Background Check Process

Each state has different departments and procedures for administering criminal background checks. Consult the table below for state-specific information concerning fees, contact information, and request forms to ensure that you can obtain the documents that you need in order to submit a successful criminal rehabilitation or temporary resident permit application.

State Department Address  Phone Number Fee Processing Time (Approximate)
Alabama Alabama Department of Public Safety, Alabama Bureau of Investigation

Attention: Identification Unit

P.O. Box 1511

Montgomery, AL 36192-1511

(334) 242-4372 or (334) 242-4392 $25.00
Alaska Alaska Department of Public Safety

Attention: Records and Identification

5700 East Tudor Road

Anchorage, AK, 99507

http://bit.ly/Ln8je9

 

(907) 269-5767 or (907)-269-5765 $25.00 (name-based) or $35.00 (fingerprints)
Arizona Arizona Department of Public Safety Criminal Identification Section P.O. Box 6638 Phoenix, AZ,

85005

(602) 223-2000 $65.00 or $67.00 5-8 weeks
Arkansas The Arkansas State Police

Attention: I.D. Bureau

1 State Police Plaza Drive

Little Rock, AR, 72209

http://bit.ly/L8pEJp

 

(501) 618-8500 $25.00
California The California Department of Justice

Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information

Attention: Record Review Unit

P.O. Box 903417

Sacramento, CA, 94203-4170

http://bit.ly/M9Mpjb

 

(916) 322-2209 or (916) 227-3849 $32.00
Colorado  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation Identification Unit

Contact: Frank Vanecek

690 Kipling Street, Suite 3000

Denver, CO, 80215

(303) 239-4300 or (303) 239-4208 $13.00
Connecticut The State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety

State Police Bureau of Identification

1111 Country Club Road

P.O. Box 2794

Middletown, CT, 06475-9294

http://1.usa.gov/M4hzIL

 

(860) 685-8270 $36.00 or $50.00
Delaware The Delaware State Police 1441 North Dupont Highway

(P.O. Box 430)

Dover, DE 19903-0430

(302) 739-5871 $52.50 (only State) or $69 (State and Federal)
District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department

Attention: Criminal History and Records

300 Indiana Avenue N.W.,

Suite. 3055

Washington, DC, 20001

Request PD Form 70 in person

 

(202) 727-4245 $7.00 24 hours or 6-8 weeks for finger-print FBI checks
Florida The Florida Department of Law Enforcement

Attention: Criminal Records Inquiry Section

P.O. Box 1489

Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489

http://bit.ly/JOO8uJ

 

(850) 410-7000 $24.00
Georgia  Georgia Crime Information Center

GCIC/CCH Identification Services

P.O. Box 370748

Decatur, GA 30037-0748

(404) 244-2639 $20.75 10-14 business days
Hawaii State of Hawaii

Department of the Attorney General

Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center

Kekuanao’a Building, Room 101

465 South King Street

Honolulu, HI 96813

Fill request form online at http://bit.ly/K70T5j

 

(808) 587-3279 $20.00
Idaho The Department of Law Enforcement

Criminal Identification Bureau

BCI Applicant Unit

Contact: Maria Wiley, Unit Supervisor

700 South Stratford Drive,

Ste 120

Meridian, ID 83642

http://bit.ly/K76qJf

 

(208) 884-7130 $10.00
Illinois The Illinois State Police

Bureau of Identification

260 North Chicago Street

Joliet, IL 60431-1060

Fill request form online at http://bit.ly/do3ye1

 

(815) 740-5160 $20.00
Indiana The Indiana State Police

Criminal History Limited Check

P.O. Box 6188

Indianapolis, IN 46204-6188

http://1.usa.gov/KEUCM5

 

(317) 233-5424 $7.00 Minimum 5

business days

Iowa The State of Iowa

Department of Public Safety

Division of Criminal Investigation

Bureau of Identification

215 E. 7th Street

Des Moines, IA 50319

(515) 725-6066 $15.00 2-5 business days
Kansas The Kansas Bureau of Investigation

Attention: Records

1620 South West Tyler Street

Topeka, KS 66612-1837

Fill Request Form Online at http://bit.ly/JGKjmN

 

(785) 296-8200 $35.00
Kentucky The Department of State Police Records 1250 Louisville Road

Frankfort, KY, 40601

http://bit.ly/NzSTqV

 

(502) 227-8700 ext. 8713 $20.00
Louisiana  Louisiana State Police

Bureau of Identification

P.O. Box 66614

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70896

http://bit.ly/KY1DGp

 

(504) 925-6095 $26.00
Maine The State Bureau of Identification 45 Commerce Drive

State House Station 42

Augusta, ME 04333-0042

Fill Request Form Online at http://bit.ly/JGO7V0

 

(207) 624-7240 $41.00
Maryland The State of Maryland

Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

CJIS Central Repository

P.O. Box 32708

Pikesville, MD, 21208

(410) 764-4501 $34.50
Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Executive Office of Public Safety

Criminal History Systems Board

Criminal Justice Information

Suite 2200

200 Arlington Street

Chelsea MA, 02150

http://1.usa.gov/JH9R30

 

(617) 660-4600 $25.00
Michigan The Michigan State Police

Criminal Records Division

106 W. Allegan

Lansing, Michigan 48933

(517) 322-1956 $30.00 3-5 Weeks
Minnesota The Department of Public Safety

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)

1430 E. Maryland Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55106

(651) 793-2400 $8.00 2 weeks
Mississippi Criminal Information Centre

Special Processing Unit

3891 Highway 468 West

Pearl, MS 39208

(601) 933-2600
Missouri The Missouri State Highway Patrol

Criminal Records & Identification Division

P.O. Box 9500

Jefferson City, MO 65102

(573) 526-6153 $16.50
Montana The Montana Department of Justice

Law Enforcement Services Division Attention: ID Bureau

303 North Roberts – 4th Floor

P.O. Box 201403

Helena, MT 59620-1403

(406) 444-3625 $32.25
Nebraska The Nebraska State Patrol

Criminal Investigation Division

Records and Identification

Box 94907

Lincoln, NE, 68509-4907

http://bit.ly/NAPxUD

 

(402) 471-4545 $15.00
Nevada Department of Public Safety

Records Bureau

333 West Nye Lane, Suite 100

Carson City, NV 89706

http://bit.ly/KKIrgT

 

(775) 684-6262 $21.00
New Hampshire The New Hampshire Department of Safety

Division of State Police

33 Hazen Drive Concord, NH 03305

http://1.usa.gov/KaQuix

 

(603) 271-2538 $25.00
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety

Division of State Police, CIU

Attention: Records and Identification Section

P.O. Box 7068, West Trenton, NJ, 08628

http://bit.ly/JQ3Hm1

 

(609) 882-2000 ext. 2991 $41.00
New Mexico The Department of Public Safety

Records Section

P.O. Box 1628, 4491 Cerrillos Street, Sante Fe, NM 87504-1628

http://bit.ly/KrPay9

 

(505) 827-9233 $44.00 7-15 Working Days
New York The New York State

Division of Criminal Justice Services

4 Tower Place, Albany, NY 12203-3764

http://bit.ly/NAV4ua

 

(518) 485-7675 $60.75
North Carolina The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation

Division of Criminal Information

3320 Old Garner Road Raleigh, NC 27626-0500

http://bit.ly/LsZYrF

 

(919) 662-4509 Ext. 6266 $25.00
North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation Box 1054, 4205 State Street Bismark, ND 58503 (701) 328-5500 $29.50
Ohio The State of Ohio

Office of the Attorney General

Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation

P.O. Box 365, London, OH, 43140

http://1.usa.gov/NE0On6

 

(740) 845-2000 or 1-877-224-0043 $8.00
Oklahoma The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

Criminal History Information

6600 North Harvey, Building 6, Oklahoma City, OK 73116 (405) 848-6724 $19.00
Oregon Oregon State Police

Unit 11

P.O. Box 4395, Portland, OR, 97208-4395

http://1.usa.gov/Lw8tSC

 

(503) 378-3070 $33.00
Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania State Police

Central Repository

1800 Elmerton Avenue Harrisburg, PA, 17110-9758

Fill Form Online At http://bit.ly/3d6G7t

 

(717) 783-5588 $10.00 2-3 weeks
Rhode Island State of Rhode Island

Office of the Attorney General

Bureau of Criminal Identification

150 South Main Street Providence, RI, 02903 (401) 421-5268 $5.00 7 Business Days
South Carolina South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

S.L.E.D. Records

P.O. Box 21398 4400 Broadriver Road Columbia, SC, 29221 (803) 896-7005 $25.00
South Dakota Office of Attorney General

The Division of Criminal Investigation

1302 E. Highway 14

Suite 5, Pierre, SD 57501

http://bit.ly/MynNmT

 

(605) 773-3331 $43.25
Tennessee Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 901 R.S. Gass Blvd. Nashville, TN 37216

Fill Form Online At http://bit.ly/M9aerv

 

(615) 744-4095 $29.00
Texas The Texas Department of Public Safety

Attention: Crime Records Division

P.O. Box 15999, 505 North Lamar Blvd. Austin, TX, 78761-5999

http://bit.ly/Md32GE

 

(512) 424-2079 $24.95
Utah Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification 3888 W. 5400 Street Taylorsville, Utah 84129

http://1.usa.gov/LmBXjO

 

(801) 965-4445 $15.00
Vermont The Department of Public Safety

Vermont Criminal Information Center

103 South Main Street Waterbury, VT, 05671-2101

http://bit.ly/Kd2IqM

 

(802) 244-8727 $30.00 5-7 days by mail

or 10 minutes

in person

Virginia Department of State P.O. Box 85076 Richmond, VA 23261-5076

http://bit.ly/Lm9NJy

 

(804) 674-2000 15.00
Washington The Washington State Patrol

Identification Division

P.O. Box 42633 Olympia, WA, 98504-2633

http://1.usa.gov/KMDfZW

 

(360) 534-2000 $17.00
West Virginia West Virginia State Police 725 Jefferson Road South Charleston, WV, 25309

Fill Form Online At http://bit.ly/Lvl1JN

 

(304) 746-2170 $28.85 (State Only)
Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Justice

Crime Information Bureau

P.O. Box 2688 Madison, WI, 53701-2688

Fill Form Online At http://bit.ly/L0NE2x

 

(608) 266-7314 $7 (by internet) $12 (if mail/fax)
Wyoming The State of Wyoming

Division of Criminal Investigation

316 West 22nd Street Cheyenne, WY, 82002 (307) 777-7523 $15.00 10 business days

Each state has different departments and procedures for administering criminal background checks. Consult the table below for state-specific information concerning fees, contact information, and request forms to ensure that you can obtain the documents that you need in order to submit a successful criminal rehabilitation or temporary resident permit application.

The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 propelled changes even further placing added conditions of entry on the notably friendly border. As of June 1st, 2009 the full provisions of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative were implemented which required any foreign national to present their passport or equivalent document in order to enter the United States. Similarly, American citizens now need to present their passports to enter Canada. The process of entering Canada also has additional steps for any American citizen with a criminal record.

Depending on the circumstances of a particular case, foreign nationals have two options in terms of overcoming their inadmissibility to Canada; the short-term solution of acquiring a Temporary Resident Permit or the permanent solution of Criminal Rehabilitation. While slightly different in their outcome, both of these options require submitting applications to a Canadian consulate in the United States. Among the requirements of these paperwork-heavy applications are state police clearances, and in some cases FBI clearances. The title of such documents can vary by state, but they all serve the same purpose of outlining offenses incurred by an individual.

A state police clearance can offer immigration officials an official and trusted account of the applicant’s criminal history within the jurisdiction of the specified state. An application is strengthened when a background check from the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also included, as it discloses one’s criminal history in all of the United States.

To acquire state police clearances individuals must make requests through the individual states.

For more information on Temporary Resident Permits, Criminal Rehabilitation and all matters involving Canadian Immigration, contact us here!

FWCanada is a Montreal-based immigration law firm that provides professional legal services on Canadian immigration. For more tips and updates on Canadian immigration follow FWCanada on FacebookTwitter, and Linkedin.