How to Get a New Jersey State Police Background Check

To get a New Jersey State Police background check, you submit a fingerprint-based request through the State Police Criminal Information Unit and complete electronic fingerprinting with IdentoGO, the state’s sole authorized vendor. If you are checking your own record, you start the request yourself through the state’s online portal or a Universal Fingerprint Form. If an employer or licensing board needs the results, they give you a service code that routes the report to them, and you take that code to your fingerprinting appointment.¹

How to Submit the Request

There are two paths, and which one you use depends on who needs the results.

For a personal record review, go to the New Jersey State Police Criminal Information Unit’s online portal and complete the request there, or fill out a Universal Fingerprint Form. Either way, you then schedule a fingerprinting appointment with IdentoGO.

For an employer or licensing board check, the requesting agency provides a service code. That code identifies the purpose of the check and directs the results back to them. You bring the code to your IdentoGO appointment along with your ID; without it, the fingerprint capture cannot be tied to the right request.

What It Costs

The state charges up to $30 to process a fingerprint-based criminal history check, plus a separate fee for the federal records search set by the Superintendent of State Police.² IdentoGO charges its own service fee for the fingerprinting appointment, paid directly at the time of the visit.

Volunteers with qualifying nonprofits or youth-serving organizations pay a reduced state processing fee of $18 instead of $30.³ Name-based searches, used when fingerprints are not feasible, cost up to $18 for the state portion.

The Fingerprinting Appointment

Every criminal history check processed by the New Jersey State Police requires electronic fingerprinting through Live Scan. Traditional ink-and-card prints are generally not accepted unless a specific agency requires them. Live Scan captures your prints digitally and transmits them simultaneously to the State Police and the FBI so both state and federal databases can be searched.⁴

IdentoGO runs the only authorized fingerprinting sites in New Jersey. Schedule an appointment online at uenroll.identogo.com or by calling their scheduling line; walk-ins are not always available. Bring:

A valid government-issued photo ID
Your completed Universal Fingerprint Form
The service code, if an employer or licensing board provided one

Your prints are checked against the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which can catch matches even where someone has used aliases or different names over the years. If your prints come back unreadable, which happens most often with manual laborers and people with certain skin conditions, you will be asked back for a second capture, and that adds time. In rare cases where fingerprints genuinely cannot be captured for medical reasons, the State Police may authorize a name-based check as a fallback. Name-based searches depend on exact spelling and identifying information rather than a biometric match, so the state treats them as a last resort.

What the Report Will Show

The core of every report is the Criminal History Record Information database maintained by the State Police, covering offenses committed in New Jersey.¹ When the check includes a federal component, which most employment and licensing checks do, the FBI’s national databases are searched as well. Reports generally include felony and misdemeanor convictions, pending charges, and arrest records.

The depth of disclosure depends on who is asking. A personal record review shows your own criminal history. Employer and licensing reports may include additional details such as outstanding warrants or restraining orders, particularly for sensitive positions in healthcare, education, or law enforcement. Juvenile records are typically excluded from standard checks, though exceptions exist for certain regulated roles.

Every report disseminated for noncriminal justice purposes carries a notice that records are subject to change and that expunged records may not be shared.⁵ Pending charges are presumed unresolved, not evidence of guilt.

Expunged Records

Once a New Jersey court grants an expungement, the arrest, conviction, and related proceedings are legally treated as though they never happened, and they should not appear on a standard background check. If one does, contact the NJSP Expungement Unit at ExpungementUnit@njsp.gov to flag the discrepancy and have the record corrected.⁶ You can answer “no” on job applications that ask about criminal history after an expungement, with narrow exceptions for positions in the judicial branch and law enforcement or corrections agencies, and for disclosure of prior diversionary program participation when a court is deciding admission into another diversion program.⁷

How Long It Takes

Expect results within roughly ten business days. Complex records or heavy request volume can push that out further. If you have not received results after that window, contact the Criminal Information Unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2302, or CIU@njsp.gov.

Why Requests Get Rejected

Two problems account for most bounced requests. The first is a mismatch in personal identifiers: your name, date of birth, or Social Security number does not line up exactly with what the system expects. A missing middle name, an unupdated maiden name, or a transposed digit can be enough. The system is built to flag inconsistencies rather than guess through them.

The second is an authorization error. Employment and licensing checks require a service code tied to the requesting agency’s purpose. If the code is wrong, expired, or does not match the type of position being screened for, the request is automatically rejected. That fault usually lies with the employer or licensing board, but you are the one rescheduling the appointment.

Fixing Errors on Your Report

Request your own copy of the report and read every entry. If personal information is wrong, submit a written correction request to the Criminal Information Unit with supporting documents such as a government-issued ID or birth certificate.

Criminal history errors take more work. If dismissed charges or completed diversionary programs still show as open, or a conviction appears under the wrong statute, you will need official documentation from the court or arresting agency that handled the case. For expunged records that reappear, provide a certified copy of the expungement order from the Superior Court to the NJSP Expungement Unit.⁶

If the error appeared on a report pulled by an employer through a consumer reporting agency, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you additional leverage. The agency must investigate your dispute and correct or delete inaccurate information within 30 days of receiving your notice, free of charge.⁸

If the Check Is for a Job

New Jersey’s Opportunity to Compete Act prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from asking about your criminal history during the initial application process. No questions on the application form, no verbal inquiries in the first interview, no online fields requiring disclosure of arrests or convictions.⁹ The law controls timing, not the ultimate decision: an employer can still run a background check after the initial process and decline to hire based on the results, provided the record has not been expunged and the refusal is consistent with other applicable laws.

When an employer uses a third-party service to run the check, the FCRA adds federal protection. Before taking any adverse action such as declining to hire you, rescinding an offer, or denying a promotion, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a written summary of your rights.¹⁰ That pre-adverse action notice is meant to give you a real opportunity to review the report and dispute anything wrong before the final decision.¹¹ Many employers skip this step. If yours did, the employer likely violated federal law, and you can raise it with the Federal Trade Commission or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or bring a private lawsuit under the FCRA.

1
New Jersey Portal. Request for Criminal History Record Information for Noncriminal Justice Purposes
2
Justia. New Jersey Code 53:1-20.6 – Rules, Regulations Authorizing Dissemination of Criminal History Record Background Information
3
Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 13:59-1.3 – Fees
4
New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Live Scan – Electronic Fingerprinting Process
5
Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 13:59-1.6 – Limitations on Access and Use of Criminal History Record Information for Noncriminal Justice Purposes
6
New Jersey State Police. Expungement Status Portal
7
FindLaw. New Jersey Code 2C:52-27 – Order of Expungement
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
9
Justia. New Jersey Code 34:6B-14 – Prohibited Actions by Employer During Initial Employment Application Process
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
11
Federal Trade Commission. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights