To find out whether the FBI has a file on you, submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act for any investigative records, and separately order an Identity History Summary Check if you want your fingerprint-based criminal history. Both are open to ordinary people, and having a record with the FBI doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. Your name may simply have surfaced in the course of the Bureau’s work.
The Two Kinds of Records the FBI May Have
Before filing anything, know which record you actually want. The FBI keeps two very different kinds, and each has its own request channel.
The first is an investigative or intelligence file. These are compiled when someone is a subject of investigation, a witness, a victim, or just a person whose name came up in connection with people or groups of federal interest. Public figures, activists, and people connected to individuals under investigation sometimes have files without ever knowing it. Access to these records runs through the Freedom of Information Act or the Privacy Act.
The second is your Identity History Summary, commonly called a rap sheet. It’s a fingerprint-based record of past fingerprint submissions tied to arrests, federal employment, naturalization, or military service.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions If you’ve been fingerprinted for a background check or booked after an arrest, you probably have one. The FBI provides it for your personal review only; it cannot be used for employment or licensing purposes.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Review
If you’re trying to learn whether the FBI has investigated or collected information about you, you want the first process. If you want to see your criminal history record, you want the second.
Requesting Your Investigative File
Two statutes give you the right to ask. FOIA is open to anyone. The Privacy Act is limited to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents seeking their own records.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting FBI Records Most people asking about themselves file under both at once, and the FBI’s system accommodates that.
Filing Online
The fastest route is the FBI’s eFOIPA portal at efoia.fbi.gov. It handles Privacy Act requests for your own records and FOIA requests about other people, organizations, or events. Responses usually come back electronically, though some may still arrive by mail.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting FBI Records
Filing by Mail
A letter works too. Give the FBI enough identifying information to find records connected to you:
- Full name and any aliases
- Date and place of birth
- Social Security number
- Former addresses
Sign the letter and either have it notarized or include a sworn statement under penalty of perjury confirming your identity. The FBI recommends Department of Justice Certification of Identity Form DOJ-361. A false statement on that form is a federal crime carrying up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting FBI Records
Send it to:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Attn: Initial Processing Operations Unit
Record/Information Dissemination Section
200 Constitution Drive
Winchester, VA 226024Federal Bureau of Investigation. Contact the Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
What It Costs
For most people, nothing. Individual requesters who aren’t seeking records for commercial use get the first two hours of search time and the first 100 pages of duplication free.5The U.S. National Archives (Office of Government Information Services). FOIA Terms of Art: Fee Requester Categories and Fee Waivers If your file is large enough to run over that, the FBI notifies you before charging. You can also ask for a fee waiver where disclosure would significantly contribute to public understanding of government operations and isn’t primarily for commercial benefit.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
How Long It Takes
The FBI acknowledges the request and assigns a tracking number. After that, timing varies widely. Simple requests with few records can wrap up in weeks. Complex ones involving voluminous files, consultations with other agencies, or national security material can take many months or longer. Requests are processed first-in, first-out. Expedited processing is available only in narrow circumstances involving an urgent threat to life or safety, or a matter of widespread public interest with an urgent need to inform the public.
What Your Response Will Look Like
You’ll get one of two things back: a letter stating no records were found, or the released records themselves. A “no records” letter doesn’t necessarily mean the FBI never had anything about you. Records may have been destroyed under retention schedules, or they may exist but be entirely exempt from disclosure.
Released records almost always arrive with black-outs. Federal law requires agencies to withhold certain categories of information, and FOIA lists nine exemptions that permit redaction.7FOIA.gov. Frequently Asked Questions The ones you’re most likely to see in an FBI file:
- Exemption 1, classified national security information.
- Exemption 3, information another federal law prohibits from release.
- Exemption 6, personal privacy information about other people mentioned in your file.
- Exemption 7, law enforcement information, which is the workhorse for FBI files. It covers material that could interfere with ongoing investigations, reveal confidential sources, expose investigative techniques, endanger someone’s safety, or invade another person’s privacy.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
Each redaction should be marked with the specific exemption number that justifies it. A “(b)(7)(C)” next to a blacked-out name, for example, means the FBI withheld that person’s name to protect their privacy under the law enforcement exemption.
If You’re Denied or You Think Too Much Was Withheld
If the FBI denies your request, withholds records you think should be released, or blacks out material you believe should be visible, you can file an administrative appeal. FOIA gives you at least 90 days from the date of the adverse decision to appeal.8Office of Information Policy. OIP Guidance: Adjudicating Administrative Appeals Under the FOIA The denial letter tells you where and how to file it. If the appeal is also denied, or if the FBI misses the statutory deadlines, you can sue in federal district court. A prevailing requester may recover attorney’s fees.
Ordering Your Identity History Summary
The rap sheet process is separate and requires your fingerprints, because the FBI’s criminal records are organized by print, not name.
You can submit electronically through the FBI and then have your prints taken at a participating U.S. Post Office location or an FBI-approved Channeler. Electronic submissions come back electronically, with an option for a mailed copy. You can also mail a completed fingerprint card. Local police departments, county sheriff’s offices, and some private fingerprinting companies can roll your prints, though they may charge their own fee. The FBI accepts the standard FD-258 card and other fingerprint cards on standard paper or card stock.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
The check costs $18 whether you go electronic or by mail. Personal checks, business checks, and cash are not accepted. If you can’t afford the fee, contact the FBI at (304) 625-5590 or identity@fbi.gov before submitting to ask about a fee waiver.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions Results come back faster than FOIA responses because the process is a fingerprint comparison rather than a document-by-document review. Mailed results go out by U.S. First-Class Mail.
Fixing Errors on Your Rap Sheet
If your Identity History Summary contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you can challenge it at no cost. Send the FBI a challenge identifying the specific entries you believe are wrong, with supporting documents such as court orders, dispositions, or expungement records. Average processing time for challenges is about 45 days.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Expungement works differently depending on where the arrest happened. For state arrests, contact the State Identification Bureau in the state where the offense occurred, because expungement laws vary by state. For federal arrests, the FBI removes data only when the original submitting agency requests it or when a federal court issues an order directing expungement.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The FBI’s Identity History team can be reached at identity@fbi.gov or (304) 625-5590.
A Note on Records About Someone Else
The Privacy Act only covers living individuals. For records about someone who has died, use FOIA and include proof of death: a death certificate, an obituary, a Social Security Death Index page, or similar documentation. A date of birth 100 or more years in the past satisfies the requirement on its own.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Requesting FBI Records Files on deceased people are often less heavily redacted, since personal privacy exemptions carry less weight after death, though information about living people in the file will still be blacked out, and national security or law enforcement exemptions still apply.