Georgia Educator Background Check: Fingerprints and Clearance

To work in a Georgia public or charter school in any position that would normally require educator certification, you have to pass a Georgia educator background check and hold a valid Clearance Certificate from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC). The certificate confirms that your fingerprints have been run against state and federal criminal databases, that you have no disqualifying convictions, and that no educator credential of yours is suspended or revoked in any state.¹ It is valid for five years.²

Who Has to Go Through It

The Clearance Certificate requirement covers educators employed by a Georgia “local unit of administration” (LUA): public school districts, state-chartered special schools, and charter schools. Private schools are outside this system. Under the GaPSC rule, “educator” means any teacher, administrator, or other school employee who would need a GaPSC-issued certificate, license, or permit if not for a charter waiver, plus anyone who has applied for such a credential but has not yet received it.¹

A separate state law reaches further. All personnel hired by an LUA on or after January 1, 2011, including non-certified staff like bus drivers and cafeteria workers, must be fingerprinted and have a criminal record check performed. The district is responsible for making that happen and for setting policy on follow-up checks for continuing employees.²

Charter employees are a special case. Even when a charter waives certification, charter school and charter system employees must still hold a Clearance Certificate, and they also have to complete the GACE Educator Ethics Assessment to get one.¹

Starting Work Before the Certificate Arrives

You do not always need the certificate in hand on day one. Georgia law allows an LUA to employ you for up to 20 days while the criminal record check is pending, provided you have already applied for the Clearance Certificate. That window is a hard cap. If the certificate has not been issued by day 20, you cannot keep working.²

What Will Disqualify You

The Clearance Certificate verifies that you have no convictions in any of these categories:

Any felony, in Georgia or any other state, regardless of how old the conviction is.
Any crime involving moral turpitude, a broad category that reaches fraud, theft, and other dishonesty offenses.
Any criminal offense involving the manufacture, distribution, trafficking, sale, or possession of a controlled substance or marijuana.
Any conviction classified as a sexual offense.

You will also be denied if an educator certificate or license of yours is currently revoked or suspended in Georgia or any other state, or if you have open, pending, or potential investigations with the GaPSC Ethics Division.¹

Fingerprinting: Vendor, Cost, and Timing

Georgia’s background checks for school employment run through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS), operated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. As of February 2025, the fingerprinting vendor is Identogo by IDEMIA, which replaced Fieldprint.³

To book an appointment, you need an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number from the school district requesting the check. Your district provides it. Register through IDEMIA’s online scheduling system and bring government-issued ID to the appointment.

Your prints are searched against the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) database and the FBI’s national database. Results for employment and licensing are typically returned within two business days.³ The combined state and federal check through GAPS costs $51.99 as of January 2025. A Georgia-only check is $39.99.⁴

Applying for the Clearance Certificate

Create a MyPSC account on the GaPSC website. This becomes your permanent digital record for every Georgia educator credential you hold. You will need your Social Security number, legal name, and current contact information. Mistakes in these fields cause delays, so check them against your government ID before you submit.

Georgia law also requires proof of lawful presence in the United States for any public benefit application, including educator certification. Complete the affidavit declaring your citizenship or qualified immigration status under O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1 and upload it with a scan of a qualifying ID such as a driver’s license, U.S. passport, or permanent resident card.⁵

The Personal Affirmation section asks about your criminal history and any disciplinary actions by licensing boards in any state. Answer accurately. Providing false information is itself grounds for denial and can carry legal consequences beyond losing the certificate.

GaPSC charges a $20 fee for most certification transactions, but if you are employed by a Georgia LUA you are exempt from that fee for initial certification and renewal, among other transactions. Graduates of a GaPSC-approved educator preparation program are also exempt.⁶ If no exemption applies to you, pay the fee in the portal during final submission. After you submit, watch the Correspondence and Status tabs in MyPSC for any requests for more documentation. Check them actively instead of waiting for an email.

If You Are Denied

A denial can be appealed, but the deadlines are tight and the format is specific. You have 60 calendar days from the denial notice to file a written appeal. Appeals cannot be submitted by phone, email, or in person; they must be mailed to the GaPSC Executive Secretary by U.S. Mail, FedEx, UPS, or another carrier.⁷

Your appeal must include your name as it appears in MyPSC, your certification ID number, contact information, a statement explaining why the denial should be overturned, and supporting documentation such as transcripts or court records. The process has two tiers. The Certification Appeals Committee reviews your written submission first and issues a decision. If you disagree with that outcome, you have another 60 calendar days to request a Tier 2 review by the GaPSC Executive Secretary, whose decision is final.

To be heard at a given month’s meeting, your appeal must arrive before the first day of that month. If the committee needs more information, your follow-up review happens at the next scheduled meeting after it arrives. Missing the 60-day window at either tier is treated as waiving your right to appeal.⁷

Staying Cleared After You’re Hired

The Clearance Certificate is good for five years from the date of issuance.¹ During that period your criminal record is monitored continuously through the FBI’s Rap Back service. Your original fingerprints were enrolled when you were first cleared, so any new arrest or activity recorded against them in the national fingerprint database generates an automatic electronic notice to the state. The check does not expire until your enrollment ends.

Renewal requires four things: you are still employed by a Georgia LUA, you complete a new Georgia criminal background check, you finish any professional learning your district requires, and your LUA formally requests the renewal through GaPSC’s procedures.⁸ Districts usually start the renewal as the expiration date approaches, but track yours yourself.

Your Duty to Report

Georgia’s Code of Ethics for Educators requires you to report a breach of any ethics standard as soon as possible, and no later than 90 days from when you became aware of it. Shorter deadlines in local policy or other law take priority. Reportable breaches include serious criminal conduct such as violent offenses, any sexual offense, drug-related crimes, and child abuse where you have reasonable cause to believe it occurred.⁹ Failing to report inside that window is itself a Code violation and can cost you the certificate, even when the underlying incident on its own would not have.

Your Rights When a Private Screener Runs the Check

If your employer uses a background reporting company, federal law adds protections on top of the state process. The employer must tell you in writing, in a standalone document, that background information could be used in hiring decisions, and must get your written permission before ordering the check.¹⁰

If the employer is considering adverse action based on something in the report, such as withdrawing a job offer, they must first give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act so you can review the findings before a final decision. If they ultimately decide not to hire or retain you based on the report, they must tell you which company produced it, confirm that the company itself did not make the employment decision, and inform you of your right to dispute inaccurate information and get a free copy of the report within 60 days.¹⁰

Errors in criminal history results are more common than people expect, especially for applicants with common names. If something in your report looks wrong, contact the agency that holds the underlying record, typically the court or law enforcement agency named in the report. Fixing it at the source is the most effective route, because the GCIC and FBI databases pull from those original records.

1
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Code of Regulations 505-2-.42 – Clearance Certificate
2
Justia Law. Georgia Code 20-2-211.1 – Clearance Certificates Issued by the Professional Standards Commission
3
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Georgia Applicant Processing Service
4
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. GCIC Fees Effective January 1, 2025
5
Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts. Georgia Code 50-36-1 – Verification of Lawful Presence
6
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Code of Regulations 505-2-.28 – Certification Fees
7
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Code of Regulations 505-2-.39 – Certification Appeal
8
Georgia Professional Standards Commission. GaPSC Rule 505-2-.42 – Clearance Certificate
9
Georgia Professional Standards Commission. GaPSC Rule 505-6-.01 – The Code of Ethics for Educators
10
Federal Trade Commission. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights