Nebraska State Patrol Fingerprinting: Appointments, ID, and FBI Checks

Nebraska State Patrol fingerprinting is done by electronic LiveScan at six Troop Area Headquarters around the state. Omaha takes walk-ins; every other location requires an appointment booked through the Patrol’s online scheduler. You’ll need approved photo identification, a payment method, and hands prepared well enough to produce readable prints. FBI-based national background checks through the Patrol are available only when state or federal law specifically authorizes the request, so not every fingerprinting purpose qualifies.1Nebraska State Patrol. Fingerprinting

Where to Get Fingerprinted

The State Patrol operates LiveScan at six locations:2Nebraska DHHS. State of Nebraska Public LiveScan Locations

  • Lincoln — Criminal Identification Division, 3800 NW 12th Street, (402) 479-4971
  • Omaha — Troop A Headquarters, 4411 South 108th Street, (402) 331-3333 (walk-ins only)
  • Norfolk — Troop B Headquarters, 1401 Eisenhower Ave, (402) 370-3456
  • Grand Island — Troop C Headquarters, 3431 Old Potash Highway, (308) 385-6000
  • North Platte — Troop D Headquarters, 300 W. South River Road, (308) 535-8047
  • Scottsbluff — Troop E Headquarters, 4500 Avenue I, (308) 632-1211

Omaha is the only walk-in location. For the other five, book ahead. Showing up without an appointment at Lincoln, Norfolk, Grand Island, North Platte, or Scottsbluff will likely mean coming back another day.

Booking an Appointment and Paying

Appointments are made through the Nebraska State Patrol’s online appointment calendar, where you pick a location, date, and time. The same system lets you reschedule, cancel, or pay with a credit card, debit card, or e-check.3Nebraska State Patrol. Nebraska State Patrol – Make an Appointment If you prefer to pay separately, the Patrol also runs a Payport online payment system.1Nebraska State Patrol. Fingerprinting

The Patrol does not publish a single fee schedule on its main fingerprinting page. The amount depends on the type of service and whether an FBI national search is included. Call the specific Troop Headquarters where you plan to go for the current price. Fees are generally non-refundable no matter what the background check turns up.

Identification You Must Bring

The technician has to verify who you are before capturing prints. Bring one unexpired document from List A, or one document from both List B and List C:4Nebraska State Patrol. Fingerprint Identification Policy

  • List A — one government photo ID is enough. State driver’s license or ID card, U.S. passport, military ID, Green Card (Form I-551), Employment Authorization Card, concealed carry permit, or various federal and tribal photo IDs.
  • List B — non-government photo ID. School ID, work ID, organization membership card, or credit card with photo.
  • List C — government-issued without photo. Social Security card, certified birth certificate, U.S. marriage certificate, military discharge papers, or similar.

Without a List A document, you must show one from List B and one from List C. Check your documents the night before. Forgetting ID is the single most common reason people leave without prints.

Preparing Your Hands So Your Prints Aren’t Rejected

Print quality decides whether your submission goes through. Dry, damaged, or overly moist skin is the main reason prints come back unreadable, and a rejection means paying again for a second appointment. Start preparing several days out.

  • Moisturize several times a day, especially after washing your hands. Stop within a couple of hours of your appointment so your fingers aren’t slippery.
  • Wear gloves for dishwashing, cleaning, yardwork, or anything with harsh chemicals. Bleach and concrete are particularly hard on ridge detail.
  • Ease off activities that flatten ridges: weightlifting, rock climbing, gardening, heavy typing or paper handling.
  • Drink plenty of water in the 24 hours before your appointment.
  • Skip alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the days leading up. It dries skin aggressively.

For badly cracked hands, applying petroleum jelly or coconut oil before bed and sleeping in cotton gloves for a few nights can restore enough ridge detail to make the difference. On the day itself, arrive with clean, dry hands.

What Happens During the Appointment

LiveScan replaces the old ink-and-roll card. A technician guides each finger and both palms across a glass scanner that captures the prints digitally. The system flags weak captures on the spot, so if a finger scans poorly the technician can retake it before you leave rather than sending you a rejection notice weeks later.

The prints go electronically to the State Patrol’s Criminal Identification Division and, when authorized, on to the FBI for a national search. For comparison, name-based criminal history searches through the Patrol’s online system return immediately if nothing is found, or within three business days when a records technician has to review manually.5Nebraska State Patrol. Nebraska State Patrol – Limited Criminal History Searches Fingerprint checks that include the FBI generally take longer, and the exact turnaround depends on volume and whether manual review is triggered.

Whether Your Request Qualifies for an FBI Check

Not every fingerprinting purpose gets you an FBI national search. The Patrol only forwards prints to the FBI when state or federal law specifically authorizes it.1Nebraska State Patrol. Fingerprinting

Categories the Patrol lists as authorized include certain healthcare professionals — audiologists, speech-language pathologists, licensed independent mental health practitioners, and occupational therapists — whose licensing statutes require a national fingerprint-based check.6Nebraska Governor’s Office. Waiver of Federal Criminal Background Check for Certain Professions First-time educator applicants who have not lived in Nebraska for the five years before applying must also submit fingerprints for an FBI check, either through LiveScan or an ink card.7Nebraska Department of Education. Fingerprinting for Nebraska Certification Immigration filings, adoptions, and certain federal security clearances also carry statutory authority for an FBI-level search.

If you’re being fingerprinted for a purely personal reason with no statutory authorization, the Patrol can capture your prints, but they cannot run them through the FBI. Ask the agency requesting the check to give you the ORI code (their identifying number) and the statutory authority for the request before you book. If your request doesn’t qualify, no amount of paperwork at the Troop Headquarters will change that.

If Your Prints Are Rejected

Rejections happen more often than most people expect, particularly for older adults, manual laborers, and anyone whose hands see constant use. Common causes are dry or cracked skin, excessive sweat, worn-down ridges, and occasionally scanner or technician issues.

Paperwork errors reject submissions just as reliably as bad prints. A misspelled name, the wrong date of birth, or an incorrect ORI code bounces the entire package regardless of how clean the scans look. Confirm every field with the requesting agency before your appointment.

A rejection means paying again for a second capture. Some people with permanently low ridge detail from age, medical conditions, or scarring will fail repeatedly. In those cases the requesting agency can sometimes accept an alternative process, but only if the law or regulation behind the check allows it.

Fixing Errors in the Record That Comes Back

A fingerprint-based check can surface information that is outdated or simply wrong: a disposition that was never updated, a case that was expunged but still shows, or an arrest that belongs to someone else. You can challenge either the FBI’s version of your record, the state’s version, or both.

FBI Record

Submit a challenge electronically at edo.cjis.gov or by mail to the FBI CJIS Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Identify the inaccurate entry and attach supporting documents such as court records, an expungement order, or a pardon. There’s no fee, and the FBI reports an average processing time of about 45 days.8FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The FBI contacts the originating agency to verify or correct the entry, then updates its records and notifies you.

Nebraska State Record

Errors in Nebraska’s records start with the originating source, usually a local law enforcement agency or court. The State Patrol’s Criminal Identification Division holds the state’s central repository and can point you to the right contact. Questions about expunging or sealing a Nebraska arrest record go through the state, not the FBI, because the federal record reflects what the state reports.8FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions

Privacy Act Rights

The Privacy Act of 1974 gives you a legal right to request amendment of any federal record about you that is inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete. The agency must acknowledge your request within 10 business days and either make the correction or explain the refusal and how to appeal.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 5 – Section 552a If the agency refuses after appeal, you can file a statement of disagreement that stays attached to your record and travels with any future disclosure.