Arizona Fingerprint Card Denial

One valid reason for an applicant for a fingerprint clearance card to receive an Arizona Fingerprint Card Denial is past criminal incidents (this includes convictions in other states besides Arizona).

An Arizona fingerprint clearance card applicant with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) will assess the state and federal criminal history record and contrast it with the list of precluded offenses. If the offense is on the list, DPS automatically denies such an application.

Automatic Denial of Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card

DENIAL: Individuals submit their applications to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) with the fingerprint imprint. It happens regardless of if it’s a Level I fingerprint clearance card or a standard fingerprint clearance. DPS then conducts a background investigation on your criminal history statewide and nationwide. If there are arrests on your record, DPS counter-checks your criminal convictions with the list that can cause a possible denial of your clearance card. 

These include theft, drug offenses, homicide, assault, and more. These are “precluded offenses.” If a person’s criminal record has precluded offenses, DPS determines whether the disposition is dismissal, conviction, or default.

If there is a conviction: DPS will deny the fingerprint clearance card without the chance to appeal.

Often, the criminal record doesn’t specify the type of disposition. When this happens, DPS performs thorough research with the help of different law enforcement agencies. It allows them to know how the case became final.

Within 30 days after the investigation, and DPS still does not know such disposition, there will be a DENIAL of the fingerprint card. Almost all denials still have a remedy of applying to the Board of Fingerprinting for a good cause exception.

Why would an application for an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card be denied? 

Several employers in the state are required to do a background check, and any employee of that organization must have a valid and current Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card. Most of these organizations are state agencies or any agency that deals with vulnerable adults or children. There’s a giant list, and I think 52 organizations require the fingerprint clearance card listed online. You can find that; I’m not going to go through all 52 of those right now.

The process would be you’d get your fingerprints taken and deploy them either via paper or electronically on the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s website. They will do a background check, and then depending on your criminal history, they may grant or deny it.

What are the reasons, or how can you be denied? 

It’s based on what crimes you’ve been convicted of in your past. There is a list of precluded offenses, and it’s a whole bunch of criminal convictions that if you’ve been convicted of one of those crimes listed on the precluded offense list, you will not get a fingerprint clearance card. There’s no amount of legal maneuvering that one can do. You’re not going to get it. 

There are another list and two separate lists for standard and Level 1 fingerprint clearance cards. If you’ve had these in the past, you can appeal the denial with the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting and ask for a good cause exception. You first need to find out: is my past crime on the precluded offense list? If not, are you applying for a standard or Level 1? And if you’re denied in one of those scenarios, you could apply for a good cause exception and be granted your fingerprint clearance card.

What does the good cause exception process entail? 

If it happened in the last five years, you would have to get all the court documents. For any police reports, you have to get two letters of support. You must write a personal statement, get it all notarized, and send it in. And then the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting has 20 days to make what’s called an expedited review. 

Most of the time, the cards are granted at the expedited review. If it’s not, it can be denied again, and then you would have the opportunity to appeal and have a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. We found, or at least the cases we’ve done. 

We’ve done hundreds of these so far. The only time it’s sent forward to a hearing is if you are currently on probation for a relatively recent crime, or you’ve been charged with something but haven’t had a conclusion, it hasn’t been dismissed, or you reached a plea or gone to trial or anything like that.

And those two scenarios seem to be the only ones where it’s sent forward to a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. That can add two to four months to the process. It doesn’t mean you won’t get the card. We have had plenty of times where we’ve gone to a hearing and still been granted the card. But it’s just like a higher level of scrutiny from a judge who will ask many questions. It wants to know what the applicant had done to rehabilitate themselves from when the criminal incident happened until now. Those are the scenarios where you would have a card denied but then could apply for the good cause exception.

It is challenging to deal with if you’ve had a precluded offense where you will never get the card. But most of the time, when you apply for the good cause exception and handle things properly, you’ll get the card ultimately.

Automatic Fingerprint Card Denial Criminal Offenses

A person who is subject to registration as a sex offender in this state or any other jurisdiction or who is awaiting trial on or who has been convicted of committing or attempting, soliciting, facilitating, or conspiring to commit one or more of the following offenses in this state or the same or similar offenses in another state or jurisdiction is precluded from receiving a fingerprint clearance card pursuant to ARS 41-1758.03:

1. Sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult.
2. Incest.
3. First or second-degree murder.
4. Sexual exploitation of a minor.
5. Sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
6. Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor.
7. Commercial sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
8. Child sex trafficking as prescribed in sections 13-3212.
9. Child abuse.
10. Abuse of a vulnerable adult.
11. Sexual assault.
12. Molestation of a child.
13. Molestation of a vulnerable adult.
14. A dangerous crime against children, as defined in sections 13-705.
15. Exploitation of minors involving drug offenses.
16. Taking a child for prostitution as prescribed in section 13-3206.
17. Neglect or abuse of a vulnerable adult.
18. Sex trafficking.
19. Sexual abuse.
20. Production, publication, sale, possession, and presentation of obscene items as prescribed in section 13-3502.
21. Furnishing harmful items to minors as prescribed in sections 13-3506.
22. Furnishing harmful items to minors by internet activity as prescribed in section 13-3506.01.
23. Obscene or indecent telephone communications to minors for commercial purposes as defined in sections 13-3512.
24. Luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
25. Sexual conduct with a minor.
26. Enticement of persons for purposes of prostitution.
27. Procurement by false pretenses of a person for purposes of prostitution.
28. Procuring or placing persons in a house of prostitution.
29. Receiving earnings of a prostitute.
30. Causing one’s spouse to become a prostitute.
31. Detention of persons in a house of prostitution for debt.
32. Keeping or residing in a place of prostitution or employment in prostitution.
33. Pandering.
34. Transporting persons for prostitution, polygamy, and concubinage.
35. Portraying an adult as a minor as prescribed in sections 13-3555.
36. Admitting minors to public displays of sexual conduct as prescribed in section 13-3558.
37. Unlawful sale or purchase of children.
38. Child bigamy.
39. Trafficking of persons for forced labor or services.

Good Cause Exception Fingerprint Card AZ

Suppose you’ve been convicted of a crime not listed above (depending on the offense or offenses) for which you were denied. In that case, you MAY be eligible to pursue a good cause exception through the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting. 

The Arizona Board of Fingerprinting is a separate and distinct entity from DPS. DPS will not respond to any queries you may have regarding the good cause exception process. When you receive the denial notice from DPS, the Board of Fingerprinting’s contact information will appear therein. If you are still denied a clearance card after an expedited review, the next step would be to request a hearing (similar to the process if your fingerprint clearance card is suspended).

Fingerprint Card Criminal History

The Board applies the following criteria to the particular circumstances of your case and Arizona Fingerprint Card Criminal History when determining a Good Cause Exception.

The Board also considers any substantiated allegations of minor child abuse or neglect made by Child Protective Services or a similar child welfare agency in another state.

The Board must consider all of the following criteria in determining good cause if initially denied:

1. The extent of the person’s criminal record and offenses (misdemeanor or felony).
2. Length of time since the offense.
3. The nature of the crimes committed (some sexual crimes can preclude getting a card).
4. Any applicable mitigating circumstances.
5. The degree to which the person participated in the offense.
6. The extent of the person’s rehabilitation (for instance, from drug possession), including:
   1. Completion of probation, parole, or community supervision (like involving alcohol awareness for a DUI),
   2. Whether the person paid restitution or other compensation for the offense (like property damage during domestic violence),
   3. Evidence of positive action and use of resources to change criminal behavior, such as completion of a drug treatment program or counseling,
   4. Personal references attesting to the person’s rehabilitation without exception.

How to Obtain a Fingerprint Clearance Card from DPS

To obtain a fingerprint clearance card, a nurse must fill out an application and send it to the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting. Included with the application must be a set of fingerprints. After receiving this, the Board determines if the applicant has passed the background check.

If no offenses show up on the background check, the nurse will receive a fingerprint clearance card and be able to get a nursing license. However, if violations are on state or federal records, the DPS will check to see the case’s disposition. The Board will issue a card if the disposition indicates the case was dismissed. They will deny a fingerprint clearance card if there is a conviction on the record.

Difference between Level I and Standard Fingerprint Clearance Card

There are specific distinctions between Level I and standard fingerprint clearance cards with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Approximately eight (8) years ago, a new law designated two classes of fingerprint clearance cards instead of having only one category. Starting in July 2009, DPS began issuing Level I fingerprint clearance cards in addition to the standard fingerprint clearance cards.

Several types of criminal convictions can lead to the suspension or denial of a Level I fingerprint clearance card in Arizona. In other words, the Level I fingerprint clearance card is more complicated to obtain and keep. The new law requires many different professions to possess a valid fingerprint clearance card before issuing a certificate or license or engaging in gainful employment as a professional. 

The Applicant Clearance Card Team (ACCT) at the DPS Arizona receives, assesses, and reviews applications as well as the criminal history records of all applicants. They also update the present status of current fingerprint clearance cards.

Level 1 Cards

Level I cards are needed for several activities or professions. Listed below are the state Agencies that require a Level I fingerprint clearance card to engage in the profession:

• Adoption, Department of Economic Security (DES)
• Board of Fingerprinting members and employees
• Childcare group home employees, Department of Health Services (DHS)
• Childcare group home licensees, DHS
• Childcare home providers, DES
• Childcare employees, DHS
• Childcare facility licensees, DHS
• Child Protective Services (CPS) employee, DES
• Daycare home providers, DES
• DES contractors
• Developmental-home licensure, DES
• Division of Developmental Disabilities employees, DES
  • Foster-home licensure, DES
  • DES information-technology employees
  • Non-CPS employees, DES

*A standard fingerprint clearance card is sufficient if your professional agency is not listed above.

In some scenarios, people who possess fingerprint clearance cards issued before the passage of the new law can use their old fingerprint clearance card instead of a Level 1 Clearance Card.

When is a Fingerprint Card Application Denied?

A fingerprint clearance card is denied when certain offenses show risky conduct on the applicant’s part. These offenses include robbery, welfare fraud, child abuse, and possession of a controlled substance.

If you’re interested in setting up a consultation with Chelle Law or learning more about any of the services regarding an Arizona Fingerprint Card Denial for Arizona residents needing a fingerprint clearance card, reach out to us today.

Lawyer for Fingerprint Clearance Card

If you have been denied a Fingerprint Clearance Card and require a Good Cause Exception, we can help! Chelle Law can assist in filing your good cause exception. Contact us today to set up a consultation.

If you would like to set up a consultation with Chelle Law or learn more about the services our Arizona Fingerprint Card Attorney provides, reach out today.