fingerprint background check status; this status is not an indication of the employment or licensing status. The review of an applicant’s criminal history is only one piece of an agency’s process in making a suitable determination. The Applicant Background Check Status is located at: https://applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov/. The ATI Number and Date of Birth are required to perform a search.

An applicant may otherwise request a status of their fingerprint background check only with the agency that requested their background check.