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Police Background Check Process
Understand the U.S. police background check process, from confirming the requested certificate to fingerprints, record review, and use abroad.
Translate “police background check” into an exact deliverable
| Requested item | Likely issuer | First question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Local police clearance or certificate | The police or law-enforcement agency named by the recipient | Which jurisdictions and date range must the letter cover? |
| State criminal-history check | The state repository or authorized state channel | Is a name-based result accepted, or is fingerprint identification required? |
| Personal federal history | FBI Identity History Summary. | Does the recipient accept a personal FBI summary, or does it require a purpose-specific channel? |
Do not order anything until the recipient answers four scope questions
Issuer
Ask whether the document must come from a city police department, state police/repository, FBI, or another authority.
Purpose
Employment, licensing, immigration, visa, adoption, and personal review can use different statutory channels even when each is casually called a background check.
Format
Find out whether an ordinary result, sealed response, apostille-ready document, or certified police letter is required.
Coverage period
A local clearance may cover only records held by that agency. Confirm whether the recipient expects local, statewide, or national coverage.
For a personal FBI Identity History Summary, prepare the submission in order
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01
Start at the FBI
Use the FBI personal Identity History Summary page rather than a local police desk if the requested product is your own federal summary.
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02
Provide current fingerprints
The FBI FAQ states that fingerprints are required for the personal summary. A name-only inquiry is not an equivalent substitute.
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03
Budget the federal fee
The FBI direct-request fee is $18. A fingerprint vendor or approved channeler can have separate charges, so keep those costs distinct.
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04
Use the correct destination
A personal copy is not automatically the same product required by an employer or licensing board. If an agency supplied instructions, follow that purpose-specific route.
Submission checklist for a local or state police route
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✓
Bring the request instructions
Have the agency name, form number, service code, or recipient address that tells the record custodian what to run and where to send it.
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✓
Match the identity documents
Use the exact legal name and identification required by the issuing agency; include former names only where its form asks for them.
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✓
Separate fingerprinting from the search
A fingerprint appointment captures biometrics. It does not itself prove that the correct state or federal record check has been ordered.
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✓
Save the receipt and tracking details
These show what product was requested if the result is delayed or delivered to the wrong recipient.
A result that looks wrong has a correction path
Challenge the record, not the clerk at random
The FBI Identity History Summary FAQs describes the federal challenge process. State or local entries generally must be corrected through the originating state or agency. Reordering the same report without correcting the source record can simply reproduce the same issue.
International use can add a separate document requirement
The U.S. Department of State criminal-record guidance explains that foreign authorities may ask for police, state, or federal records depending on the country and purpose. Use the destination country’s instructions to decide whether a local police certificate, state history, FBI result, or authentication step is required; do not assume the broadest-looking report is automatically acceptable.
Related Record Guides
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