To pass a fingerprint background check, you need two things working in your favor: prints the scanner can actually read, and a record that either meets the standard for the role you’re applying for or has been corrected to reflect what’s actually true about you. Most people clear these checks. The ones who don’t usually stumble on print quality, an outdated FBI record, or a role-specific disqualifier they didn’t know applied.
Get Your Fingers Ready Before the Appointment
The single biggest reason submissions get rejected has nothing to do with criminal history. It’s poor print quality. Dry, cracked skin, excessive moisture, worn-down ridges, and smudges from uneven pressure can all make prints unreadable, which forces you to reschedule and start the process over.
A few days of preparation helps. Moisturize your hands regularly in the days leading up to your appointment, but skip the lotion on the day itself. Staying hydrated improves skin elasticity, which helps the scanner pick up clear ridge detail. If you work with your hands or use chemicals that dry out your skin, pay extra attention. Cold or sweaty fingers also degrade prints, so arrive early enough to warm up and settle in. Fresh cuts, burns, or bandaged fingers are a reason to reschedule rather than push through.
Most applicants now go through electronic live scan, where a scanner captures your prints digitally and transmits them to a state repository, which forwards them to the FBI. Live scan has largely replaced ink-and-roll because it eliminates smudging, processes faster, and returns results digitally through the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Next Generation Identification (NGI) Some agencies still accept ink cards, but electronic submission is quicker and less prone to error.
Bring the Right Documents and Fee
Bring valid, unexpired government-issued photo identification. A driver’s license, passport, state ID card, or military ID typically works. Photocopies and expired documents are not accepted. Many agencies also require a specific request form from the organization that ordered your check, so confirm what you need before you show up.
Check the accepted payment methods and fee in advance. Fees for fingerprint processing vary widely depending on your state and the collecting agency, generally ranging from about $15 to over $80. The FBI itself charges $18 for an identity history summary check.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Check Your Own Record First
The most effective thing you can do before a high-stakes check is pull your own identity history summary and read exactly what the FBI has on file. You can submit a request through the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division with a completed fingerprint card and the $18 fee. Electronic submissions process faster than mailed cards.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Errors on FBI records are more common than people realize. Arrests that belong to someone else, dispositions that were never updated after a case closed, and personal details that don’t match can all show up. Reviewing your record before an employer or licensing agency reviews it gives you time to fix problems rather than react to them.
Fix Errors and Stale Expungements Early
The FBI doesn’t generate the data in your file. State and federal agencies submit it, and corrections flow back through those same agencies. You have two paths to fix an error. You can contact the law enforcement agency that submitted the incorrect information and ask them to send a correction, or you can send your challenge directly to the FBI’s CJIS Division, which will forward it to the contributing agency for verification.3eCFR. 28 CFR 16.34 The FBI updates its records once the originating agency confirms the correction. The average response time for a challenge is about 45 days.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
Expungements are a particular trap. A state-level expungement does not automatically clean up your FBI record. The state identification bureau has to notify the FBI and request the update to the NGI system. Until that notification goes through, the old record can still surface in a federal fingerprint check.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions When an expungement does go through, the FBI deletes the record from NGI. Sealed records work differently: the contributing agency can seal an entire record or individual events and specify which types of checks can still see it. For federal arrest data, removal requires a request from the submitting federal agency or a federal court order.
If you know your state record was expunged but it still appears in an FBI check, contact the state identification bureau and confirm they sent the notification to the FBI. If they didn’t, that’s the breakdown, and pressing the state to follow through is usually the fastest fix.
If the Record Isn’t Yours
Identity theft cases are tighter on time and higher on stakes. Place a fraud alert or security freeze on your consumer files, then dispute the report with the consumer reporting agency that produced it. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the agency must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute and either correct or delete the information.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy A police report for the identity theft strengthens both your dispute and any challenge you file with the FBI.
Know the Standard for Your Specific Role
There is no single pass/fail line on a fingerprint background check. What disqualifies you depends entirely on the role or license. Federal law, state law, or both set the standard, and standards vary sharply from one industry to the next.
Childcare, Foster Care, and Schools
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires fingerprint-based national criminal database checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents. It also authorizes states to request FBI fingerprint checks on prospective employees at public or private schools and on individuals involved in child abuse investigations.5U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 – P.L. 109-248 Convictions for violent or sexual offenses are typically automatic disqualifiers in these roles.
Banking and Financial Positions
Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act bars anyone convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering from working at an FDIC-insured bank without prior written consent from the FDIC.6Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Federal Deposit Insurance Act – Section 19 The prohibition covers people who entered a pretrial diversion program for such offenses. You can apply for FDIC consent, but only after you’ve completed all sentencing requirements, including probation and fines.7eCFR. 12 CFR Part 303 Subpart L – Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
Security Clearances
Federal security clearances involve a broader evaluation than a criminal history check. Adjudicators weigh 13 separate guidelines covering allegiance to the United States, foreign influence, financial responsibility, drug involvement, criminal conduct, and personal behavior, among others.8Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 4 – Adjudicative Guidelines A single past conviction won’t necessarily disqualify you. Adjudicators look at the whole picture, including how long ago an incident occurred, the circumstances, and evidence of rehabilitation.
Transportation Security Roles
Applicants for hazardous materials endorsements face automatic denial for convictions within the past seven years involving terrorism, espionage, murder, kidnapping, arson, robbery, weapons offenses, and drug distribution, among others. Certain offenses carry permanent disqualification regardless of how much time has passed.
A Note on Ban-the-Box Laws
Roughly 37 states and over 150 cities and counties have adopted fair chance hiring policies that delay criminal history questions until later in the hiring process. These laws don’t override role-specific disqualifiers set by federal statute. A position that requires a clean record under the Adam Walsh Act or FDIC Section 19 still requires one, regardless of local rules.
What Derails Otherwise Clean Applicants
Felony convictions for violence, fraud, or sexual offenses are the most common disqualifiers, but the offense doesn’t have to be a felony to cause problems. Misdemeanors matter for roles that require a high level of trust, particularly in healthcare, education, and financial services.
A pattern of repeated offenses weighs more heavily than a single incident, even when individual charges are minor. Pending charges can delay or derail a clearance if the charges relate to the duties of the position. And inconsistencies between what you put on your application and what your fingerprint results reveal raise honesty concerns that often prove harder to overcome than the underlying record.
That last point is worth taking seriously. Fingerprint checks exist specifically to verify identity and history against a national database, so misrepresentations about your name, criminal record, or other details are likely to surface. When they do, the dishonesty itself often becomes the disqualifying factor even if the underlying record would not have been. In regulated industries where Section 19 already restricts employment based on dishonesty offenses, getting caught lying effectively guarantees permanent disqualification. For security clearance applicants, personal conduct and candor are standalone evaluation criteria. Disclose unfavorable history; don’t let investigators find it from the database instead of from you.
Your Rights If the Result Is Bad
If an employer decides not to hire you based on your fingerprint background check, federal law requires them to follow a specific process before making that decision final. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the employer must first send you a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the background check report and a written summary of your rights.9Federal Trade Commission. What Employment Background Screening Companies Need to Know About the Fair Credit Reporting Act That gives you a window to review the report and dispute errors before the employer finalizes the decision.
The FCRA doesn’t specify an exact waiting period, but at least five business days is the generally accepted minimum. After that, the employer must send a final adverse action notice identifying the consumer reporting agency that provided the report, confirming that the agency didn’t make the hiring decision, and informing you that you can request a free copy of the report within 60 days.
Use the pre-adverse window. If the report contains information that isn’t yours, is outdated, or reflects a record that was expunged, that’s the moment to file a dispute. Employers who skip these steps expose themselves to FCRA liability, so most follow the process carefully. If one doesn’t, that’s worth knowing too.