The Florida CJSTC-58 background investigation waiver is a one-page sworn authorization every law enforcement, correctional, and correctional probation officer applicant must sign before a hiring agency can pull their records. To complete it correctly, fill in the employing agency’s name and address, your full legal name and any prior names, your date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number, then sign it before a notary. The form is valid for one year from the date you sign it, and it must name a specific hiring agency.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form
Where to Get the Current Version
Download the form in PDF or Word format from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s CJSTC forms page.2Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Forms – FDLE Many recruiters also hand out copies during the application process. Either source is fine, as long as you are using the current revision. The version effective March 2025 is labeled CJSTC-058-3-2025. An older version can be rejected outright, so check the footer of the page before you start filling anything in.
Filling In the Identification Fields
The body of the form is short, but every blank matters. A missing or wrong entry sends the form back and stalls your application.
- Employing agency name and address. Put the full official name and street address of the agency you are applying to at the top. No abbreviations. This field is what makes the waiver specific to that agency, and a waiver you signed for one agency cannot be handed to another.
- Full legal name. Write your name exactly as it appears on your government-issued ID. If you have ever used a maiden name, a former married name, or any other alias, list those too. Investigators need every name records might be filed under.
- Date of birth. Month, day, year.
- Last four digits of your Social Security number. The form does not ask for the full number. Four digits is enough to distinguish you from people with similar names in databases.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form
Check each entry against your driver’s license or passport before you sign anything. A transposed digit or a misspelled name can send an investigator chasing records that belong to someone else, and you will have to clear it up later.
Signing Before a Notary
The CJSTC-58 has to be sworn or affirmed in front of a notary public. The notary verifies your identity, watches you sign, completes the oath section, applies a seal, and signs. Identification is either personal knowledge of who you are or a valid government-issued photo ID such as a Florida driver’s license or U.S. passport.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form
Online Notarization Counts
You do not have to sit across from a notary in person. The oath section includes checkboxes for both “Physical Presence” and “Online Notarization,” so remote online notarization through an authorized Florida platform is a valid option.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form Section 117.05(13)(a) of the Florida Statutes authorizes this route.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission The online notary verifies your identity through knowledge-based authentication and a live video session, then applies an electronic seal. This helps if you are applying from out of state or cannot get to a notary during business hours.
What Will Get Your Form Rejected
A signature made without a notary watching, in person or by video, makes the form invalid. So does a missing notary seal, an incomplete oath section, or a form dated more than a year before the agency wants to use it. In any of those cases, you will need to redo it.
Submitting the Form
Deliver the notarized original to the hiring agency’s background investigation unit or human resources office. Most agencies want the physical paper so they can see the raised or inked seal, though agencies that accept online notarization may also take the electronically sealed version. Ask your recruiter which they prefer before you assume a scanned copy will work.
Timing matters on the agency’s side too. Under Florida Administrative Code Rule 11B-27.002, the background investigation tied to your waiver must be completed no more than one year before your date of employment or appointment, and each new hiring agency has to run its own investigation even if another agency already did one.4Justia Law. Florida Administrative Code 11B-27.002 Turning your waiver in promptly keeps the agency inside that window.
What You Are Authorizing
Signing the CJSTC-58 gives the hiring agency, or a Regional Criminal Justice Selection Center working on its behalf, permission to collect a wide sweep of your personal records: employment history, credit records, education, residence history, work performance evaluations, prior background investigations, polygraph results, and internal affairs or disciplinary files. That includes records that would otherwise be sealed or confidential.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form
The waiver has legal force behind it. Under Section 943.134, current and former employers are required to hand over employment information when an investigator shows up with the signed form and agency credentials. If an employer refuses, the agency can go to court to compel disclosure. Employers who cooperate in good faith are protected from civil liability unless they knowingly provide false information.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.134 – Release of Employee Information by Employers
The authorization is not limited to the agency you named. The form also permits sharing of the investigation results with other criminal justice agencies, Regional Criminal Justice Selection Centers, and the State of Florida, and it allows release to third parties where Florida’s public records laws require it.1Florida Department of Law Enforcement. CJSTC-58 Florida Background Investigation Waiver Form Know that before you sign: information gathered under your waiver can circulate through Florida’s criminal justice community, not just sit in one file.
Why Every Answer on the Application Needs to Match
Your CJSTC-58 is a sworn document, and so is the application it accompanies. If you conceal something the investigation is designed to uncover, or file a false affidavit as part of hiring, Section 943.1395 requires the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to revoke your certification.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 943.1395 – Certification for Employment or Appointment; Revocation; Suspension; Investigation If you hold certification in more than one discipline, revocation in one triggers revocation in the rest. This can happen years after you are hired. It is worth taking the time to disclose fully on your application before the waiver goes out and investigators start comparing what you wrote against what the records say.
After You Turn It In
Once the agency has your signed waiver, an investigator starts contacting the sources it names: former employers, schools, references, financial institutions, and any law enforcement agencies where you previously worked or applied. This is hands-on work, not a database lookup. Investigators may visit former workplaces, interview neighbors, and follow up on anything that does not match what you reported.
There is no fixed timeline. Straightforward histories at agencies with dedicated background units sometimes finish in a few weeks. Two to four months is more typical. Applicants who have lived in several states, held many jobs, or have complicated personal histories tend to wait longer. If investigators find gaps between what you disclosed and what they turn up, expect follow-up interviews to resolve them before a hiring decision is made.