Ways to Conduct a New York Background Check

As a resident of the state of New York, you can conduct a background check of your own criminal records. This is in compliance to the 9 New York Code of Rules and Regulations Part 6050.1. The law is effectively implemented by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, or the DCJS, and recognizes the right of a resident to access his or her own criminal records or authorize their respective attorneys to initiate the process on their behalf. The attorneys then can access all the details pertaining to the criminal record of their clients or in the event of the non-existence of a record, acquire a negative response from the concerned authorities.

The individual who requests such a record may utilize the records for reference for licensing purposes or for the purpose of employment. The record search done on the basis of a name can in no way replace a fingerprint search, especially in states where a background check done on the basis of fingerprint verification is solely acceptable.

New York Record Review

The applications for a New York background are to be processed by L-1 Identity Solutions, a vendor who has been officially designated through a binding state contract. You need to make an appointment with the vendor at their livescan workstations by calling at 1-877-472-6915.

If you are looking for the required form, then click on http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ojis/documents/l1_livescan_form.pdf. You need to take the application form and the documents required for verifying your identity at the time of the fingerprinting appointment.

A cardscan request can be sent to the DCJS even if you reside outside the state of New York. You can call the Record Review Unit at 518-457-9847 or 518-485-7675 in order to obtain a cardscan application packet. After you receive the requisite packet, just fill out the form contained in it and send it back to the following address:

L-1 Esd/Livescan Processing Unit, 1650 Wabash Ave, Suite D, Att: Cardscan Dept, Springfield, Illinois, 62704

Handle the card carefully so that the card does not bend when you mail it to the concerned authorities.

Individuals can also request a waiver of the processing fee required to be paid at the time of requesting a New York background check of their own records. You need to contact the Division of Criminal Justice Services for an application packet. You can request the form by sending an email to RecordReview@dcjs.state.ny.us .

You can also send mail to:
Record Review Unit, New York State Division Of Criminal Justice Services, 4 Tower Place
Albany, NY- 12203-3764

Or, call the DCJS Record Review Unit at their official telephone number: 1-800-262-3257

You can expect a prompt response from the concerned authorities; it will take them a span of a week to ten business days to get back to you with the relevant New York background check information. 

New York State Office of Court Administration

The criminal records in the state of New York are also maintained by the New York State Office of Court Administration, or the OCA, that enables the residents of the state to conduct a search of the New York criminal records database. The service is available to individuals upon payment of the requisite processing charges of $55.

The search is conducted on the basis of names and other personal details such as the date of birth of the subject of search. The search results are limited to entries that are considered pending or active cases related to criminal convictions that fall under the jurisdiction of any court in the state. Not all of the case records are available for public dissemination as some of them are categorized as sealed records.

The individuals need to pay the processing fee either with a demand draft or checks, as cash payment is not acceptable. You can either mail the application or even drop it personally at the concerned office during working hours, from 9.30 in the morning to 4.30 in the evening, on any of the weekdays at the following address:

The NYS Office of Court Administration, Office of Administrative Services, Criminal History Record Search, 25 Beaver Street - Room 840 - Front Desk, New York, NY-10004

If you have any further questions, you can call up the Criminal History Record Search Unit of the OCA from 10 in the morning to 4 in the evening at 212-428-2943.

Instead of conducting individual electronic county searches, you can use this one portal to access records from different parts of the state: http://www.nycourts.gov/apps/chrs/. You can then navigate through the website to find what you are looking for. If you have any further queries about how the system works, you can check the following link: http://www.nycourts.gov/apps/chrs/faqs.shtml.