Live Scan Results in California: Check Status and Fix Errors

To check Live Scan results in California, go to the Department of Justice’s Applicant Background Check Status page at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov and enter your date of birth along with the 10-digit Applicant Transaction Identifier (ATI) number printed on the Live Scan form you received at your fingerprinting appointment. The tool tells you only whether your submission is still being processed or has been transmitted to the agency that requested it. It does not show the actual background check findings, which are confidential under state law and go directly to the requesting agency.¹

Using the DOJ Status Tool

The Applicant Background Check Status page is the only channel available to applicants for tracking a submission. You need two pieces of information: your date of birth and the ATI number. Without the ATI, the system cannot locate your record. If you have misplaced the form, the Live Scan operator who took your prints should have a record of the transaction and can look up the number for you.

The system returns one of two states.¹

In Progress. The DOJ is still working on the file. That can mean routine queuing, but it can also mean your prints triggered a manual review or need to be resubmitted.
Completed. The DOJ (and the FBI, if the requesting agency ordered a federal check) has finished processing and sent the results electronically to the requesting agency.

“Completed” is not an approval and not a denial. It is a delivery confirmation. Every decision about your employment, license, or clearance is made by the requesting agency after it reviews what the DOJ sends.

How Long the Process Usually Takes

When fingerprints are clean and match no records in the statewide criminal history database, the DOJ processes the submission electronically within 48 to 72 hours with no technician involvement.¹ If a federal FBI check is included, the DOJ forwards the prints to the FBI for a separate national search. That adds time on top of the state-level turnaround, and the FBI does not publish a guaranteed timeframe.

Two situations account for most of the long delays.¹ The first is a rejection for image quality: if the DOJ cannot read your prints clearly, you must return to a Live Scan operator and start over. The second is a fingerprint match. When your prints hit a record in the database, a DOJ technician has to manually review the associated criminal history before results can be transmitted. That manual review can stretch to several weeks, and the DOJ does not issue interim updates while it is underway.

Why Fingerprints Get Rejected

Poor image quality is the most common cause of rejection. Dry, cracked, or heavily calloused skin produces faint ridges the scanner cannot capture, a frequent problem for people who work with their hands and for older adults whose ridge patterns have worn down. Sweaty or oily fingers smudge in the opposite direction, and hand lotion applied shortly before the appointment has the same effect. Technical failures at the scanning site also play a role: a rushed operator can misposition your fingers, dirty or malfunctioning equipment distorts images, and prints captured on uncertified scanners may be rejected outright.

If you have to go back for a second attempt, moisturize your hands for several days beforehand but not on the day of the appointment, avoid heavy manual labor immediately before, and pick a well-reviewed location with current equipment.

When Your Status Is Stuck

If the tool has said “In Progress” for more than a few weeks and you need answers, the DOJ offers two email contacts.² General questions about the process go to Applicant Information Services at Applicantinfoservices@doj.ca.gov. Questions about a specific transaction go to the Applicant Response Section at appagencyquestions@doj.ca.gov.

Be realistic about what these contacts can do. A delay caused by manual record review is essentially a closed box: the DOJ will not tell you what the review found or when it will finish, and the requesting agency is in exactly the same position, waiting on the DOJ. If the wait is jeopardizing a job offer or a license timeline, tell the requesting agency directly so they know the holdup is on the DOJ side and not something you can push forward.

Why You Don’t Receive the Actual Results

Under California Penal Code section 11105, criminal history information from the DOJ can be released only to specifically authorized recipients, and applicants are not on that list for the report generated by their own background check.³ The DOJ transmits the report directly and exclusively to the requesting agency, routed by an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) code. If a federal check was ordered, the FBI returns its findings to the DOJ, which then sends a combined response to the requesting agency.¹

There is one important exception. If the requesting agency plans to use information from that report as the basis for denying you employment, a license, or a certification, the agency must promptly provide you with a copy of the information that triggered the adverse decision.³ In other words, you see the record only if it is being used against you.

What the Requesting Agency Sees

The agency receives one of two basic outcomes. A “clear” or “no record” response means your prints did not match any entries in the state or federal databases and is the most common result, generally allowing the agency to move forward. The other outcome is a response that contains criminal history. That does not automatically disqualify you. The agency measures whatever appears against its own eligibility criteria, which differ by whether the check was for employment, licensing, volunteer work, or something else.

Getting Your Own Criminal History Record

If you want to see exactly what agencies see, you can request a personal copy of your record from the DOJ. This is a separate process from the background check your requesting agency initiated. Fill out form BCIA 8016RR, mark “Record Review” as the application type, and write “Record Review” on the reason line. Bring the form to any Live Scan site for fingerprinting. The DOJ processing fee is $25, and the operator will charge a separate rolling fee for the fingerprinting itself.⁴

Fee waivers are available for California residents receiving public assistance such as CalFresh, Medi-Cal, or disability benefits, and for those with low or no income relative to household size. The waiver eliminates the $25 DOJ fee, though you still pay the operator’s rolling fee.⁵

Challenging an Inaccurate Record

Records are not always right. Dismissed charges that were never updated, cases belonging to someone with a similar name, and missing disposition information can all show up and cost you a job or a license. To challenge an entry, submit form BCIA 8706 (“Claim of Alleged Inaccuracy or Incompleteness”) to the DOJ’s Record Review and Challenge Section along with supporting documentation such as court orders, dismissal paperwork, or proof of identity.⁶ Your written challenge has to identify the specific entry, explain why it is wrong or incomplete, and point to your proof.

If the DOJ’s own records confirm the error, it corrects the record and sends you an amended copy. If the accuracy of the source document is in question, the DOJ forwards the challenge to the agency that originally furnished the information, and that agency has 30 days to review and respond. You must be informed of the final decision within 30 days of its issuance, and judicial review is available if you disagree with the outcome.⁷

If Criminal History Costs You a Job

An employer that wants to rescind a conditional offer based on a Live Scan result cannot simply reject you. California’s Fair Chance Act requires an individualized assessment weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed since the conviction and completion of sentence, and the nature of the job you are seeking.⁸ Blanket rejections based on a category of conviction are not permitted.

If the employer still intends to deny you, it must notify you in writing of the preliminary decision, identify the specific convictions at issue, and provide a copy of the conviction history report if one was obtained. You get at least five business days to respond with evidence of rehabilitation, mitigating circumstances, or a challenge to the report’s accuracy. Telling the employer within that window that you dispute the accuracy of the report buys you another five business days to gather documentation.⁸

Some categories of criminal history are off-limits regardless. Under California Labor Code section 432.7, employers cannot consider arrests that did not result in a conviction, participation in pretrial or posttrial diversion programs, juvenile records, or convictions that have been judicially dismissed or sealed. They cannot ask about these events, seek them from any source, or use them in an employment decision.

1
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Fingerprint Background Checks
2
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Contact Us
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11105
4
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Criminal Records – Request Your Own
5
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Apply for a Fee Waiver
6
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Frequently Asked Questions
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California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 11126
8
California Civil Rights Department. Fair Chance Act: Criminal History and Employment