Florida Level 1 and Level 2 Background Checks: Coverage and Costs

Florida’s Level 1 and Level 2 background checks are two different screenings for two different risk levels. A Level 1 check is a name-based search of Florida records used for lower-trust positions. A Level 2 check is fingerprint-based and runs your prints through state and FBI databases, and it’s the one required for jobs involving children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. Which one you need is set by the statute governing your job or license, not by your employer’s preference.

Which Level Applies to You

The general framework for both screenings sits in Chapter 435 of the Florida Statutes, but the actual mandate for your position comes from whichever law governs your industry or license. Employers don’t get to pick the tier.

Level 1 is the baseline. It’s used for positions that don’t involve unsupervised access to protected populations: administrative roles in state-regulated industries, certain contractor positions, and licensed professions where the regulator has decided a name-based search is enough.

Level 2 is required for higher-trust roles. That includes healthcare workers, childcare providers, employees of the Department of Children and Families, school personnel, elder care staff, and anyone working in a facility licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Positions in juvenile justice, guardianship, and community-based care organizations typically fall under it too. If your job involves direct contact with vulnerable people, assume Level 2 until told otherwise.

What a Level 1 Check Covers

A Level 1 screening under Florida Statutes Section 435.03 uses your name and personal identifiers rather than fingerprints. It includes employment history verification, a statewide criminal records search through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and a check of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. Local law enforcement records may also be pulled at the screening agency’s discretion.¹

A common misconception is that Level 1 only looks at Florida records. It doesn’t. The statute requires that no person subject to Level 1 screening has been convicted of any offense listed under Section 435.04 “or similar law of another jurisdiction,” and domestic violence convictions disqualify you regardless of which state they occurred in.¹ The practical limit is that a name-based search has a harder time finding out-of-state records than a fingerprint check does. The disclosure obligation still runs the other way: lying about an out-of-state conviction can disqualify you if it surfaces later.

What a Level 2 Check Covers

A Level 2 screening under Section 435.04 is fingerprint-based and reaches much further. Your prints are submitted electronically and searched against three tiers of records: local law enforcement databases, FDLE’s statewide criminal history records, and the FBI’s national criminal history database.² Because fingerprints are unique biometric identifiers, the search catches records that name-based checks miss, including convictions under a different name or with slight variations in personal data.

The national scope is what makes Level 2 meaningfully different. A conviction in Ohio or an arrest in Georgia that never appeared in Florida’s state records will surface through the FBI check. That’s precisely why the state requires it for positions involving vulnerable populations: a clean Florida record doesn’t tell the full story.

Your fingerprints don’t get used once and discarded. FDLE and the FBI retain them. FDLE continuously searches your retained prints against incoming arrest submissions statewide, and the FBI’s Rap Back program does the same nationally. If you’re arrested after passing your initial screening, your employer’s oversight agency receives an automatic notification.³

Offenses That Disqualify You

Both screening levels reference the same list of disqualifying offenses in Section 435.04. The standard is strict, and it’s not limited to convictions. You’re also disqualified if you’ve entered a no-contest plea, been adjudicated delinquent with an unsealed record, or have an arrest awaiting final disposition for any listed offense.² A withheld adjudication does not keep you in the clear.

The disqualifying offenses fall into several broad categories:

Violent felonies: murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, robbery, and carjacking.
Sexual offenses: sexual battery, lewdness and indecent exposure, sexual misconduct with developmentally disabled or mental health patients, and offenses against students by authority figures.
Abuse and exploitation: child abuse or neglect, failure to report child abuse, abuse or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult, and felony exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult.
Drug crimes: any felony under Chapter 893 (Florida’s drug abuse prevention and control laws), fraudulent sale of controlled substances, and unlawful sale or manufacture of counterfeit prescription blanks.
Domestic violence: any offense constituting domestic violence, whether committed in Florida or another state.

The full list in Section 435.04 runs to dozens of specific statutes, and offenses under “similar law of another jurisdiction” count the same as Florida offenses.² Moving to Florida after a conviction elsewhere doesn’t reset the clock.

One boundary worth naming: if you’ll work for a healthcare employer that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding, or in a childcare facility that serves children receiving federal CCDF assistance, additional federal disqualification rules apply on top of Florida’s screening. Passing the state check doesn’t automatically clear you under those overlays.

Applying for an Exemption

A disqualifying offense doesn’t necessarily end things permanently. Section 435.07 allows the head of the relevant agency to grant an exemption if you can demonstrate rehabilitation by clear and convincing evidence.⁴

Eligibility depends on the type of offense:

Disqualifying felonies: at least two years must have passed since you completed confinement, supervision, or any other court-imposed condition.
Disqualifying misdemeanors: you must have completed confinement, supervision, or any other court-imposed condition. There’s no additional waiting period.
Juvenile findings of delinquency for offenses that would be felonies if committed by an adult with an unsealed record: at least three years must have passed since completing all court-imposed conditions.

Whatever the category, you must have paid in full any court-ordered fines, restitution, prosecution costs, or other financial obligations tied to the disqualifying offense before you can apply.⁴

Some offenses can never be exempted. Designated sexual predators, career offenders, and registered sexual offenders (unless the registration requirement has been removed) are permanently barred. A pardon or restoration of civil rights, on its own, does not remove disqualification under Chapter 435.⁴ The exemption process is the path.

When reviewing an application, the agency looks at the circumstances of the offense, the time that has passed, the harm to the victim, and your record since. The burden is on you. Documentation of rehabilitation, stable employment, community involvement, and character references matters.

How to Get Screened

Before you get fingerprinted for a Level 2 check, you need an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number. This code routes your results to the reviewing agency. Your employer, licensing board, or the agency requiring the screening supplies it. For health-related licenses applied for online through FL HealthSource, the ORI number appears on a printable form during the application.⁵ Don’t show up at a Livescan vendor without it. They can’t process your prints.

Bring a valid government-issued photo ID (a Florida driver’s license or U.S. passport works), your Social Security number, and basic demographic information including your date and place of birth. Errors on the submission form can delay or invalidate the whole screening.

Livescan service providers capture your fingerprints digitally and transmit them electronically to FDLE. FDLE publishes a list of registered providers with locations throughout the state.⁶ FDLE and the FBI typically return results within three to five business days from the scan date.⁷ That’s the processing window, not a guarantee of your total wait. Common names, records in multiple states, or prints that don’t scan cleanly can push it longer. Plan for two weeks if you’re on a tight start date.

What It Costs

FDLE’s fees depend on the type of screening and the requesting agency. Under the January 2025 fee schedule, combined state and FBI processing runs from $20 (for Department of Children and Families, Department of Juvenile Justice, and Department of Elder Affairs screenings) to $36 for most other required checks. Criminal justice applicants pay nothing. Volunteers pay $28.⁸ The Livescan vendor adds its own service fee on top, and that amount varies. Call ahead and confirm the full cost.

The Clearinghouse, Rescreening, and Portability

Florida operates the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, a centralized system managed by the Agency for Health Care Administration that stores Level 2 screening results across agencies overseeing services to children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.⁹

The practical benefit is portability. When you change jobs within the same industry, your results can follow you instead of triggering a new fingerprint submission. Participating agencies can view your existing screening status, which saves time and money on both sides. The Clearinghouse updates daily, so changes in your criminal history after your initial screening show up quickly. Results display as “Eligible” or “Not Eligible,” and if you’re flagged ineligible, the Clearinghouse is where the exemption process starts.

Passing a check once doesn’t cover you forever. Florida law requires that fingerprints retained in the Clearinghouse be resubmitted for a national FBI check every five years, with fees collected each time, until your prints are enrolled in the FBI’s national retained print arrest notification program for continuous monitoring.³

If you have a break in employment of more than 90 days from a position that requires screening, you must submit to a new national screening before returning.³ Between formal rescreenings, the retained-print monitoring fills the gap: any arrest at the state or federal level gets reported to your oversight agency through the Clearinghouse.

Your Rights If a Report Is Used Against You

Federal law layers protections on top of Florida’s screening process. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, any employer who uses a third-party consumer reporting agency for a background check must give you a standalone written disclosure and get your written permission before ordering the report.¹⁰ Burying the disclosure in onboarding paperwork does not satisfy this. It must be a separate document.

If an employer decides not to hire you based on information in a background report, federal law requires a two-step process. Before making the decision final, the employer must send you a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of your rights, giving you a chance to flag errors first.¹¹

After final adverse action, the employer must send a second notice with the reporting agency’s name and contact information, a statement that the agency did not make the hiring decision, and notice of your right to dispute inaccurate information and to request a free copy of the report within 60 days.¹¹ If you find errors, the consumer reporting agency must investigate, correct verified mistakes, and send an updated report to the employer on request. Errors are more common than people think, especially with common names or records from jurisdictions slow to update dispositions. Persistence pays off.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 435.03 – Level 1 Screening Standards
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 435.04 – Level 2 Screening Standards
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 435.12 – Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 435.07 – Exemptions From Disqualification
5
FL HealthSource. FAQ: Where Do I Get the ORI Number to Submit to the Livescan Vendor/Provider?
6
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Registered Livescan Service Providers
7
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Frequently Asked Questions Electronic Fingerprinting
8
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Criminal History Record Check Fee Schedule
9
Agency for Health Care Administration. Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
11
Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know