Board reviews plan to digitize out‑of‑state fingerprint hard cards to speed licensure

The Board of Registered Nursing discussed an information‑only proposal May 28 to contract with a vendor that converts mailed fingerprint hard cards into DOJ Live Scan transmissions, a step board staff said could shorten background‑check turnaround for out‑of‑state applicants from weeks to days.

BRN staff described the current process for out‑of‑state applicants who must request a printed fingerprint hard card, travel to a law‑enforcement or fingerprinting site to complete the card, mail it back to the board, and then wait while the card is processed by the California Department of Justice. That chain can take three to 12 weeks, staff said; by contrast, Live Scan transmissions are typically returned in about five business days.

Matt (BRN staff) said the proposed vendor would accept two hard cards, upload them, and retain the second card so that if the first submission is rejected BRN could use the retained second card to avoid repeating the mail and roll process. “With this process, we'd send 2 cards. It would go to the vendor. The vendor would upload it, and then they're allowed by DOJ to keep that second card,” he said.

The board was told the vendor would charge an additional fee to applicants on top of the $49 FBI/DOJ fee. Initial price estimates from an invitation to bid ranged from roughly $51 to $99 in vendor fees, but staff said they would not know actual charges until bids were received. Staff also cautioned that local law‑enforcement agencies may charge their own fingerprint fees that the board cannot control.

Board members welcomed the potential to shorten processing times for out‑of‑state endorsements and asked staff to return with bid results. The executive officer signaled support for pursuing the contract. The item was presented as information only; no vote was required.