Legal and Regulatory Compliance

The Criminal Investigation Unit at the Department of Health conducts criminal history record background checks using fingerprint submissions.

How it works:

• Applicants that are required to submit fingerprint images are provided a fingerprint form by the program that requires the fingerprint submission.
• The applicant makes an appointment with the vendor designated by the New Jersey State Police to capture the fingerprint images.
• The images are checked against the criminal records of the New Jersey State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who then forward the results to us so we may determine if there is criminal history information which includes convictions for disqualifying offenses.
• You will be asked to sign your name the day you are fingerprinted to acknowledge that you have been informed of the Privacy Act Statement, which you can read on this page and which is posted in each vendor location.

You have specific rights under federal law. Read the Privacy Act Statement and Noncriminal Justice Applicant’s Privacy Rights statement from the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council.

We are committed to protecting the recipients of health care services while protecting the rights of the applicants who submit fingerprints.  These rights include:

• The right to be informed that your fingerprint images will be used to check the criminal history repositories of the New Jersey State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
• If we find adverse information that could affect your ability to obtain a license, certification or other benefit we will disclose the information to you.  You have the right to correct the record or file a challenge before the Department will take any action on the information.
• If we receive incomplete information from either the NJ State Police or the FBI and cannot obtain a disposition, you have the right to a reasonable amount of time to complete the record before we act on it.
• No adverse action will occur until at least 30 days from the date of the notice has elapsed to allow you time to challenge the accuracy of the record.

We are committed to protecting your information and your privacy.

• We never share your criminal history information with an outside party.  Only authorized parties may access your information (like your attorney or a court which is hearing your challenge).  Federal law restricts the use of criminal history information to the purpose for which the fingerprints were submitted, which is clearly indicated on your fingerprint form.  We cannot share this information with another licensing board or your employer even if you request us to do so due to Federal and State law. (P.L 92-544, as amended).
• We do not maintain or reuse your criminal history information.  Each time we need an updated report containing criminal history information we are required to obtain a new set of fingerprint impressions for submission, or we will resubmit your previous images from an archive maintained by the State Police (with your permission).
• You have the right to obtain a copy of your background check obtained from the FBI; however, we do not keep a copy once a clearance is issued to protect you from identity theft.  If we no longer have the copy of your report, you can obtain one from the New Jersey State Police for NJ records or the FBI for national records.

What do I do if the information in my background report is wrong or incomplete?

If we receive a report that you were arrested but there is no court disposition, we will make every effort to obtain the disposition so that the record is complete and correct.  If we are unable to obtain a disposition we will notify you, in writing, of the charge or charges in question, the date of the arrest, the agency or jurisdiction reporting the arrest and any other information we find.  You will be given a reasonable amount of time to complete the record, but in no case less than thirty days.

If we find information indicating a conviction that could disqualify you from licensure or certification, we will send you a letter that contains a listing of convictions and open charges we found during your background check.  The notice will contain information on how to request a hearing if you disagree with the determination or if you wish to contest the accuracy of the reported criminal convictions if you believe they are reported incorrectly. 

IMPORTANT:  There are several ways to seek to have your record corrected, as described below. No matter how you seek to correct the record you MUST file a request for a hearing as described in the notice you receive.  If you fail to request the hearing the proposed disqualification will occur thirty days after the date of the notice.  If you request a hearing and challenge the accuracy of the criminal history we will not enforce any disqualification until after the record is verified and your challenge is resolved.

We receive information from several sources, including the New Jersey State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, official court computer systems and commercial databases.  If you challenge the accuracy of the criminal history, we will:

• Tell you the source of the information.
• Obtain original court disposition records.
• Arrange for fingerprint card comparisons.
• Contact the reporting agency to verify the information they have reported.

At the conclusion of our investigation into your challenge we will provide you with a written response which details our findings.  If you disagree with that report the matter will be sent for an impartial hearing before an administrative law court judge who will review the matter.  You do not need to have an attorney during those hearing, although you may find the assistance of a lawyer helpful.  If we find the criminal history was reported in error we will make every effort to relay that information to the reporting agency.

You can challenge the accuracy of any report obtained from the New Jersey State Police or the Federal Bureau of Investigation directly with those agencies.  We will tell you which agency provided the information.

For records obtained from the New Jersey State Police:  Contact their Criminal Information Unit at (609) 882-2000, extension 2918. 

For records obtained from the FBI:  Please visit the FBI website and click on the link on the right side of the page that says “Challenge of an Identity History Summary.”

For records obtained from a court or commercial database:  Please contact us at the address listed in the notice or by phone at 866 561-5914. 

Remember, you must file your challenge in writing to the address in your notice to prevent the disqualification from happening after your 30 day challenge period lapses.

All persons required to submit fingerprints for noncriminal justice purposes who reside or work in New Jersey or within 20 miles of the state border are required to submit their fingerprints through Idemia, the vendor approved by the New Jersey State Police.  When you are told you need to be fingerprinted you will be given a form with the correct codes for your certificate or license type. You must enter the information in boxes 1 through 7 exactly as it appears on the form or you may be required to make a second trip and could incur additional costs.

How to make an appointment

You must have your fingerprint from in front of you.  You can enroll online at www.bioapplicant.com at any time, or by phone at (877) 503-5981 Monday through Friday 8AM to 5PM EST, and Saturday 8AM to noon. 

Find a fingerprinting location here.

IMPORTANT:  You must present an acceptable form of identification when you report to be fingerprinted.  If you fail to present acceptable identification, or if you fail to bring your fingerprint form you will be turned away and may incur additional costs.  Identification presented MUST be one (1) document that is current (not expired).  A combination of documents will not be accepted.  The single document must include the following criteria:  Photo, Name, Address (home/employer), Date of Birth.  Acceptable ID must be issued by a Federal, State, County or Municipal entity for identification purposes.  Examples of acceptable ID are: 1) Valid U.S. State Photo Driver’s License/ Non Driver’s License, 2) U.S. Passport, 3) USCIS Permanent Resident ID Card (issued after 5/10/2010), and 4) USCIS Employment Authorization Card (issued after 10/31/2010).

What if I live out of state?

If you do not reside or work within 20 miles of the State border we do have a procedure that will allow you to be fingerprinted by a local law enforcement agency like a police or sheriff’s department.  We do not accept fingerprint cards taken by a commercial service or non-criminal justice channeler. If you need this service you can ask the program that is requesting that you be fingerprinted for assistance to see if you qualify.  Please be aware that there are restrictions and that the processing time of cards submitted in this manner is usually longer than if you have your fingerprints submitted through Idemia.