Criminal Background Check NY

Direct answer

Criminal background check ny: where to start

New York OCA CHRS is a court-based criminal-history search using exact name and date of birth. Use it for the New York court-search task; a personal FBI fingerprint summary is a different record and does not replace an employer’s required procedure.

Distinction

Decide which New York record layer the purpose needs

Use this distinction

New York OCA CHRS searches covered criminal cases by exact name and date of birth and is not the same product as an FBI fingerprint history.

Keep separate

Use the New York court-search layer for covered New York criminal cases. For your own New York fingerprint-based record, use DCJS personal record review. Keep the FBI personal summary separate; it is not a federal-cases-only index.

Source map

Official records and their scope

Question	Official source	What it establishes
Primary record route	New York Courts - Criminal History Record Search	New York OCA CHRS costs $95 per statewide search, checked October 2, 2026. It uses exact name and date of birth, covers specified criminal cases and returns an uncertified result; the exclusions below still apply.
Secondary record layer	FBI Identity History Summary Checks	FBI Identity History Summary personal review process and fingerprint-based identity history
Personal state-repository review	New York DCJS	For your own New York rap sheet or no-record response, start with DCJS Request Your New York State Criminal History. Fingerprints are required; this is not a public lookup of another person. Choose suppressed or unsuppressed personal review; both require separate requests if both are wanted. Use DCJS’s linked IdentoGo route: service code 15464Z for suppressed or 15465F for unsuppressed. For an appointment, bring one accepted form of identification. Outside New York, follow the out-of-state enrollment instructions; if no center is nearby, follow the fingerprint-card/Cardscan instructions. For a legally required employment or licensing check, follow the requesting agency’s authorized process instead of substituting personal review.

Question

Official source

What it establishes

Primary record route

New York Courts - Criminal History Record Search

New York OCA CHRS costs $95 per statewide search, checked October 2, 2026. It uses exact name and date of birth, covers specified criminal cases and returns an uncertified result; the exclusions below still apply.

Secondary record layer

FBI Identity History Summary Checks

FBI Identity History Summary personal review process and fingerprint-based identity history

Personal state-repository review

New York DCJS

For your own New York rap sheet or no-record response, start with DCJS Request Your New York State Criminal History. Fingerprints are required; this is not a public lookup of another person. Choose suppressed or unsuppressed personal review; both require separate requests if both are wanted.

Use DCJS’s linked IdentoGo route: service code 15464Z for suppressed or 15465F for unsuppressed. For an appointment, bring one accepted form of identification. Outside New York, follow the out-of-state enrollment instructions; if no center is nearby, follow the fingerprint-card/Cardscan instructions. For a legally required employment or licensing check, follow the requesting agency’s authorized process instead of substituting personal review.

Check the purpose before ordering

OCA court-search results and an FBI personal summary answer different questions. The latter is a fingerprint-based personal-review service, not an employment or licensing check and not a federal-cases-only index.

What CHRS returns and omits

Submit an exact full name and birth date through OCA Direct Access or the CHRS application. CHRS is uncertified and excludes federal, civil and Family Court cases, sealed records and other listed categories. Town and village historical coverage is limited. Read OCA’s full exclusions before relying on a negative result.

Criminal Background Check NY

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