California Live Scan fingerprinting is the state’s electronic system for capturing your fingerprints and sending them to the Department of Justice, which searches its criminal history database and, when the law allows, the FBI’s national records. Employers, licensing boards, schools, care facilities, and volunteer organizations use it to screen applicants before hiring, licensing, or clearing them to work with vulnerable people. The scan itself takes only a few minutes at a certified location, but the paperwork, fees, and results have rules worth understanding before you show up.
Who Has to Get a Live Scan
Penal Code Section 11105 lets the DOJ share criminal history records with courts, law enforcement, licensing boards, and any agency that a state or federal statute directs to screen applicants.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105 – Criminal Identification and Statistics That covers a lot of ground. Nurses, physicians, real estate brokers, contractors, insurance agents, accountants, and dozens of other licensed professionals need Live Scan before they can get or renew a license, whether they work as employees or independent contractors.
Teachers, administrators, and anyone else working in public or private schools must be fingerprinted before they interact with students.2California Legislative Information. California Education Code 45125.1 So do caregivers in licensed elder care or child care facilities, foster parents, and volunteers who have unsupervised contact with children or other vulnerable people. Every requesting agency has to hold a valid agreement with the DOJ to receive results, so if you are asked to get fingerprinted, the request should come with a specific form and code.
What to Bring to Your Appointment
You need the Request for Live Scan Service form, known as BCIA 8016. Your employer or licensing board provides it, and it includes a unique Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) code that tells the DOJ where to send the results and what type of check to run.3California Department of Justice. Request for Live Scan Service Fill in your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number before you arrive. Incomplete forms get you turned away or delayed.
Bring a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID. A California driver’s license, a California DMV identification card, or an out-of-state driver’s license works as primary identification. A U.S. passport or military ID counts only as secondary identification and must be paired with two supplemental documents such as a Social Security card, birth certificate, or marriage certificate. Expired ID is not accepted.
Certified Live Scan locations include private businesses, police departments, and sheriff’s offices. You can search for them through the DOJ website. Call ahead. Many sites do not take walk-ins, and a wasted trip means starting the appointment hunt over.
What Happens at the Appointment and What It Costs
A certified technician places each finger on a glass plate or silicon pad, rolling from nail to nail to capture full ridge detail. They enter your information from the BCIA 8016 form into the system so the prints link to your application. If a print looks blurry, the technician rescans it right then rather than submitting a set that will get bounced back.
Once the prints look clean, the software transmits encrypted data directly to the DOJ. If the submission is later rejected for image quality, the DOJ allows one free resubmission using the correct Original Applicant Transaction Identifier from the rejected transaction.4California Department of Justice. California Fingerprint Resubmissions – Information Bulletin 08-06-BCII
You pay two categories of fees at the site. The rolling fee, charged by the Live Scan provider, typically runs $20 to $50 depending on location. Then there is DOJ and FBI processing. For most standard employment and licensing checks, the DOJ fee is $32 and the FBI fee is $17, for a combined $49. Some categories pay less: nonprofit volunteers may owe nothing to the DOJ, and certain care facility checks carry a $42 DOJ fee.5California Department of Justice. Applicant Fingerprint Processing Fees Some employers cover the cost through a billing account. Others make you pay at the counter and reimburse you later, or not at all.
Fee Waivers
If you are requesting your own criminal history (not an employer-initiated check), the DOJ offers a fee waiver for the $25 personal record review fee. You qualify if you are a California resident and either receive public assistance such as CalFresh or Medi-Cal, have low income for your area and household size, or have no income at all. The waiver covers only the DOJ fee. You still pay whatever the Live Scan provider charges for rolling the prints.6California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Apply for a Fee Waiver
How Long Results Take and How to Check Status
Electronic Live Scan submissions with no criminal history usually clear in about three days at the DOJ level and about five days at the FBI level. If you do have a record or the prints need manual review, processing takes longer.7California Department of Social Services. Live Scan Application Process and Associated Fees Results go directly to the agency listed on your BCIA 8016 form. You do not receive a copy unless you separately request a personal record review.
To check where things stand, use the DOJ’s online status tool at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov. You will need your Applicant Tracking Identification (ATI) number and date of birth. The ATI number sits at the bottom of your completed BCIA 8016 form.8California Department of Justice. Applicant Background Check Status The tracker shows whether the DOJ and FBI have each finished their portions. If nothing has arrived after 30 days, contact the requesting agency to check for a submission error.
What Shows Up in the Report
Your fingerprints are searched against the Automated Criminal History System (ACHS), the DOJ’s centralized database of arrest and conviction records reported by law enforcement agencies and courts across California. The report lists arrest dates, charges filed, and the final outcome of each case, including felony and misdemeanor convictions. Important caveat: agencies do not always report case dispositions to the DOJ, so records sometimes show an arrest without a corresponding outcome.9California Policy Lab. Record Clearance Data Point
When the requesting agency has legal authority for a federal-level check, the DOJ also sends your fingerprints to the FBI. Federal searches pull records from national databases and can surface out-of-state arrests and convictions that would not appear in California’s system. Positions involving vulnerable populations, law enforcement, or firearms often trigger this second layer.
Not every agency sees the same information. The level of detail depends on the type of clearance the law grants the requester. Some agencies see only conviction data. Others with higher statutory authority also see arrests that never resulted in a conviction.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105 – Criminal Identification and Statistics
How Expungements and Record Relief Affect What Employers See
If you had an arrest dismissed, a conviction expunged under Penal Code 1203.4, or received automatic record relief under Penal Code Sections 851.93 or 1203.425, your record is not erased from the DOJ database. The system adds a notation that relief was granted, and the DOJ uses that notation to decide whether it can share the record with a prospective employer.10California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Automatic Record Relief – Penal Code Sections 851.93 and 1203.425
For most private employers, a conviction with record relief will not be disclosed. Some agencies have statutory access that overrides this filter, though. In those cases the employer receives the record along with the notation. That distinction matters most for people applying to law enforcement, licensed care facilities, and school districts, where broader access to criminal history is built into the governing statute.
When Employers Can Actually Look at Your Record
California’s Fair Chance Act applies to all employers with five or more employees, public and private. Under Government Code Section 12952, an employer cannot ask about your conviction history on a job application or at any point before making a conditional offer of employment.11California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12952 No checkbox on the application, no interview questions about past convictions, and no background check until after the employer has decided to hire you pending results.
Once a conditional offer is on the table, the employer may run a criminal history check. A conviction by itself is not enough to rescind the offer. The employer must conduct an individualized assessment weighing the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and whether the conduct relates to the duties of the job. If the employer decides to deny you based on a conviction, they must send written notice identifying which conviction triggered the decision and give you a chance to respond before making the denial final.
Separate from the Fair Chance Act, Labor Code Section 432.7 prohibits employers from asking about or using arrests that did not result in a conviction, participation in diversion programs, or convictions that have been sealed or dismissed.12California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 432.7 Both laws carve out exceptions for positions in law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and certain health care facilities where a separate statute requires a background check or restricts employment based on criminal history.13Civil Rights Department. Fair Chance Act – Criminal History and Employment
Getting Your Own Record and Fixing Errors
You can request a copy of your own DOJ criminal history through the personal record review process. California residents submit Live Scan fingerprints using form BCIA 8016RR, checking “Record Review” as the application type. The DOJ charges $25 for this service, separate from whatever the Live Scan site charges for rolling your prints.14California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Criminal Records – Request Your Own Requesting your own record before applying for a job or license is one of the smartest moves you can make. You see exactly what employers will see and have time to fix errors or pursue record relief before it costs you an opportunity.
If your record contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you can challenge it by filing form BCIA 8706 (Claim of Alleged Inaccuracy or Incompleteness) with the DOJ. You have to complete a personal record review first so you have a copy to reference. Attach any court orders or official documents that support your claim and mail everything to the DOJ’s Record Quality Services Program in Sacramento.15California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions – Criminal Records – Request Your Own The DOJ reviews the challenge and sends a written response. If it denies the challenge, you can request an administrative hearing through the same program.
One limitation: arrest and court disposition data can only be modified or deleted by a court order or at the direction of the arresting agency or district attorney. The DOJ records what those agencies report and cannot unilaterally change it. Missing dispositions are the most common problem. An arrest shows up but the outcome never gets reported, making it look like an open case. You typically need to obtain court records showing the disposition and submit them with your BCIA 8706 form so the DOJ can update the entry.
If You Live Outside California
Live Scan only works at certified locations inside the state. If you cannot travel to one, you submit traditional ink fingerprint cards instead. You need two completed FD-258 cards, one for the DOJ and one for the FBI, with your name, date of birth, Social Security number, and physical descriptors printed legibly on each. A local police or sheriff’s office can usually roll your prints.16Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Instructions for Submitting Hard Card Fingerprint Cards
The trade-off is speed. Ink card processing takes a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks at the DOJ and FBI, compared to a few days for electronic Live Scan. Fees vary by licensing agency. If you are near the California border or heading to the state anyway, going to a Live Scan site is worth the effort to skip the long wait.