The Illinois background check form you need depends on how the search is run. For a name-based conviction check, use Form ISP6-405B and submit it by mail with a $16 check or money order, or electronically through the Illinois State Police CHIRP system for $10. For a fingerprint-based check, use Form ISP6-404B and submit it through a licensed Live Scan vendor for $15, or $27 if the position also requires an FBI check.1Illinois State Police. Fee Schedule
Which Form You Need
The Illinois State Police issues two request forms under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, and the wrong choice will get your request rejected or delayed.
Form ISP6-405B is the name-based form. It searches the state database using biographical information such as name, date of birth, sex, and race, and returns matching conviction records. Because the match relies on identifiers rather than biometrics, results can include false positives when someone shares a name with the subject. This is the routine form for general employment screening and personal inquiries.2Illinois State Police. OutStateRequestForm
Form ISP6-404B is the fingerprint-based form, used when a statute or licensing body requires positive identification. Healthcare roles, licenses regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and positions working with children or vulnerable adults commonly require this level. Fingerprint results are tied conclusively to one person.2Illinois State Police. OutStateRequestForm
If you are not sure which applies, ask the agency or employer requesting the check. Licensing bodies will typically specify the form and provide an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number that must appear on the submission.
Filling Out ISP6-405B
The name-based form has two sections: information about the requester and information about the subject.
In the requester section, enter your name, email address, street address, city, state, zip code, and country. These fields determine where the results are sent, so make sure everything is legible and current. An undeliverable response means starting the process over.
In the subject section, enter the subject’s full legal name exactly as it appears on government-issued identification. Add any known aliases, maiden names, or former legal names. Include date of birth, sex, and race, which the Bureau of Identification uses to narrow results among common names. The Social Security number field further refines the search. Every blank field increases the chance of an inconclusive or overly broad response, so fill in what you have.
One legal requirement sits on top of the form itself. If you are requesting conviction information for employment or licensing, the Uniform Conviction Information Act requires you to keep a signed release from the subject on file for at least two years. You must give the subject a copy of whatever the Illinois State Police sends back, and the subject has seven working days to notify you of anything inaccurate or incomplete in the report.3FindLaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 20 Executive Branch 2635/7
Submitting a Name-Based Check
By Mail
Send the completed ISP6-405B with a check or money order for $16 to the Bureau of Identification. Cash is not accepted.
Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification
260 North Chicago Street
Joliet, Illinois4Illinois State Police. Bureau of Identification
Results come back through the U.S. Postal Service. Expect two to three weeks for the round trip, depending on Bureau volume and mail transit.
Online Through CHIRP
Name-based inquiries can also be submitted through the Criminal History Information Response Process, or CHIRP. The electronic fee is $10 instead of $16.1Illinois State Police. Fee Schedule Access is not open to the general public. CHIRP is limited to Illinois law enforcement agencies and organizations that have executed a User’s Agreement with the Illinois State Police.5Illinois State Police. Criminal History Information Response Process Once a submission goes through, you retrieve results by logging back in and entering the Transaction Control Number assigned when you started the inquiry.4Illinois State Police. Bureau of Identification
Submitting a Fingerprint-Based Check
Fingerprint submissions to the Illinois State Police must now go through a licensed Live Scan vendor electronically. The vendor captures the fingerprints digitally and transmits them to the Bureau of Identification with the required identifying information.6Illinois State Police. Fingerprint Based Background Checks
Before your appointment, contact the agency requiring the check and get the correct ORI number along with any specific submission instructions. Showing up at a vendor without the ORI is a common cause of rejected or misrouted submissions. Licensed vendors can be found through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s online lookup.6Illinois State Police. Fingerprint Based Background Checks
State fees under the Uniform Conviction Information Act:1Illinois State Police. Fee Schedule
- Name-based inquiry, paper: $16.00
- Name-based inquiry, electronic through CHIRP: $10.00
- Fingerprint card, paper: $20.00
- Fingerprint, electronic through Live Scan: $15.00
- State and FBI combined, Live Scan: $27.00
- State and FBI combined, paper: $32.00
- Fingerprint resubmission after a quality rejection: $10.00
Live Scan vendors charge a separate service fee on top of the state fee, and that amount varies by vendor. Confirm the total before your appointment.
Viewing Your Own Record
Illinois residents can request their own criminal history through the Access and Review process. Visit any Illinois law enforcement agency, correctional facility, or licensed fingerprint vendor during regular business hours and ask for an Access and Review submission. Staff take your fingerprints and identifying information and forward them to the Bureau of Identification.7Illinois State Police. Viewing My Record
The Illinois State Police charges no fee for Access and Review or Record Challenge submissions, though the agency or vendor providing the fingerprint service may charge its own processing fee.7Illinois State Police. Viewing My Record The Bureau mails your transcript along with a Record Challenge form to the address you provide. If no criminal history exists, you get a written statement confirming that.
If you find an error, complete the Record Challenge form and return it. The Bureau investigates and sends a written response explaining any corrections, or a statement that the record stands as recorded. Challenges filed under the Uniform Conviction Information Act take priority over other individual record reviews.3FindLaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 20 Executive Branch 2635/7
One practical boundary: if you direct results to a law enforcement agency or correctional facility rather than your home, you have 45 days to pick them up before the facility destroys them.
Employer Rules That Shape When You Can Run the Check
Ban the Box Timing
p>Illinois prohibits private employers and employment agencies from asking about criminal history on an initial job application. Under the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, you cannot inquire about, consider, or require disclosure of an applicant’s criminal record until the applicant has been determined qualified and notified they have been selected for an interview. If the process does not include an interview, the inquiry waits until after a conditional offer of employment.8Illinois Department of Labor. Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (Ban the Box)
Three categories of positions are exempt: jobs where federal or state law requires excluding applicants with certain convictions, positions requiring a fidelity bond where specific convictions would disqualify the applicant from obtaining one, and positions licensed under the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act. Employers may also notify applicants in writing of specific offenses that would disqualify them from a particular position, even before the interview stage.8Illinois Department of Labor. Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (Ban the Box)
Fair Credit Reporting Act Steps
If you hire a third-party consumer reporting agency to run the check rather than submitting the ISP form yourself, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act adds a compliance layer. Before ordering the report, provide the applicant a standalone written disclosure stating that you intend to obtain a consumer report for employment purposes. That disclosure cannot be bundled with the job application, a liability waiver, or at-will employment language. Get the applicant’s signed, written authorization before the report is ordered.
When something in the report leads toward denying employment, federal law requires a two-step adverse action process. First, send a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the report and a document titled “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act,” published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act That gives the applicant a chance to review the findings and dispute errors before you make a final decision. Second, after a reasonable waiting period, if you proceed with the denial, send a final adverse action notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the reporting agency that provided the information.
Skipping either step exposes the employer to federal liability. Most employers who get in trouble here ran the check correctly and mishandled the notice.