Low-quality, poor quality, or rejected fingerprints are the generic terms used when the fingerprint quality doesn’t meet the DOJ or FBI requirements.

Often live scan applicants come to us and have been told they have poor or no fingerprints. With our process, we can quickly determine if you have low-quality fingerprints and advise you on how to increase your chances of passing on your resubmission.

The following are some circumstances that can increase the chance of fingerprints being rejected:

Age  - skin becomes smoother, and fingerprint ridges become more challenging to capture.

Frequently washing/disinfecting hands  -   We see this with nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals.  School professionals and preschool.

Sports  - rock climbing, weight-lifting, rock climbing

Musical instruments  -  Piano, violist, and others have shown worn fingerprints.

Jobs that handle paper, chemicals like bleach, or antibacterial products that dry hands

Ethnicity  -  Some groups can suffer from worn or soft skin.   

We have also found that poor technique can play a role in receiving a rejection. That is why you want to make sure that the facility you use has certified fingerprint rollers that have received training on the latest fingerprinting techniques.

If we perform the fingerprint process, we provide our applicants with a letter when we anticipate that you will receive a rejection notice explaining the “what do I do now” process. We also take the time during your visit to show you why your prints could be rejected plus samples of good-quality fingerprints.

With over 1 Million fingerprint impressions taken, Santa Clarita Live Scan is proud of our less than .01% rejection rate. If you have been rejected by another live scan facility, please give us a call at 661-294-8048 to see if we can assist you with passing your next live scan fingerprinting process.

With Live Scan Fingerprinting becoming a regular part of the pre-employment process, many employers can and do cover the cost of fingerprinting. But when you are Live Scan fingerprinting for a license(nurse, lawyer, security guard, etc) you will be responsible for all fees unless the agency collects those fees as part of your licensing application.

Also many times, employers or agencies have a billing number that covers the cost of the Level of Service fees for either the DOJ Fees or FBI Fees but not the rolling fees. This billing number is indicated by a six-digit number located on your Request for Live Scan form in the billing number section.

Please always verify with your employer or agency if they pay or possibly reimburse the fees associated with fingerprinting.

If your fees are not reimbursed or covered by your employer, we suggest talking with your tax professional about the possible deductions associated with those costs when filing your income taxes.

When an employee or volunteer leaves, you must submit a No Longer Interested form to the DOJ so you don’t continue to receive these notifications.

California Penal Code section 11105.2 (d) states, in part, that any agency which submits the fingerprints of applicants for employment or approval to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the purpose of establishing a record of the applicant to receive notification of subsequent arrests, shall immediately notify the Department when employment is terminated or the applicant is not hired. It is the responsibility of the hiring/approving authority to notify the Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Information and Analysis when employment has been terminated or when an applicant or volunteer is not actually retained in the position for which they applied.

The No Longer Interested Form can be accessed at the following link:

https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/fingerprints/forms/nli.pdf?

If you have any questions about this process please give us a call at 661-294-8048

When districts review school safety measures and Board Policies with legal counsel they do so with a desire to protect students. With the prevalence of crimes against children in society, districts who don’t require California Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal background checks of potential school volunteers who may be in contact with students outside the direct supervision of teachers or site administrators are opening up those districts to possible liability.

We recommend that all school districts have a strict policy in place requiring fingerprinting even if there is full time supervision and are in contact with children. Below are some examples for when mandatory fingerprinting should be required.

• Coaching or assisting with special events, including dances, sports competitions, drama and musical productions

• Driving and/or chaperoning field trips, including after-school sports.

• Any volunteer assignment involving contact with students at school or on field trips where there is a possibility a volunteer could be outside the presence of a certificated staff member (teacher or administrator) even briefly

The above is not the complete list but you get the idea.

The most common question we get is who pays for fingerprinting?

The average cost for fingerprint processing is $55 for one volunteer, or approximately $11,000 for a school that has 200 volunteers. (If the districts require FBI processing it will be more) As you know districts do not have adequate funding resources to pay this large sum. In many cases the schools ask each volunteer to cover the cost or hold fundraising events through PTA or other school organizations.

Now here is the good news. Once the volunteer is fingerprinted, they only need to complete this process once for the school district.

If you’d like more information about school district fingerprinting programs please contact us fingerprint@santaclaritalivescan.com

Did you know that if you submit an applicant for an FBI check with Live Scan that you must provide that applicant with notice?

Agencies authorized to submit fingerprints and receive FBI identification records must provide written notification to the individuals fingerprinted that the fingerprints will be used to check the criminal history records of the FBI. The officials making the determination of suitability for licensing or employment shall provide the applicants the opportunity to complete, or challenge the accuracy of, the information contained in the FBI identification record. These officials must also advise the applicants that procedures for obtaining a change, correction, or updating of an FBI identification record are set forth in Title 28, C.F.R., § 16.34. Officials making such determinations should not deny the license or employment based on information in the record until the applicant has been afforded a reasonable time to correct or complete the record, or has declined to do so.

If agency policy permits, the officials may provide you with a copy of your FBI criminal history record for review and possible challenge. If agency policy does not permit it to provide you a copy of the record, you may obtain a copy of the record by submitting fingerprints and a fee to the FBI.

If you decide to challenge the accuracy or completeness of your FBI criminal history record, you should send your challenge to the agency that contributed the questioned information to the FBI. (local or state law enforcement agency)Alternatively, you may send your challenge directly to the FBI. The FBI will then forward your challenge to the agency that contributed the questioned information and request the agency to verify or correct the challenged entry. Upon receipt of official communication from that agency, the FBI will make any necessary changes/corrections to your record in accordance with the information supplied by that agency. (See 28 CFR 16.30 through 16.34.)