Maryland Background Check Online

Prepare online, then complete the correct fingerprint route

1. 01
   Prepare the visit

   You can prepare a Maryland check using the DPSCS website, but the CJIS route is not an all-online public name search. Use its fingerprint-provider locator and print the Livescan Pre-registration Application before the fingerprint visit. Bring government-issued photo ID. The listed CJIS Storefront at 6776 Reisterstown Road, Suite 101, Baltimore offers walk-ins; CJIS offices in MVA buildings require appointments, arranged through CJIS customer service for ordinary applicant fingerprinting.

2. 02
   Choose personal review

   For your own Maryland record review, use an authorized Maryland fingerprinting location if you live in-state. For a personal FBI record, request directly from the FBI instead of assuming Maryland’s authorized-agency state/FBI product is available for any personal purpose.

3. 03
   Use the sponsoring organization when required

   For Maryland employment or licensing, the employer or licensing agency must request the check. Obtain the agency name and authorization number first; a government recipient may also require a Z-ORI number. In-state applicant submissions use approved electronic Live Scan, except the documented medical exception described by DPSCS. Ask the sponsor which state-only or authorized state/FBI product and recipient are required before booking.

4. 04
   Use Maryland cards from outside the state

   If you live outside Maryland and need an individual review, request Maryland’s fingerprint card from CJIS at 410-764-4501 or 1-888-795-0011. DPSCS says other-state or FBI cards cannot be accepted for this route. Follow CJIS instructions for the completed card and fee; its published mailing address is CJIS Central Repository, P.O. Box 32708, Pikesville, MD 21282-2708, with overnight delivery to 6776 Reisterstown Road, Suite 217, Baltimore, MD 21215-2346. For an employment/licensing request, use the cards or authorization details supplied by that sponsor.

5. 05
   Track the request

   Keep the submission reference number. CJIS customer service at 410-764-4501 or 1-888-795-0011, Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m., can check a pending request’s status and explain the proper request type, but cannot disclose the criminal history by phone. For the out-of-state mailed-card individual route, DPSCS publishes an expected response within 10–15 days after it receives the card; do not apply that estimate as a guarantee for every provider or request.

   In the DPSCS private-provider program, criminal-history results are mailed directly to the applicant and/or authorized agency; the fingerprint provider does not receive the criminal-history information. Confirm the intended recipient with the sponsoring organization and keep your receipt.

Check the product, fee and payment method

Fee check, October 2, 2026: the DPSCS table lists a Maryland state-only check at $18 mail-in or $38 with CJIS in-person fingerprinting; the latter includes the $20 CJIS service fee. The table lists state-only with Gold Seal at $19 mail-in or $39 in person. Private providers can have their own service charge, so ask what their quote includes. These state-only categories do not include an FBI component.

For authorized state/FBI requests, DPSCS now carries an October 1, 2026 notice that the federal component changes from $12 to $15, while its displayed totals and instruction to add $3 do not make clear whether the table already includes that change. Do not add $3 again or use a combined total from this page. Confirm the exact request category, included fingerprinting service and current total with CJIS or the selected authorized provider before paying.

Payment instructions also conflict: the fingerprint page’s upper instructions reject checks, but a lower paragraph permits checks at the CJIS Storefront, and the FAQ retains money-order wording inconsistent with the current pages. Credit/debit-card acceptance is stated in the current fingerprint-visit instructions; confirm the accepted card and payment method for your exact location or mail-in route with CJIS before sending payment. Do not rely on the older FAQ’s money-order instruction.