FBI Identity History Summary: Fingerprints, Submission, and Fixes

You can request your FBI Identity History Summary by submitting a signed request form, a set of rolled fingerprints, and an $18 fee to the FBI’s CJIS Division. There are three ways to send it in: through the FBI’s electronic portal, by mail directly to CJIS, or through a private FBI-approved channeler that transmits fingerprints electronically for a higher fee. The record itself, sometimes called an FBI background check or “rap sheet,” lists every event where your fingerprints were submitted to the federal database, including arrests, federal employment, naturalization, and military service. If nothing is on file, you’ll receive a written “no record” response that many foreign governments and licensing bodies accept as proof of a clean federal history.

What You’ll Need Before You Start

Three things travel together in every request: the form, the fingerprints, and the payment.

The Identity History Summary Request Form is available for download on the FBI’s website. It asks for your full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship status, country of citizenship, the last four digits of your Social Security number, race, sex, and mailing address. Sign it before you send it. Providing the Social Security digits is technically voluntary, but leaving that field blank can affect how complete your results are.¹

The fee is $18. For mail-in submissions, the FBI accepts certified checks, money orders, and its Credit Card Payment Form. It does not accept personal checks, business checks, or cash. Personal or business checks sent with a request will be destroyed rather than returned, and a missing or incorrect payment stops the request from being processed.²

Getting a Fingerprint Card That Won’t Get Rejected

Federal regulations require “rolled-inked fingerprint impressions placed upon fingerprint cards or forms commonly utilized for applicant or law enforcement purposes.”³ The standard card is the FD-258. Most local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and private fingerprinting services can roll one for you, usually for $15 to $25.

The FBI only accepts originals. Photocopies are rejected. The three most common rejection reasons are low-quality images, duplicated finger images where the same finger was accidentally printed in two slots, and smudges or shadowing around the impressions.⁴ Ask for two cards during the same session. If one comes back unreadable, you won’t need a second trip.

If you submit electronically, you have the option to get fingerprinted at a participating U.S. Post Office instead of mailing a card. Additional Post Office fees may apply.²

Choosing How to Submit: Electronic, Mail, or Channeler

Electronic Submission

The FBI’s electronic portal lets you enter your personal data online and receive status notifications by email. After you complete the online portion, you still need to provide fingerprints, either at a participating Post Office or by mailing an FD-258 card. Results are delivered electronically, with an option to also receive a hard copy by First-Class Mail.²

Mail-In Submission

Send the signed request form, fingerprint card, and payment together to:

FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306¹

Use a shipping service with tracking. You’re sending original fingerprint cards and payment, and a lost package can’t be recovered. Results come back by postal mail.

FBI-Approved Channeler

Channelers are private companies the FBI has authorized to collect and forward fingerprint submissions on its behalf. They transmit everything electronically to CJIS, receive the results, and pass them along to you. That’s usually faster than mailing directly to the FBI. The tradeoff is cost: channelers charge their own service fee on top of the $18 federal fee, and the added charge varies by company. A current list is on the FBI’s website.⁵ If you’re working against a visa or employer deadline, a channeler is often worth the extra expense.

The FBI processes requests in the order received and does not offer expedited processing regardless of which method you choose. Electronic requests move faster than mail-in, but the FBI does not publish a guaranteed turnaround for either.²

When Your Report Arrives

Check the name, date of birth, and identifying details first. Whatever you typed on the request form is what appears on the result, so a typo carries through to the final document. For any official use, even a minor mismatch with your passport or visa paperwork can cause problems.

Entries are listed chronologically. Each one shows the contributing agency, the date, and the charge or reason for the fingerprint submission. Charges are recorded with numerical NCIC (National Crime Information Center) codes alongside a short text description. Some entries relate to federal employment, naturalization, or military service rather than criminal matters.

The disposition column is where most people get confused. Many arrest entries show no disposition at all, which means the FBI was never told how the case ended. An arrest without a disposition can read worse than the actual outcome, because there’s no record showing the charges were dropped, dismissed, or resulted in an acquittal. Missing dispositions are one of the strongest reasons to file a challenge.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

You have the legal right to challenge any entry you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.⁶ There is no fee for a challenge.² Identify which entry is wrong and include copies of supporting documentation, such as court records showing a dismissal or acquittal.

You can direct a challenge either to the agency that originally submitted the data (local police, a federal court) or to the FBI’s CJIS Division directly. Average response time is about 45 days from the date the FBI receives it. You can reach the FBI’s identity review unit at identity@fbi.gov or 304-625-5590.²

Expunged Records That Still Appear

A state court order expunging or sealing your record does not automatically remove the entry from your FBI file. The state agency that submitted the arrest data has to separately request removal from the federal database using the FD-1114 (FBI Expungement Form).⁷ For federal arrest data, removal happens only at the request of the submitting federal agency or upon receipt of a federal court order directing expungement. Expungement laws vary by state, so questions about state-level expungements should go to the State Identification Bureau in the state where the offense occurred.²

If you have a state court expungement order in hand but the arrest still shows on your FBI report, contact the state identification bureau and ask them to submit the FD-1114 to CJIS.

If You Need an Apostille for Use Abroad

Many foreign governments won’t accept an FBI Identity History Summary unless it carries an apostille or authentication certificate. Only the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, can issue one for a federal document like this.⁸ Which type you need depends on the destination country: apostilles are for countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention, and authentication certificates are for all others.

The process uses Form DS-4194 (Request for Authentication Services), costs $20 per document, and requires you to specify the destination country on the form.⁹ Timing depends on how you submit:

By mail: five or more weeks from the date the State Department receives your package. Mail-in payments must be by check or money order payable to “U.S. Department of State.”
Walk-in drop-off and pick-up: two to three weeks, with requests processed in about seven business days. Walk-ins are limited to one request per day and 15 documents. In-person payments accept credit card, debit card, or contactless payment.
Emergency appointment: same-day processing, reserved exclusively for life-or-death emergencies involving immediate family members abroad.⁹

Mailing address for apostille requests: U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, 44132 Mercure Cir., PO Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206. Walk-in office: 600 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. If you have a visa deadline, plan for the apostille wait on top of the FBI processing time. Five weeks at State plus the FBI’s own turnaround can eat a deadline quickly.⁸

1
FBI.gov. Identity History Summary Request Form
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
3
eCFR. 28 CFR 16.32 – Procedure to Obtain an Identification Record
4
FBI.gov. Reducing Fingerprint Rejects
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Federal Bureau of Investigation. List of FBI-Approved Channelers for Departmental Order Submissions
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eCFR. 28 CFR 16.34 – Procedure to Obtain Change, Correction or Updating of Identification Records
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FBI.gov. FBI Expungement Form FD-1114
8
U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications
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U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services