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Office of Background Investigations (OBI)

The Office of Background Investigations performs criminal history background checks of people placed in children’s lives through foster care, adoption, day care and other areas. These checks ensure the safety and well-being of Oklahoma’s children. 

How do I get a background check for:

Child Care

Oklahoma and federal law requires a comprehensive national fingerprint-based criminal history background check for the following individuals prior to their involvement in a licensed child care program:

  • Owners of a licensed child care program;
  • Responsible Entity of a child care program;
  • Employment in a child care program;
  • Any individual 18 years or older living in a licensed child care program;
  • Individuals with unsupervised access to children; and
  • Volunteers.

Complete the fingerprinting process. An appointment must be made at a Live Scan vendor site, to submit fingerprints for a specific child care reason. If you are unsure of the reason you need to be fingerprinted, please verify with the hiring program or OBI. 
*Please note: if you choose the wrong fingerprinting reason, you will have to repeat the process, resulting in an additional payment.      
Please review the five child care fingerprinting reasons  below. Once you have verified the appropriate reason, click on the hyperlink to create a fingerprint appointment: 

Child Care (2B7KXJ)
Individuals applying for employment, living in, or associated with a child care program.

Child Care/Access & Review  (2B7KZG)   
Owners, Responsible Entities, Authorized Recipients, and program personnel who will receive, review, disseminate, store, and/or have access to national criminal history information results and are employed in, living in, or associated with a child care program.

Child Care/ School District Employment/ Access and Review (2B7N18)
School personnel who will receive, review, disseminate, store, and/or have access to national criminal history information results and also will be working in or associated with a child care program.

Child Care/ School District Employment (2B7N2S)
Owners, Responsible Entities, Authorized Recipients, and program personnel who will receive, review, disseminate, store, and/or have access to national criminal history information results and are employed in, living in, or associated with a child care program.

Volunteer (2B7KY1)
Any individual that provides services without compensation.

Complete a request for a background check. 
Visit https://bidspublic.okdhs.org/ to submit a request for a child care background check.  
To submit a background check on a DHS network computer, please use: https://bids.prod.okdhs.int/requestinternal.aspx 
 Helpful tips:

  • The first field “TCN# or EU ID#” is to enter the fingerprinting receipt number. This field is not required if the individual has not been recently fingerprinted.
  • All child care background checks are fingerprint-based. 
  • All fields with an asterisk (*) are required. The system will not allow the background check to be submitted with missing or incorrectly entered information in these fields.
  • It is critical that every names the individual has used, or has been known as, is listed as an alias. Failure to include all names may result in an incomplete background check. In this case, a new background check request will be required. 
  • Once the background check request has been electronically submitted, a physical copy must be printed. The individual must then sign the printed request –agreeing to the consents for the background check. 
  • The program must maintain the printed and signed background check request for 5 years. This information is subject to be audited. 
  • See NCPA/VCA & Qualified Entity for more information on the requirements for receiving results for child care background checks. 
  • See Child Care Notifications for more information on the types of response that may be expected from OBI.

Elements of a Child Care Background Check

Additionally, if an individual has lived outside of Oklahoma during the previous 5 years, the following out-of-state checks are also required:

  • A Name-based criminal history for each state the individual has lived in during the previous 5 years.
  •  A Child Abuse and Neglect Information Search (CANIS) for each state the individual has lived in during the previous 5 years. 
  • A Sex Offender Registry search for each state the individual has lived in during the previous 5 years.

A QE meets the criteria and complies with state and federal laws and policies governing the security and confidentiality of national fingerprint results. These laws and policies are referred to as QE standards. 

  • A license number has been assigned (applicable to programs only)
  • A QE Application and Agreement form (07LC112E) has been completed by the current owner or responsible entity and submitted to OBI 
  • The individual who signed the form and addendums must have completed the background investigation process, including fingerprinting for access and review, and obtained the OBI-approved access and review training by logging onto CECPD's website (cecpd.org)
  • The QE status has not been terminated 

Your program or the program's general administrative office must be a QE before receiving any fingerprint results from OBI for individuals other than the owner or responsible entity who signs the request for license.

No more than five business days. 

You would have to be re-fingerprinted under the law for child care. 

Yes you can do either.  Our fax number is 405-522-4167.  Our email is OCCSBackground@okdhs.org. 

  • Punctuation error when registering.  Aside from the comma separating the first and last names, there should be no punctuation; this also includes special characters—the most common being # and & in which should always be removed.  The fingerprint technician can do this and there is no need to call MorphoTrust.
  • ORI error.  Applicant picked incorrect ORI/Agency in which fingerprint record should have been received.
  •  Fingerprint record is stuck in OSBI or FBI database.  Contact OBI and provide TCN and date of print so that OBI can investigate issue.

No. Reason Codes cannot be altered after registration. 

The only way to get results with the correct information would be to get re-fingerprinted. You will have to start the process over if you need to the results to have the correct information.  The fee would be the same as the original submission and it would be assigned a new TCN. 

  1. To schedule an appointment with the OBI Mobile Fingerprinting Unit, use the bottom schedule. Make an appointment on the appropriate date the OBI Mobile Unit will be visiting your county's DHS Office. 
  2. If you find that there are no available appointments on the day the Mobile Unit will be visiting your county, please call Morpho Trust Customer Service at 1-877-219-0197 (payment is accepted with Morpho Trust) or OBI at (405) 962-1735. OBI will not take payments.

Contact Information

Phone: (405) 962-1735 or
              1-800-347-2276
Fax: (405) 522-4167
Email: OBICC@okdhs.org
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 268935
OKC, OK 73126

Background Checks for:

Oklahoma
Out-of-State
Another State or Territory

Child Welfare

The Child Welfare part of our unit handles background checks for those seeking custody both temporary and permanent of children in the state. Our mission is to ensure that each child is placed a safe, healthy and productive home. If you have a DHS case and have been assigned a worker please contact them about your background check as it is their responsibility to file and complete your background for DHS records. 

Fingerprinting description Service code
Foster/Adoptive Parent = any adult, 18 years or older, in a prospective foster care or adoptive home.  2B7N36
Trial Reunification = any adult in the home, 18 years or older, who is not: a parent, legal guardian,
or custodian. 		 2B7KV3
DHS Guardianship = a prospective guardian and any adult, 18 years or older, in the home. 
(This is for DHS purposes only.) 		 2B7N54

Contact Information

Phone: (405) 962-1735 or
              1-800-347-2276
Fax: (405) 702-5053
Email: OBICW@okdhs.org

Background Checks for:

Oklahoma
Out-of-State
Another State or Territory

DHS Employee

The Office of Background Investigations (OBI) completes several different background checks for OKDHS Employees, contractors, and partners.

OKDHS Employee & Partners: Name Based Background Search

Depending on the division and job duties, OKDHS may complete a name based pre-employment background check on OKDHS applicants. This searches only Oklahoma criminal history records. 

*This search will NOT allow you to have access and review of individual fingerprint background search results. 

OKDHS Employee & Partners: Fingerprint Based Background Search

OBI conducts this fingerprint based search, of your national criminal history, for several specific reasons for OKDHS employees, partners, and contractors.

Types of OKDHS Employee & Partner fingerprinting reasons:

Access and Review:   
The fingerprinting reason code ‘Access and Review’ is required for any OKDHS employee, partner, or contractor that will need to have access to confidential national criminal history records or the systems that store them. Additionally, the FBI requires that Noncriminal Justice Security Awareness training is completed on schedule to maintain Access and Review privileges. Title 74 OS § 150.9

To be granted Access and Review by OBI four steps must be completed:

Federal Tax Information:
The fingerprinting reason code ‘Federal Tax Information’ is required for any OKDHS employee, partner, or contractor that will have access to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information and/or the systems that store them. Title 74 OS § 150.9.1

Federal Tax Information Access with Access and Review:
The fingerprinting reason code ‘Federal Tax Information with Access and Review’ is required for any OKDHS employee, partners, or contractor that will have access to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information and the systems that store them; as well as need to have access to confidential national criminal history records or the systems that store them. Title 74 OS § 150.9.1 & Title 74 OS § 150.9

Contact Information

Phone: (405) 962-1735 or
              1-800-347-2276\
Email: OBI_Employee@okdhs.org
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 268935
OKC, OK 73126

Background Checks for:

Oklahoma
Out-of-State
Another State or Territory

Private Adoptions

The OKDHS Office of Background Investigations (OBI) processes both name based and fingerprint based background checks for private, non-OKDHS involvement, reasons. These pages provide information on the types of private background checks available from OBI.

Name background checks are a search of Oklahoma criminal history. A fingerprint based background check provides a search of national criminal history and Oklahoma criminal records. Additionally, OBI also completes a search of the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry and Violent Offender Registry for all private background checks.

Oklahoma statute, Title 10 O. S. Section 7505-5.3A, designates OKDHS to complete fingerprint based, national criminal history background checks, on all adults (18 and over) living in the prospective adoptive home, for private child placing agencies, private attorneys, and private foster care applicants. 

Types of Private Background searches completed by OBI:

Private Adoption

  • Fingerprint Based
  • Name-Based

Private Foster Care

  • Fingerprint Based
  • Name-Based

 Private Guardianship

  • Name-Based Only

Private International Adoption

  • Fingerprint Based
  • Name-Based

Contact Information

Phone: (405) 962-1735 or
              1-800-347-2276
Email: OBI@okdhs.org
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 268935
OKC, OK 73126

Related Links

Background Checks for:

Oklahoma
Out-of-State
Another State or Territory
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Oklahoma Human Services 
2400 N Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, Ok  73105
(405) 522-5050