Arizona Background Check

Find out which Arizona check the recipient requires

Ask the employer, licensing board or other recipient to name the required product and legal category before paying. Arizona has separate agency fingerprint checks, fingerprint clearance cards, personal record review and public court information. The Central State Repository restricts release to authorized recipients; it does not offer a general employment, immigration, visa or foreign-adoption history purchase to private citizens or private employers. A local clearance is obtained from local law enforcement and has local scope.

A Department of Economic Security Central Background Check is another program: inquiries go to DES at 602-542-4791. For an authorized DPS employment/licensure submission, get the agency’s purpose code and use the Public Services Portal’s Background Check for Employment/Licensure tile. Clearance-card fingerprints, results and fees cannot be transferred to that process, and DPS warns that the fees are nonrefundable.

Submit an authorized agency check and track the result

Follow the requesting agency’s instructions for paper or electronic fingerprints. The DPS portal accepts card payment for electronic requests; a mailed agency packet requires the fingerprint cards, inventory sheet and correct payment. The agency receives the history results. Applicants can view status in the portal dashboard, but DPS does not send them the agency’s fingerprint-history report. Ask that agency about a missing response or a deadline.

The Applicant Processing page publishes its fee schedule as an image, with amounts dependent on the submission category. Confirm the purpose-code price and any fingerprint-vendor charge before checkout; a clearance-card price is not a substitute quote for an agency history check. Applicant Processing assistance is available at 602-223-2223. No single processing promise for every agency submission is stated here.

Apply for a clearance card only under the correct authorization

Use the DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card tile, then Apply for a Card. Your sponsor should identify the statutory reason and whether IVP or non-IVP is required. DPS issues a reference number for the fingerprint step. Paper fingerprints need the correct affidavit and sealed-envelope handling; an IVP packet has special technician mailing instructions. Read the instructions generated for your application instead of reusing an unrelated fingerprint card.

DPS lists a $67 application fee, or $65 for volunteers under qualifying authorizations. Online card payment and electronic fingerprint vendors add charges; paper fingerprint providers may also charge. The DPS fee applies whether a card is approved or denied and is nonrefundable. A card is generally valid for six years, but its current validity must still be checked rather than inferred from possessing the card.

Separate a status delay from a final decision

Clearance-card status can be checked with the application or card number. DPS says electronic status may appear about 24–48 hours after fingerprinting, sometimes longer. A paper application appears only after entry into its database, for which DPS gives no fixed interval. These are status-availability estimates, not approval deadlines. Contact the Clearance Card Section at 602-223-2279 for card questions; keep the reference number and any message about additional documentation.

If DPS denies a clearance card, the notice explains whether a good-cause exception may be available and gives the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting contact. Eligibility depends on the offense; an exception is not automatic. The Board is a separate agency, so take exception questions there rather than to Applicant Processing. A suspended card has its own reactivation instructions in the suspension notice. If you lose either notice, request a replacement from the Clearance Card Section; DPS mails the confidential letter rather than emailing or faxing it.

Use the rejection instructions instead of buying another application

For an agency history check, a fingerprint rejection goes to the requesting agency. Fieldprint applicants may return to the same location for a free reprint; paper applicants need another paper card. Obtain the rejection instructions from the agency so the new prints can be associated with the existing request. After more than one rejection, take a printed DPS rejection letter to the Public Services Center, 2222 W Encanto Boulevard, Phoenix, and select Window 12–Fingerprint Unit at the kiosk. The technician needs the paper letter.

Review and challenge your own Arizona record

The personal Record Review process is solely for checking the accuracy and completeness of your own Arizona history. Begin through the DPS portal or request the packet at 602-223-2000, choosing option 2 and then option 3. The packet includes instructions, a fingerprint card, a contact sheet and a return envelope. DPS says the response is mailed within 15 days after it receives a complete packet; the response omits personal identity and address information.

The packet requires legible rolled fingerprints and the subject’s identifying information. Its instructions require RECORD REVIEW as the reason fingerprinted and identification of the agency and official taking the prints. Follow the supplied checklist rather than assuming a name-only search will verify you. If an entry is inaccurate or incomplete, use the review-and-challenge route and identify the disputed event with supporting court information.

Use public court access for a case, not as a clearance substitute

Arizona Public Access currently identifies participating information from 177 of 184 courts and links the unavailable-courts list. It excludes sealed cases and several protected categories, including juvenile delinquency information, victim and witness data, and protection-order cases. A no-result response is therefore not a complete statewide history certification. For Superior Court documents, the site points to eAccess; use the case reference to seek the actual order and any required certified copy from the court.

Before you submit or rely on a response

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  Keep the recipient’s product name, statutory category or purpose code with the application reference.
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  Confirm both the DPS charge and separate fingerprint-service charges before paying.
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  Retain rejection letters and requests for more information; these can require a response even when a dashboard is unchanged.
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  Read a reported charge with its disposition, and allow an inaccurate entry to be reviewed before treating it as a verified outcome.