IDFPR Fingerprint Requirements: Deadline, Vendors, and Costs

If you’re applying for a professional license in Illinois, the IDFPR fingerprint requirements come down to this: you visit a licensed Live Scan vendor within 60 days of submitting your application, pay roughly $30 to $70, and the vendor transmits your prints electronically to the Illinois State Police and the FBI. Those agencies run a criminal history check and send the results to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to review alongside your application.¹

Who Has to Get Fingerprinted

IDFPR’s Division of Professional Regulation licenses a wide range of professions, from physicians and nurses to cosmetologists, accountants, and architects.² Not all of them require fingerprints. The rule lives inside each profession’s individual practice act, so whether you need prints depends on which license you’re after.

Nurses applying for licensure by examination or restoring a lapsed license must submit prints for both state and FBI checks under the Nurse Practice Act.³ Private detectives, private security contractors, locksmiths, fingerprint vendors themselves, and their employees are covered under the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act, which requires electronic submission to the Illinois State Police and FBI.⁴ Real estate professionals, cannabis industry applicants, and massage therapists are also commonly fingerprinted. The requirement applies to first-time applicants and anyone restoring a lapsed license.

If you’re unsure, check your profession’s application packet before scheduling anything. IDFPR publishes the full list of regulated professions on its site.⁵

The 60-Day Deadline

Your prints must be taken within 60 days of submitting your application to IDFPR or its testing vendor.¹ This trips people up often. Get fingerprinted too early and the window may close before your application is processed; wait too long and an application delay can push you past the mark. Either way, you pay again and start over. Don’t schedule your appointment until your application materials are nearly ready to submit.

Finding a Licensed Live Scan Vendor

All fingerprint submissions to the Illinois State Police must go through a licensed Live Scan vendor.⁶ A walk-in at a police station or a shipping store won’t get your results to IDFPR. The department maintains a searchable vendor list showing each vendor’s name, phone, address, and whether they can card-scan mailed-in fingerprint cards.⁷

Vendors set their own hours and service fees, so call ahead to book and to confirm the total price. In high-demand areas, especially during peak licensing seasons, appointments fill up fast.

What to Bring

Have your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current mailing address ready. The forms also ask for the position or reason you’re being fingerprinted (for example, “nurse” or “security guard”).¹

Bring a valid government-issued photo ID: an Illinois driver’s license, state ID, or U.S. passport. Without it, the vendor can’t verify your identity and won’t proceed. Some professions use specific form codes or authorization paperwork, so check your IDFPR application packet before you leave the house.

What Happens at the Appointment

A technician captures your finger and palm prints digitally through a Live Scan glass scanner. No ink. The images transmit electronically to the Illinois State Police, which forwards them to the FBI for the federal criminal history search. The capture itself usually takes under 15 minutes.

You walk out with a receipt containing a 16-digit Transaction Control Number (TCN). Hold onto it. You’ll enter the TCN when submitting your license application online, and IDFPR may ask for a copy if anything goes sideways.¹

If Your Prints Come Back Unreadable

Dry skin, scarring, manual labor wear, and age all cause prints to fail quality standards. If yours are rejected, you’ll usually need to return for a second scan. People with chronically faint prints often get better results by moisturizing in the days before the appointment (but skipping lotion on the day itself) and staying well hydrated. Tell the technician about past rejections so they can take extra care.

If a second electronic scan also fails, the fallback is ink prints on a standard FBI FD-258 card. Your vendor or IDFPR instructions will cover that process.

What It Costs

Your bill has two parts. The Illinois State Police processing fee for an electronic state and FBI check is $27.⁸ The vendor adds its own service fee on top. Some municipal vendors charge very little above the ISP fee; private vendors may add $40 or more. Expect $30 to $70 total out of pocket, and confirm the number when you book. You pay the vendor directly at the appointment. This is separate from your IDFPR license application fee.

If You Live Outside Illinois

Out-of-state applicants can use a mail-in alternative:¹

Complete Section 1 of the Identity Verification Certifying Statement (form OOS-FP) from the IDFPR website.
Visit a law enforcement or other certifying agency in your state to have one FBI fingerprint card completed with classifiable prints. Have them complete and sign Section 2 of the OOS-FP form.
From the IDFPR vendor list, pick an Illinois vendor with card scan capability and call to confirm their fee for processing a mailed card.
Mail the completed OOS-FP form, the FBI fingerprint card, and payment to that vendor.

The vendor scans your card and transmits the data electronically to the Illinois State Police, just as with an in-person appointment. You’ll get a receipt with a TCN once it processes. Mailing prints directly to the Illinois State Police is no longer accepted; everything routes through a licensed vendor.

Checking That Your Results Arrived

After the vendor transmits your prints, the Illinois State Police runs the check and forwards results to IDFPR. Most come back within a few business days, though volume or technical issues can stretch that. IDFPR has an online lookup where you enter your last name, first initial, and Social Security number to confirm the results are in.⁹

If a week passes with nothing showing, your TCN receipt is what you need. Contact the vendor or the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification to confirm the submission went through.

If a Record Shows Up

A criminal record doesn’t automatically disqualify you from every IDFPR-regulated profession, but some convictions create serious obstacles. The outcome depends on what’s on your record, how long ago the offense occurred, and which license you’re pursuing. Private security applicants, for example, are evaluated under their practice act, which gives IDFPR discretion to review convictions case by case.⁴ Healthcare worker applicants are screened against a tiered disqualifying-offense list maintained by the Illinois Department of Public Health, with waiver options for some offenses.¹⁰

When IDFPR finds a conviction or out-of-state discipline during review, it may ask for more information or send a formal Intent to Deny (ITD) notice. An ITD isn’t a final denial; it means the department wants you to respond before deciding. IDFPR publishes guidance on how to respond, including what documentation to bring and how to make your case.¹¹ If the department denies your application after reviewing your response, you have 35 days from the final decision to file an appeal in circuit court under the Illinois Administrative Review Act. For questions after a denial, IDFPR directs applicants to email FPR.ITD@illinois.gov.

Fixing Errors in Your Criminal History

Sometimes the problem isn’t your history but the record. Outdated entries, cases dismissed or expunged that still appear, and records belonging to someone else all surface regularly. The Illinois State Police runs a Record Challenge process at no charge.¹²

Start by requesting your criminal history transcript through the ISP’s Access and Review process. Visit an Illinois law enforcement agency, correctional facility, or licensed fingerprint vendor and submit your prints. ISP returns your transcript with a Record Challenge form. Complete and return the form, and ISP sends back a written response explaining any corrections made or why none were warranted. If you suspect your record could delay your license, reviewing it before you apply can save weeks of back-and-forth with IDFPR.

1
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Fingerprint Background Check Guide
2
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Division of Professional Regulation
3
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 65 – Nurse Practice Act
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 447 – Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004
5
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Professions and Industries Regulated by IDFPR
6
Illinois State Police. Fingerprint Based Background Checks
7
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Fingerprint Vendors List
8
Illinois State Police. Bureau of Identification Fee Schedule
9
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Fingerprint Results
10
Illinois Department of Public Health. Disqualifying Convictions
11
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Statewide Enforcement Section
12
Illinois State Police. Viewing My Record