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General Information:
Police CertificatesName-based police certificates Fingerprint-based police certificates Police certificates are notarized criminal history background checks that are most commonly required for purposes of adoption or immigration. They are also known as Letters of Good Conduct or Criminal Background Check. There are two types of police certificate searches that can be requested, name-based or fingerprint-based. The Wisconsin Department of Justice can only respond with
information from the To obtain police certificates from other state the agency responsible for maintenance of that state’s criminal history repository must be contacted. A list of repositories for each state may be found on the State Contact web page on the Wisconsin Department of Justice web site. To obtain a police certificate from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, visit the FBI’s web page about Identification Record Request. Prior to requesting a police certificate, make certain you know which type of search the entity asking for the certificate requires. As each certificate type is based on a different set of criteria each has an individual fee required for the search to be conducted. If you requested the wrong type of certificate no credit can be issued and the full fee must be paid for the correct certificate type. Police certificates require special processing and cannot be requested online via the Wisconsin Online Record Check System. This type of search is based on a specific name or list of names, along with sex, race, date of birth and possibly social security number. This type of search is based on non-unique identifiers as multiple persons may share name and date of birth. There is a slight possibility that the information pertained may not be your criminal history record. If that occurs you may need to challenge the response. To submit a request for a name-based police certificate, complete form DJ-LE-250. If applicable include all former, maiden or alias names on the form. Check the box General Public $12.00 under Requestor Type and indicate Police Certificate requested in the Special Processing Instructions in the lower right corner of the form. Submit the completed form DJ-LE-250 and your $12.00 payment to the address on the form. Requests without payment will be returned. Requests marked General Public $12.00 without a request for a police certificate in the Special Processing Instructions field will processed as a normal request and will not meet the requirements of a police certificate. The fee for any non-profit or governmental entities requesting a police certificate is $12.00. The charge for the certificate may be charged to your existing account. The special instructions field should also contain any date restrictions as to the expiration date of any notary endorsement or any other special instructions. Fingerprint-Based Police Certificate This type of search is based on a unique biometric identifier, fingerprint impressions from an individual's ten fingers. In a fingerprint-based search, the fingerprint impressions submitted by the requestor are searched against the 1.2 million individual sets of fingerprints in the Wisconsin criminal history database. As fingerprints are unique to each individual, the results of this search are conclusive. If the fingerprints are matched to those of an individual in the Wisconsin repository the associated criminal history record is returned, regardless of the name attached to the record. If there is no matching fingerprints then a statement of no record is returned. To submit a request for a fingerprint-based police certificate you must submit form DJ-LE-250 along with an applicant fingerprint card. The preferable applicant card is the blue FBI applicant card FD-258. The DJ-LE-250 form should be completed with the requestor's return address and the Requestor Type should indicate Police Certificate $20.00. The Reason Fingerprinted field on the applicant fingerprint card must also indicate Police Certificate. Requests without payment or fingerprint card with illegible fingerprints will be returned. Fingerprint cards without a minimum amount of personal identification information will also be returned. Minimum data includes full name, sex, race, date of birth, reason fingerprinted and information regarding the official capturing the fingerprints. The blue FBI applicant fingerprint card FD-258 is available at most law enforcement agencies or may be requested from DOJ. The card should be completed as in the sample. Personal information on the fingerprint card should be completed prior to fingerprints being placed on the card or in the presence of the official capturing the fingerprint impressions. Any FD-258 fingerprint card is suitable for use for a police certificate, regardless of any information or agency identifiers in the ORI field. This field is disregarded when the card is processed at DOJ. Many law enforcement agencies will assist in rolling fingerprints for applicant purposes. Check with your local law enforcement agency to see if they have the applicant fingerprint card FD-258 and will aid in completing the fingerprint card. There may be a fee involved depending on each agency's policy. You will be required to produce a government-issued photo identification to prove you are the same person identified by the information on the fingerprint card. The completed fingerprint cards along with the DJ-LE-250 and $20 payment should be mailed to the address on the form. The fingerprint cards are eight inches square and should not be folded. Mail in an envelope of sufficient size to eliminate any need to fold the fingerprint card. Folding of the fingerprint card may adversely effect the fingerprint images and make them illegible. Illegible fingerprints cannot be processed and will be returned to the requestor. For any questions regarding police certificates, contact Kevin Sime, Supervisor, Record Check Unit at simeka@doj.state.wi.us or (608) 266-9398. |
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