Welcome to DC Health
Criminal Background Check (CBC) Division
Email address: [email protected]
A Criminal Background Check is required for all health care license, certification, and registration applications.
Criminal Background Check Law
§ 3–1205.22. Criminal background check.
(a) Subject to the limitations in § 3-1205.14(f), no license or registration shall be issued to a health professional before a criminal background check has been conducted for that person. The applicant for a license or registration shall pay the fee established by the Department of Health for the criminal background check.
(b) The criminal background check shall be obtained by the Department of Health from the U.S. Department of Justice, or from a private agency determined by the Department of Health. The results of the criminal background check shall be forwarded directly to the appropriate health licensing board.
Criminal Background Check Regulation
Health Care Professional Licensing Background Regulation: 17 DCMR 85
How do you schedule and pay for fingerprinting?
Scheduling appointments and submitting payment for fingerprints are done within the online license application.
Sign up for a fingerprinting appointment:
APPLICANTS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
Please sign-up in the online application portal HERE. Enter your information as required by the FBI into the secure website. You can then locate a fingerprint collection site close to you and schedule an appointment online to be fingerprinted at a date and time most convenient to you. Please note that you will pay for your CBC during the online licensure application process. Once the payment is made, you will receive an email receipt with a six-letter code and a link to the schedule for fingerprinting. (The DC Department of Health has hired FieldPrint to serve as our fingerprinting vendor.)
What to bring to your fingerprinting appointment:
When arriving for your scheduled appointment, you only need to bring your appointment number, along with two valid forms of identification, such as a driver's license or passport. Your fingerprints are collected electronically by the trained technicians and securely transmitted back to the vendor.
What happens after your appointment:
The vendor will electronically submit your fingerprints directly to the FBI. The FBI searches its national criminal records database using your electronic fingerprint file. Once the FBI report is received by Fieldprint, FieldPrint will forward the report to DC Department of Health (DC Health) and the relevant Licensing Board.
APPLICATIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS
For applicants located abroad, select this link HERE for instructions on how to make an appointment to submit fingerprints for processing a criminal background check.
RENEWAL APPLICATIONS
A person renewing his or her license, registration, or certification shall be required to undergo a fingerprint scan CBC or a CBC based on a name search, which shall include the applicant’s gender, Social Security number, date of birth, and mailing address. The CBC shall occur at a two (2) year interval coinciding with the renewal date of the respective profession.
NEED HELP?
If you have any questions or you were not able to make payment during the submission of your online application, please send an email to [email protected] for assistance.