No, not everyone has an FBI number. The FBI assigns one only when a set of fingerprints reaches its Criminal Justice Information Services Division and gets processed into the national system. If your fingerprints have never been submitted for an arrest, a federal background check, military enlistment, an immigration application, or a licensed profession, you almost certainly do not have one. The number is more common than most people assume, though, because arrests are only one of several ways prints get into the system.
What an FBI Number Is
An FBI number is a unique identifier the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division attaches to a set of fingerprints. Each number links to one person’s biometric and biographical data in the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system, which replaced the older Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) in September 2014.1FBI.gov. NGI Officially Replaces IAFIS In current FBI systems it is formally called a Universal Control Number (UCN), though the older label still appears in everyday use and in some agency documents.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks (Law Enforcement Requests)
The number sits on the Interstate Identification Index along with your name, date of birth, sex, race, and any state identification numbers on file.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. 64 FR 52343 Think of it as a permanent file marker tying your fingerprints to whatever the FBI holds about you.
Who Actually Gets One
The trigger is always a fingerprint submission that reaches the FBI and gets processed. Being a U.S. citizen or resident is not enough. Having a Social Security number is not enough. Something has to put your prints in front of CJIS.
An arrest is the most familiar path. Even when charges are dropped or you are later acquitted, the fingerprinting itself creates the record and generates the number. But plenty of people who have never been arrested have one, because a lot of ordinary life events funnel prints into the same system:
- Federal employment applications and security clearance investigations
- Military enlistment, which routes prints through the Department of Defense
- Immigration and naturalization filings, including visas, green cards, and citizenship applications
- Professional licensing in regulated fields that require fingerprint-based background checks
The FBI’s own documentation confirms that fingerprint cards on file include submissions from the Office of Personnel Management, the military services, and other non-law-enforcement agencies.4United States Department of Justice Archives. U.S. Attorneys’ Manual Organization And Functions Manual 11 – FBI Cooperative And Information Services If you have ever gone through one of those processes, there is a good chance a UCN was assigned to you, even if you have never seen it.
People who typically do not have one include those who have never worked a fingerprint-required job, never served in the military, never applied for immigration benefits, never held a license that required a print-based check, and never been arrested. That is a large share of the general population, but not most working adults in regulated industries.
Criminal Files and Civil Files Are Not the Same
The FBI treats fingerprints differently depending on why they arrived. Arrest prints go into the criminal file. Prints submitted for employment, licensing, or immigration go into a separate civil file. Both can generate a UCN, but the access and handling rules differ.
Under IAFIS, most civil fingerprints were destroyed after processing. NGI changed that. Civil prints can now be retained when the submitting agency authorizes retention, and they are consolidated with biographical data into a single identity record that is searched against future criminal and civil submissions.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. NGI – Retention and Searching of Noncriminal Justice Fingerprint Submissions
Access is restricted. Criminal justice agencies get full access through their credentials. Non-criminal-justice agencies that submit civil prints get only limited access, usually enough biographical detail to confirm identity.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. NGI – Retention and Searching of Noncriminal Justice Fingerprint Submissions Having a UCN because you once applied for a federal job does not mean your employer or licensing board can see what a police officer would see.
How to Find Out Whether You Have One
You can check by requesting your own Identity History Summary, sometimes called a “rap sheet,” directly from the FBI.6Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions If you have a UCN, it will appear on the summary. If your fingerprints have never been submitted, the response will say no record exists.
The FBI charges $18 for the request.6Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions There are two ways to submit:
- Electronic submission through a participating U.S. Post Office. You start the request on the FBI’s website, then visit a participating location to have your fingerprints captured electronically. The Post Office charges an additional $50 for that service. Processing is faster because no paper card is mailed.
- Mail submission using a standard fingerprint card. You get printed at a local law enforcement agency or a private fingerprinting service, then mail the card to the CJIS Division. Local fingerprinting fees range from free to about $35. Turnaround is longer, and the FBI offers no expedited processing for either method.
The summary lists arrest submissions with the arresting agency, date, charges, and disposition when the FBI has it. It can also list entries tied to federal employment, naturalization, or military service. Dispositions are often missing because the FBI relies on courts and agencies to send outcomes, and many do not follow through.
How Long the Number Sticks Around
Essentially for life. Under retention schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration, the FBI destroys fingerprint records and their associated data when the subject reaches 110 years of age, or seven years after confirmed death. Automated criminal history information and NGI transaction logs are designated as permanent records.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. NGI – Retention and Searching of Noncriminal Justice Fingerprint Submissions Records come out earlier only if the agency that originally submitted the prints asks for removal, or a court orders expungement.
One point worth knowing if you find a UCN on your summary: correcting individual entries is not the same as removing the number itself. Federal regulations let you challenge inaccurate information through the FBI or directly with the agency that submitted it.7eCFR. 28 CFR 16.34 – Procedure to Obtain Change, Correction or Updating of Identification Records The UCN itself persists as long as the underlying fingerprint record exists in NGI.