Registrar's Office

Instructions for Fingerprinting in New York State

Unless you are a Student Teacher officially registered as such by Bank Street to teach in a public school, or you are employed by or have an official job offer from the New York City Deptartment of Education, you must be fingerprinted by New York State since you will not be granted fingerprinting services by the city.

If you were fingerprinted after July 1, 2001, and you submitted your fingerprints to the New York State Education Department, then you do not need to be fingerprinted again for subsequent employment in a covered school, or for subsequent applications for certification. If you were fingerprinted for another type of employment, such as a daycare worker, a security guard, a police officer, etc., you need to be fingerprinted again. The information that is contained in the reports that were generated as a result of those fingerprinted is maintained by another entity and is confidential. The Department of Education does not have access to that information for making the determinations relating to employment and certification that it is under an obligation to make.

Follow the steps outlined below to ensure timely processing of your fingerprints:

1. Go to TEACH and apply for fingerprint clearance. This speeds up the overall process.
   
   
2. Obtain a fingerprinting packet from the Registrar's office. The packet contains all of the forms that you will need to fill out and sign, as well as the fingerprinting cards. The packet contains:
   a.  Fingerprinting Information and Instructions (OSPRA 100)
   b.  Consent Form (OSPRA 101)
   c.  Two FBI fingerprint cards
   d.  Sample fingerprint card
   e.  Preaddressed envelope
   
   
3. Complete the Consent Form: Completely fill out all of the information on the Consent Form (OSPRA 101) pertaining to yourself in Sections 1 and 2.
   
   
4. Complete the top portion of the Fingerprint Cards: Please fill out the top of both fingerprint cards as completely as possible, in accordance with the enclosed sample. Please compare your card to the sample very carefully. OSPRA has begun a new scanning process for the cards. If your fingerprint card is missing required information, or your fingerprint card has stray marks or highlighting on it, your application will be rejected before it is processed, which will result in a significant delay.
   
   
5. Get the Fingerprint Processing Fee: There is a $99.00 fee for processing your fingerprint cards. The fee must be paid with a certified check, bank check, money order, school district check, or contract service provider check payable to the New York State Education Department. Personal checks will not be accepted and will result in rejection of your application.
   
   
6. Contact your local Police Precinct (if in NYC) or State Police barracks (outside of NYC) to find out when fingerprints are taken.
   
   
7. Get Fingerprinted.
   
   
8. Send the Complete Fingerprint Packet to OSPRA: Please send your completed packet to OSPRA in the preaddressed envelope provided by OSPRA. A complete fingerprint packet to mail to OSPRA must include:
   a.  Signed completed Consent Form (OSPRA 101)
   b.  Two properly completed and signed FBI cards
   c.  Certified check, bank check, money order, school district check
   or contract service provider check for $99
   

Fingerprint Processing:

Have your fingerprints taken, in accordance with the procedures described above, and send them to OSPRA. OSPRA then electronically forwards properly completed fingerprint cards to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for processing. DCJS and the FBI provide OSPRA with a copy of your criminal history background, if any, so that OSPRA can make a determination on clearance for employment or certification.

Rejection of Fingerprints and/or a Fingerprint Application:

There are several reasons why an application and/or fingerprints are rejected prior to completion of the fingerprint process. OSPRA may reject the application because the fee submitted was either insufficient or was a personal check, or because the fingerprint application or fingerprint cards were not completely filled out. DCJS and/or the FBI may reject the fingerprints because there was a problem with the quality of the fingerprints, such as the fingerprints being smudged, or being too light or too dark. If a fingerprint packet is rejected, OSPRA will send the applicant detailed instructions on the steps to take to resubmit the fingerprint packet for reprocessing. The email address for OSPRA is: OSPRA@mail.nysed.gov.

Clearance Process:

If there is no criminal history, OSPRA will automatically issue a clearance. If there is a criminal history, the matter is reviewed by OSPRA to determine whether there is any basis for a possible denial of clearance.

Full Clearances for Employment:

Full clearances for employment will be forwarded directly to the prospective school employee and the appropriate school district, charter school or BOCES. A full clearance for employment does not entitle the individual to a job. Final employment decisions rest with the school district, charter school or BOCES.

Clearance for Certification:

The New York State Office of Teaching Initiatives is automatically notified that the individual is cleared for certification after OSPRA has reviewed both the DCJS and FBI criminal history reports and determined that there is no basis for a possible denial of clearance. The individual will not receive a clearance letter from OSPRA indicating that his or her fingerprints have been cleared, unless they have also completed the employment information in Section 3 of the OSPRA 101.

Individuals already fingerprinted by the New York City Department of Education

Individuals who were previously fingerprinted for employment with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) after July 1, 1990, may not have to be fingerprinted again. Applicants must complete an Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information from the City School District of the City of New York to the New York State Education Department (OSPRA 104) form and mail it to the NYCDOE at the address on the form. The NYCDOE will forward the results of your criminal history background check to OSPRA for review. No fee is due to OSPRA for this service.

Individuals who need clearance for the NYCDOE

If you have already been fingerprinted by the New York State Education Department, you will not need to be re-fingerprinted. The information can be sent to the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) by filing the OSPRA-103 form. You can find more information and download the OSPRA-103 form on their website:
http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/DHR/MostPopularClicks/Fingerprinting.htm?#fingerprinting.