Arizona Criminal Background Check

Choose the Arizona product before paying

Arizona DPS restricts its statewide criminal-history repository to legally authorized recipients. An ordinary private employer cannot simply buy a DPS history on an applicant. Start with the organization requesting the check: ask for the required product, statutory program, authorized recipient and whether fingerprints are required. A public court search cannot replace an agency-directed check.

For immigration, a visa or foreign adoption, DPS says Arizona law does not permit the repository to supply the requested clearance. Its criminal-history page links a printable statement explaining that limitation. For local clearance, contact the local law-enforcement agency; for a national personal check, use the FBI route identified by DPS. Confirm what the receiving organization will accept.

Follow the employer or licensing agency’s instructions

The DPS Applicant Processing Team handles fingerprint checks for authorized agencies. In the Public Services Portal, choose Background Check for Employment/Licensure and enter the purpose code supplied by the requesting employer or licensing agency. The agency receives the completed result; the applicant dashboard can show status. Without a portal account, ask the requesting agency for an update.

Paper submissions require fingerprint cards, their inventory sheets and the correct payment. The team does not accept cash, personal or third-party checks, or credit cards for mailed inventory sheets; the online portal accepts Visa, Mastercard and Discover. Use the program’s published fee category and instructions rather than applying clearance-card prices to an employment check. Processing time depends on the submission and any fingerprint rejection.

If fingerprints are rejected, the agency receives a rejection letter and a new set is needed. Fieldprint applicants may return to the same location for a free reprint. DPS warns that clearance-card fingerprints and results cannot be transferred to the separate criminal-history-check process, and fees are non-refundable. Confirm the correct route before submitting.

Apply for a clearance card only when it is required

For a fingerprint clearance card, have the sponsor identify the statute and the correct card type, including IVP or non-IVP. Choose the portal’s Fingerprint Clearance Card service, submit the application, then keep the reference number supplied for fingerprinting. This is an eligibility-card process, not an unrestricted copy of another person’s history. The fingerprints check Arizona and FBI records.

DPS lists a $67 card application fee, or $65 for volunteers under qualifying authorizations. Online card payments have a credit-card fee, and electronic fingerprints have a separate vendor charge. The DPS application fee is non-refundable even if the card is denied. Paper-card applications have specific affidavit and sealed-envelope requirements; IVP fingerprints must be returned by the technician. Card questions go to 602-223-2279. Paper payments may be a cashier’s check, money order or preprinted business check.

Check current card status using the application or card number; possession of the plastic card alone does not prove it remains valid. Electronic-application status generally appears about 24–48 hours after fingerprinting, possibly longer. That is a status-availability estimate, not an issuance deadline. If denied, read the notice for any Board of Fingerprinting good-cause exception route.

Review your own record for accuracy

A personal Record Review is for checking the accuracy and completeness of your own Arizona record. Start through the DPS portal or request the packet at 602-223-2000, option 2, then option 3. DPS says it mails a response within 15 days after receiving a completed packet; the returned record omits the requester’s personal identifying information.

The paper packet requires legible rolled fingerprints taken by a law-enforcement official, the completed contact sheet and “RECORD REVIEW” as the fingerprinting reason. Do not fold the fingerprint card. Mail it to Arizona DPS, Criminal History Records Unit, P.O. Box 18450, Phoenix, AZ 85005-8450. An attorney obtaining the record must include the subject’s notarized authorization.

Use public court information to locate a particular case

Arizona Public Access is a case-finding tool with participating-court and case-type limits. Sealed cases and certain juvenile matters are excluded, not every participating court’s case is included, and the display is not the official record. Keep the court and case number from a plausible match, then obtain the relevant judgment, dismissal or other order from that court.

If a recipient needs certified proof of an outcome, request that specific document from the court of record and ask for its copy and certification charges. A name hit does not establish identity, an arrest is not a conviction, and no public result is not clearance. Check the outcome document rather than drawing a conclusion from a charge label.

Take an apparent error to the source that maintains it

Use DPS Record Review to inspect and challenge repository information. For an apparent court-index error, contact the court where the case was filed with the case number and the conflicting order. Keep the exact product and search date with any response so a later reviewer knows whether it was an agency check, card decision, personal review or public case lookup.