Live Scan machines digitize your fingerprints for state and federal databases and preemployment screens.
Live Scan machines make a digital (computer) image of your fingerprints, often as part of a preemployment background check. Live Scans can be sent to state and federal authorities, along with a printed copy to you or your potential employer to be forwarded to a background-checking agency. Live Scan fees vary, and usually are paid by the potential employer as part of the cost of the prescreening process, but the applicant must provide a driver’s license or some other valid form of identification.
Live Scan Machines
Live Scan machines are similar to the computers, printers and scanners that many of us are familiar with at home and at work. They are connected to state and federal agencies via modem, sending your fingerprints to those agencies in minutes, and are not harmful to the health or well-being of the operator or the person being fingerprinted.
Uses
In addition to the many criminal justice uses of fingerprinting, state and federal agencies use Live Scan fingerprinting for preemployment background checks, for certain licenses and certifications, and as part of the procedure for issuing security clearances required by many businesses receiving government contracts, and by government agencies such as the military (although private businesses may require them also). Live Scan technology allows fingerprints to be transmitted within minutes, and speeds up the process of background checking.
Databases
Due to increasingly enhanced technology, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation website, their fingerprint database files in 2010 are growing by approximately 13,000 records per day.
Fingerprint Rolling
Fingerprint rolling refers to the way the fingerprint is made. Whether by a Live Scan machine, or by hand with something as basic as an inked stamp pad, the procedure involves rolling a finger or thumb from side to side so that the entire fingerprint is captured, either on paper or on a computer hard drive.
Certification
Although Live Scans are completely digitized, they still require the fingerprint rolling method, which must be learned and practiced; thus, many states require Live Scan operators to be certified. While guidelines differ from state to state, the certification process generally includes some study and practice, completing and submitting an application, and being fingerprinted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation website details its standard technique for rolling fingerprinting, and even adds some guidelines for special situations, such as scarred and worn fingerprints.
Preemployment Screens and Background Checks: Are They Mandatory?
Employers may not force you to submit to a Live Scan, although they can refuse to process your application or hire you on the basis of your refusal to be fingerprinted and to submit to a background check. Usually, it is the employer who pays the fee and chooses the Live Scan facility, but there are many public facilities that individuals may use to pay for and receive a Live Scan at any time for personal reasons.
