Many states charge a fee to get your criminal record. If you are unable to pay the fee, you may be able to request a fee waiver. Often, applications for fee waivers require you to disclose your employment status or if you receive public assistance.
To find out about fee waivers, select the state where your criminal record is located using the drop-down menu below:
It is likely not possible to get the Live Scan fee waived. You should make sure you know the amount you will be required to pay before you go to get your Live Scan completed. Different Live Scan locations may charge different amounts. You can find Live Scan locations here: Live Scan website.
If you cannot pay the $25.00 fee required by the California Department of Justice to get your RAP sheet, you can request a fee waiver. You will need to fax a letter and proof that you cannot pay to the Record Review Unit at 916-227-1964.
A sample fee waiver request is available here:
Request for Fee Waiver
For more information, see the DOJ website and the Root and Rebound Roadmap to Reentry, starting at page 915.
The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection's (DESPP) State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) charges a $36.00 fee for a Name and Date of Birth Search and a $75 fee for a Conviction History Record Search by Name and Date of Birth or a Criminal Conviction History Record Search by Fingerprint. Acceptable forms of payment include a certified check or money order made payable to the “Treasurer-State of CT."
The Connecticut State Police charges a $15 fingerprinting fee.
You are entitled to get your criminal record for free to review it for accuracy. This is called a "Personal Review" criminal record. It is not certified, so it cannot be used for other purposes, such as employment. To get your free Personal Review record, see the "How to Get Your RAP Sheet" section.
To get a Certified Criminal record, by searching either online or by mail, you must pay $24. Even if a record search has no results, you must pay the $24 fee.
For all online searches, you must pay with a credit card. To pay for a record by mail, submit your completed request form and include a personal or business check, or a money order in the amount of $24 for each request made payable to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Send your completed form and your payment to this address:
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
User Services Bureau/Criminal History Services
Post Office Box 1489
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489
Fees to obtain Georgia Crime Information Center RAP Sheet:
You may have to pay a fee to a local law enforcement agency to get your record. Contact the agency for the fee amount beforehand.
You will also pay a fee to the state of Georgia for your record. To view the current Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) RAP Sheet fees, visit: Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
As of November 2018, the state fees are:
All fees owed to the state of Georgia must be paid with a certified check or money order made out to Georgia Crime Information Center.
Fees with Georgia Felon Search:
The fee is $15 per search and must be paid online with a credit card.
The Illinois State Police will send you your Criminal History Transcript for free, but you’ll pay a small fee for fingerprinting.
If you live in Chicago and you are getting your record from the court in Cook County there is a $16 fee. Cash, check, or money orders made payable to the Department of Revenue are acceptable. Credit cards are not accepted.
If you do not live in Chicago and you are getting your record from the court in Cook County there is a $16 fee. Money orders payable to Department of Revenue are accepted. Cash won’t be accepted.
Massachusetts charges a $25.00 fee to get your criminal history record online or by mail from the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) database. To pay the fee online, you will need a credit card. To pay the fee by mail, you will need a certified check or money order made payable to "Commonwealth of Massachusetts." If you cannot pay the $25.00 fee, submit an Affidavit of Indigency fee waiver. To access the fee waiver, visit the DCJIS website here: Affidavit of Indigency.
You are entitled to a free self-audit of your CORI every 90 days. Additional self-audit requests within the 90-day period are $25.00. You must pay the audit fee with a money order made payable to the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
Nevada charges a $27 fee for a criminal history record from the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Acceptable forms of payment include a certified check or money order made payable to the "Nevada Department of Public Safety." Submit the payment with your record request. The DPS does not accept cash or personal checks.
Fingerprinting fees are usually $20.
To get your criminal record from the New Jersey State Police (NJSP), you will pay a $42.80 fee when you make an appointment for fingerprinting. You must pay the fee electronically, by credit card, prepaid debit card, or electronic debit from a checking account. This amount will be deducted from your account immediately. The $42.80 includes $12 for the fingerprint vendor and New Jersey sales tax. If you do not go to your fingerprinting appointment, cancel without enough notice, or do not bring your completed Universal Fingerprint form to the appointment, you will be charged $12.80.
There is a $15.00 fee to access your criminal history record from the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Acceptable forms of payment include money order or cashier’s check made payable to the “Department of Public Safety.”
In addition, you may have to pay to have the Authorization for Release of Information form notarized. The price to get the form notarized may vary.
If you cannot pay the $62.00 fee required by the DCJS to get your RAP sheet, you can request a fee waiver by emailing the DCJS at RecordReview@dcjs.ny.gov and request that they send you a fee-waiver application. In the email, include your full mailing address because the fee-waiver applications will not be sent through email.
You can also send a letter to DCJS at:
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Record Review Unit
Alfred E. Smith Office Building
80 South Swan Street
Albany, NY 12210
To view a sample DCJS RAP Sheet Fee Waiver, click here:
Sample DCJS RAP Sheet Fee Waiver
North Carolina charges a fee of $14 for a criminal record from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). The SBI does not accept personal checks and responds only by mail to requests for records. You must pay the fee by certified check or money order made to the "North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation" and submit it with your record request.
The Superior Court (county court) charges a fee of $25 for a certified criminal record. You may pay in person at the court clerk's office with cash, credit card, certified check, or money order. You may also pay by mail using a certified check or money order made payable to the Superior Court Clerk.
There is no fee to obtain non-certified records from county court. You can search and email the county records to yourself by using the public computer at the Superior courthouse. You will probably pay a small fee if you ask the clerk to print records.
Ohio charges a fee of $22 to get your criminal record directly from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). The usual WebCheck location fee is around $32.
BCI accepts business checks, money orders, or electronic payments. BCI does not accept cash or personal checks.
For more information about fees, contact:
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Phone: 614-752-7500
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
Phone: 614-752-1159
Ohio Department of Youth Services
Phone: 614-466-4314
Ohio law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG)
Phone: 866-406-4534
BCI's Criminal Identification Section
Phone: 740-845-2000.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) charges a $15.00 fee for a criminal history record search based on a name and date-of-birth (DOB). The OSBI charges a $19.00 fee for a fingerprint-based record search. Acceptable forms of payment include certified check, money order, or business check made payable to the “Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation”. If you use the online system, Criminal History Request Portal (CHIRP) or fax your record request, you must pay by credit card. If you submit your record request in-person at the OSBI office in Oklahoma City, you can also pay by cash.
You can get fingerprinted at your local police or sheriff's department, or at the Oklahoma City OSBI office. You will pay a small fee of $5.00 to $15.00 for this service.
The Oregon Criminal Justice Information Services charges a $33.00 fee to obtain your criminal record. In addition, they charge a $20.00 fingerprinting fee. You may be able to get your fingerprints taken elsewhere.
Fees vary depending on if you want a statewide record or county record.
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) fee for a criminal record requested by mail is $20. If you need your record notarized, the total fee is $25. You must pay the fee by certified check or money order made to the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" and submit it with your record request. PSP does not accept cash or personal checks.
The PSP Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) service used to request records online is $22. This fee is made payable only by credit card.
There is no fee for records from a county court. You can find county records online for free. You will probably pay a small fee if you ask the court clerk for printed copies.
There is no fee to get a criminal record certificate from the Police Department of Puerto Rico.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charges a fee of $25 to get a criminal record. If you get your record from SLED online, you will pay an additional $1. You can get your record certified or notarized for free upon request.
Records from the South Carolina Public Index are free.
Tennessee charges a $29 fee to get a criminal record from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
If you apply for your criminal record by mail, you must pay the fee by cashier's check or money order made payable to TBI. If you apply online, you must pay with a credit card. The TBI does not accept personal checks.
The fee associated with your record depends on where you get it.
The Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Identification charges a $15.00 fee to provide a copy of your RAP sheet. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, credit card, check, or money order made payable to “BCI”.
Salt Lake County has an Expungement Navigator who may be able to help get the fee waived for you if you qualify. To learn more, contact Jake Smith at (385) 226-1729 or email JaSmith@slco.org. You do not need to be a resident of Salt Lake County to use this service.
There is a $30.00 fee to access your criminal history report or criminal conviction record from the Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC).
If you submit your request for a criminal history report in person, acceptable forms of payment include cash, bank check or money order.
If you submit your request for a criminal conviction record online through the Vermont Criminal Conviction Record Internet Service (VCCRIS), you must pay the fee by credit card.
If you submit your request for a criminal conviction record by mail, you may pay the fee by cashier’s check or money order. Personal or business checks are not accepted. The cashier’s check or money order should be made payable to the "Department of Public Safety" and submitted together with the completed and notarized “Request for Personal Criminal Record Check” form and a self-addressed return envelope.
If you submit your request for a criminal conviction record in-person, acceptable forms of payment include credit card, money order, bank check or cash. Exact change is required.
To get your criminal record from the Virginia State Police (VSP) Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE), Virginia charges either a $15 fee, or a $20 fee for a sex-offender record search. The VSP does not accept personal checks. You must pay the fee by credit card, cashier's check, business check, or money order made payable to "Virginia State Police CCRE." Submit payment with your Criminal History Records Check request form.
There is an $11.00 fee to access your conviction record online from the Washington Access to Criminal History (WATCH).
There is a $12 fee to access your conviction or nonconviction record by mail. Acceptable forms of payment include a check or money order made payable to "Washington State Patrol." Fingerprinting is needed for a nonconviction record. The fingerprinting fee is usually $15.00.
You can review your conviction and nonconviction record for free at the Washington State Patrol (WSP) office in Olympa. If you want a copy of your record, you may need to get fingerprinted for $15.00 and pay $12.00 for a copy of your record. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, check, money order, or credit or debit card.
The West Virginia Criminal Information Center (CIC) is authorized by law to charge a fee for your background check. The cost per request is currently $32.00 and must be paid by money order.
West Virginia State Police Criminal Identification Bureau (CIB) does not charge a fee to obtain your state criminal history record. This policy could change, so be sure to check with the CIB at (304) 746-2170.
There is a fingerprinting fee, which is usually around $10.00 to $15.00.
The Crime Information Bureau (CIB) charges a $7 fee for a criminal history record requested online. Acceptable forms of payment include credit card, VISA, or MasterCard. The CIB charges a $12 fee for a record requested by mail. Acceptable forms of payment include a check or money order made payable to "Wisconsin Department of Justice."
Wyoming charges a $15.00 fee for a fingerprint-based criminal record check, and includes arrest and conviction information from Wyoming, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Nevada. The Wyoming Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) and other law enforcement agencies may charge and additional $5.00 for fingerprinting services.