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FINGERPRINT BASED CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS


FINGERPRINT BASED CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS

The Knox County Sheriff's Department provides fingerprinting services for Criminal History Conviction Checks requested under the following Acts:

UNIFORM CONVICTION INFORMATION ACT (UCIA)

A request can be made by any individual or agency to obtain fingerprint base conviction information for any purpose.  The conviction information is that which has been collected and maintained by the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification.  Persons making Criminal History Conviction requests under the UCIA must provide theappropriate forms which can be obtained from the Illinois State Police.  The Knox County Sheriff's Department does NOT provide these forms nor submit them to the Bureau of Identification.  The $10.00 fee charged by the Knox County Sheriff's Department only covers the cost of taking the prints.  Other fees associated with UCIA requests must be paid directly to the Illinois State Police at the time of submission.  For more information on UCIA requests, download the Background Check Guide.

FEE APPLICANT FINGERPRINT PROCESS:

Through the Fee Applicant Fingerprint Process, Criminal History Checks on information maintained by both the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may be obtained in accordance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA/AWV) and the National Child Protection Act/Volunteers for Children Act (NCPA/VCA).

AWA/AWV submissions are those made by (1) Governmental Social Service Agencies with child protection responsibilities, (2) Child Welfare Agencies and (3) Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools and State and Local Educational Agencies for the purpose of volunteer and employment screening.

NCPA/VCA authorizes certain nongovernmental organizations to conduct a fingerprint based national Criminal History Record Check to determine an individual's fitness to care for the safety and well-being of children, the elderly and people with disabilities.  This Federal Act allows organizations, designated as a "Qualified Entity", to make a fitness determination based on the National Criminal History Record Information provided by the FBI through the Illinois State Police.  There are specific criteria that "Qualified Entities" must adherer to in order to obtain FBI Criminal History Record Information pursuant to the NCPA/VCA.

The Knox County Sheriff's Department can only take Fee Applicant prints if the organization or business has first established an account with the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification.  Once a Fee Applicant account has been established, the Knox County sheriff's Department will assess a $10.00 fee for taking the Live Scan fingerprints.  Live Scan is an inkless process by which the fingerprints are electronically captured and transmitted to the FBI through the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification.  All other fees associated with Fee Applicant processing will be deducted from the user account by the Illinois State Police.

For more information on the Fee Applicant Finger Print Process download the Background Check Guide or to see if your business or organization is a "Qualifying Entity", contact Keri Levi, Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification at (815) 740-5160 or email questions to boi_customer_support@isp.state.il.us 

Other questions can be directed to Lt. Craig Carpenter or Chief Scott Cordle at (309) 345-3760.