What is a Live Scan?
Live Scan is a way to take ink-less fingerprints, which are digitized and submitted directly to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ then checks the fingerprints against known criminal history records. A response (criminal history or no criminal history) is then sent to the agency requesting the Live Scan. If an applicant has not been flagged for manual review, a response should be sent from the DOJ to the requesting agency in approximately 3 to 7 days.
What do I need to bring for a Live Scan?
Applicants must bring in a “Request for Live Scan Service” form. The form must be completed by the agency requesting the Live Scan and by you, the applicant. We CANNOT assist you on filling out the form. The applicant must also provide picture identification to us, such as a United States issued driver’s license/identification or passport. Forms are given to the applicant by the agency sending the applicant in for the Live Scan. Live Scan Santa Barbara cannot provide you with the forms.
What is the cost of a Live Scan?
There are two fees involved in the Live Scan process: the rolling (fingerprinting) fee and the background investigation fee. Live Scan Santa Barbara charges a $30.00 rolling (fingerprinting) fee for all applications. The fees charged for the background investigation depend on the type of Live Scan application, and what level of service is required by the agency that has requested your Live Scan. The background fee is the fee that the DOJ charges for researching your fingerprints to determine if you have a criminal record or not. Background fees range from $25.00 to $110.00. This fee is in addition to the $30.00 rolling fee. If your Live Scan form has a billing number in the “Agency Billing Number” line (this is a six digit number that starts with a “1”), that means that the agency requesting your Live Scan will be billed for the background fees and all you will need to pay is the rolling fee. If your form does not have a billing number on it, you will be responsible for paying both the rolling fee and the background fees.
What are the accepted payment types?
Live Scan Santa Barbara accepts payment in the form of cash, money orders, checks, VISA, MasterCard, and Discover.
Do I need to make an appointment, or can I just walk-in?
Walk-ins are no longer accepted due to COVID-19. Everyone will need an appointment which can be booked online here. Business hours of Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.
I’ve had a Live Scan before, do I need to do it again?
The DOJ does not share your information with other agencies. An applicant’s Live Scan form acts as a release for a criminal history response to be sent to the specified requesting agency only. This means that you must submit a new application each time a criminal history is requested of you, therefore you must go through the Live Scan process again. Previous Live Scan information CANNOT be used.
How long does it take to receive my Live Scan results?
In most cases, the results from DOJ come back within 72 hours. Due to various reasons, results can be delayed. For any significant delay, the DOJ will contact the requesting agency. The results are either emailed or sent to the requesting agency listed on the Request for Live Scan Service form. Once the Live Scan process has been completed at our facility, please direct all inquiries to the agency handling your employment or licensing. If the requesting agency has not received the results you may contact the Applicant Processing Program at 916-227-3823. This department is the only one who can check to see if your record was dropped or not completely processed. Live Scan Santa Barbara cannot resubmit a record without written permission from the DOJ. This process may take up to 30 days.
How can I check on the status of my submission?
If a requesting agency does not have results yet and digital Live Scan fingerprints were submitted, you can check the status at https://applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov
Where can I get a Live Scan request form?
The requesting agency (the entity that is requesting the background check) will provide you with the live scan forms necessary to complete the live scan. Please also review the question below.
If I don’t have/forgot my forms, can I get them from Live Scan Santa Barbara?
All Live Scan forms must be provided to you by the agency that wants you to get fingerprinted. These forms contain information that is unique to each agency and this information must be provided before arriving to have your prints taken. However, if you have misplaced your live scan form, you can check the DOJ Office of the Attorney General site for blank forms or reach out to the agency requesting you get live scanned.
What happens if my fingerprints are not accepted?
Fingerprints are rejected on occasion for several reasons. The most common reasons are the applicant’s fingerprints have characteristics that are difficult to capture in the live scan process. This would include items such as cuts, scars, and calluses. If an applicant has fingerprints rejected on this basis, and they were originally scanned by Live Scan Santa Barbara, we will re-scan your fingerprints at no additional charge.