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Criminal History Background Checks


Service Information

​​Oklahoma statutes (Title 10 O. S. Section 7209A) mandate that a national criminal history records search, based upon submission of fingerprints of all adults living in the home, be run on all public and private child placing agency foster care applicants.  This applies to all foster parent applicants (and anyone over the age of 18, living in the foster parent's home) with Child Welfare, DDSD, OJA, private child placing agencies, and tribal foster parent applicants who will be serving custody children.

Oklahoma statutes (Title 10 O. S. Section 7505-5.3A) mandate the same as above for all  public agency and private adoptive applicants. The mandate applies to adoptive parent  applicants (and anyone over the age of 18 living in the adoptive parents' home) through DHS, private child placing agencies, tribal and private attorneys.

DHS was designated as the lead agency responsible for facilitating this process with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Two types of criminal history background checks are processed: fingerprint-based checks; and name-based checks.

Both types of background check requests include a search of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) driving records and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) sex offender registry files.

Deborah King
Supervisor

Phone:  (405) 522-3857
Fax:       (405) 522-3846

Kelley Building
2409 N. Kelley Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73111

Mailing Address:
Child Welfare Services
Administrative Services Unit
Fingerprint & Background Check Section
PO Box 25352
Oklahoma City, OK 73125


Frequently Asked Questions

How to Obtain a Fingerprint-Based Background Check

A child welfare worker gives each person in the home age 18 and older:

  • two fingerprint cards;
  • a Request for Background Check form (04AD003E)  and
  • a Fingerprinting Services Authorization form, if required by county procedures.

Fingerprinting is done by:

  • local law enforcement, or
  • a private fingerprinting vendor, or
  • OKDHS county staff (if a trained person is available).

Applicants take two blank fingerprint cards and the Fingerprinting Services Authorization Form to the fingerprinting location of their choice.

The Fingerprinting Services Authorization form allows reimbursement to the fingerprint vendor of up to $15 per person. 

Fingerprinting vendors who charge a fee, but do not accept the Authorization Form, should not be used.  If OKDHS county staff take the fingerprints, an Authorization Form is not needed.

Fingerprinting vendors who will not provide reprints of rejected fingerprints at no charge should not be used. 

Applicants return the completed fingerprint cards to the worker.  The worker reviews the cards for completeness and signatures. 

Incomplete fingerprint cards cannot be processed and will be returned to the worker.

Fingerprint cards and a completed, signed Request for Background Check form (04AD003E) are submitted to the DHS-CWS Fingerprint Processing Section.

Cards for all members of the same household must be submitted together.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) rejects fingerprint cards if the prints are illegible.  

  • The Fingerprint Processing Section will send a Notification Letter with the rejected fingerprint cards to the worker. The worker advises the applicant to be re-fingerprinted and provides a new set of cards.
  • Applicants takes both the rejected and new cards to the same vendor and requests to be re-fingerprinted at no charge. 
  •  Applicants are not given another Fingerprinting Services Authorization form as OKDHS does not pay for reprints.
  • The applicant returns the reprinted set and the rejected set of fingerprint cards to the worker, who submits them to the Fingerprint Processing Section. The Fingerprint Processing Section submits the reprints and the rejected prints to the OSBI. 
  • If the rejected prints cannot be returned to the Fingerprint Processing Section, submit a note with the new prints explaining why the rejected prints are unavailable; this information will be provided to the OSBI.
  • When submitting reprints, a copy of the rejection letter should be attached.  Another Request for Background Check form is not required unless it has been over a year since the last prints were submitted.
  • Applicants are not to be sent to the OSBI to be fingerprinted without a letter from the Fingerprint Processing Section.

Fingerprint cards and Request for Background Check forms are sent in a sealed manila envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL and addressed to:
    OKDHS CWS Fingerprint Processing Section
    P.O. Box 25352, Oklahoma City, OK  73125

Results of the fingerprint-based search include:

  • FBI (National criminal history search)
  • OSBI (State of Oklahoma criminal history search)
  • Sex Offender Registry Search (Records maintained by the Dept. of Corrections)
  • Department of Public Safety Record Search


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