How to Conduct an Arizona Background Check

Requests for an Arizona background check can be submitted to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. This department maintains many different state records. These include various department records, criminal history records and public records.

Background checks are usually done for employment purposes and include employer background checks, criminal history record reviews and clearance letters from national as well as local law enforcement authorities. Arizona's Revised Statue § 41-1750 authorizes the department for the collection, storage and dissemination of precise and complete criminal history records in the state.

This data is to be sourced from the different criminal justice agencies in the state and is comprised of fingerprints records, process control numbers, personal identifiers and charges leveled against the offenders.

Access to Arizona Background Records

Not everyone is allowed to view the criminal records included in an Arizona background check. Companies, individuals or agencies who have the necessary permission or authorization from concerned authorities can access related information on another individual. There are various companies that ask their prospective employee for a background check record in Arizona. As a resident of the state, if you have been asked to have an Arizona background check before your appointment, you can get in touch with the Applicant Team of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at 602-223-2223.

If you have been asked to furnish a clearance letter from the concerned authorities, then you will have to approach the Criminal History Records Section of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at 602-223-2222 for a notarized copy of the concerned document. You can also send a request via fax at 602-223-2983.

The laws of the state do not authorize the Central State Repository to conduct a background check and issue a clearance letter where immigration issues are involved, especially with reference to foreign adoption and obtaining a visa. This information may be available with the FBI or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For a clearance or a national, you can contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Correspondence Unit, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306, or call 304-325-3878.

Conducting Your Personal Background Check in Arizona

You may view your own records if you feel that they are incomplete or have not been reported correctly. You do not need to pay a fee for checking your own records. In order to access your own record from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, you will have to get a Record Review Instructions Packet. To obtain this, you need to contact the Criminal History Records Section by calling 602-223-2000. The packet would include your blank fingerprint card, the instructions on how to go about the process, a pre-addressed return envelope and a contact information sheet.

You need to provide your rolled fingerprints so that the identification process can yield a positive result. If the card is somehow folded or bent and the fingerprint images are unclear, then it might hamper the background search process. Following the receipt of the review packet with all the required information, you will be sent a copy of your criminal record, if any, within the span of a couple of weeks. Usually the charges against someone’s name remain in the records for a span of 99 years. The department deletes the records a year after it receives the information of a death of person who had his or her name in the criminal records.

If you have been wrongly convicted, you can file a petition with the Superior Court for getting your name cleared as per the state law 13-4051. If the judge is convinced that you have been wrongly convicted, then he may issue an order that directs all law enforcement agencies not to provide your records for public dissemination, and will only do so upon receipt of an order from the court of law. If your records are available with the law enforcement authorities of another state, then all such requests should be forwarded to the concerned authorities. If you want your records to be sealed, then you need to contact the court that issued a judgment in your case. You may come across your name in Arizona criminal records despite the orders of the court to seal them. This is because the order is not applicable to the records kept with the Arizona Central State Repository.

If you suspect that an individual might have his or her name on the sex offender list, then you can conduct a search on the website of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at http://www.azdps.gov/Services/Sex_Offender/ to cross-check this information. It includes information about sex offenders residing in the state and is a helpful tool as far as an Arizona background search is concerned. The website was established in compliance to A. R.S 13-3827 and furnishes information about the local sex offenders. You can obtain the relevant information by sending mail, an e-mail or even calling the departments.

You can send in your requests to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Sex Offender Compliance, Mail Drop # 9999, P.O. Box 6638, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638

Or, you may get the information by email by filling out the form available on https://www.azdps.gov/About/Contacts/Email/?c=Offender. The number to call is 602-255-0611. You can also refer to the downloadable list that is available at the website for $25 to conduct a background check. This list features the names of all sex offenders who have undergone registration in the state. They are classified on a risk assessment basis into Level 2 and Level 3 offenders.

The department also maintains public records that include arrest reports, incident and offense reports, and all other reports barring accident reports. As per the state statute (ARS) § 39-121.03, these public records are not to be used for any kind of commercial purposes. Requests for accessing the records can be mailed to the Department of Public Safety, Attention PRU MD1200, P.O. Box 6638, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638

You can also obtain the records personally by visiting the Department Records Section, Arizona Department of Public Safety, 2102 West Encanto Blvd, Phoenix, AZ.