Fingerprints and Background Checks for Chiropractic Licenses

Most states run a fingerprint-based criminal background check on every new chiropractic applicant, including doctors already licensed elsewhere. Florida and Texas require it by statute, and Arizona, Alabama and Nevada include fingerprints in their applications as well. Alaska is an exception we have found: it uses name-based criminal history reports. The prints go through the state police agency to the FBI, the results go to the board, and the license cannot issue until they come back.

How does Florida handle fingerprints?

Florida's general background screening statute covers chiropractic applicants (Fla. Stat. § 456.0135). The key points:

Every application for initial licensure under chapter 460 must include fingerprints taken through a vendor approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
The prints go electronically to FDLE for state processing, then to the FBI for national processing. The board screens the results.
FDLE retains the prints, and they are entered into Florida's Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. Later renewals that need a national check use the retained prints.
The applicant pays the processing and retention costs.

The chiropractic licensure statute repeats the requirement (Fla. Stat. § 460.406(1)(f)), and the board will not certify an applicant until fingerprint results are on file (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B2-11.001(3)).

How does Texas handle them?

Texas requires "a complete and legible set of fingerprints" submitted to the board or to the Department of Public Safety, for criminal history from DPS and the FBI, and the board "may not issue a license to a person who does not comply" (Tex. Occ. Code § 201.313). Failing to submit fingerprints is itself a ground for refusal (§ 201.502(a)(23)).

Texas also offers something useful for students: a criminal history evaluation letter. A person enrolled in or planning to enroll in chiropractic school who thinks a conviction or deferred adjudication may make them ineligible can ask the board for a determination, with court records and a fingerprint-based report. The board must issue its letter within 90 days of receiving everything (22 Tex. Admin. Code § 72.12). The fee is $150 (§ 72.1).

What about other states?

Arizona includes fingerprints in its chiropractic licensing requirements (A.R.S. § 32-921), and its universal recognition law expressly preserves the board's ability to require them (A.R.S. § 32-4302(E)).
Missouri's reciprocity statute likewise says it does not impede a board's authority to require fingerprints (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 324.009.9).
Alabama requires fingerprints for chiropractic applicants (Ala. Admin. Code r. 190-X-2-.01).
Nevada makes an FBI fingerprint report part of the endorsement file.
Alaska, according to the FCLB's board directory, accepts name-based checks rather than fingerprints. Its rules instead require criminal history reports from Alaska and from every state where you have held a license, each issued within 90 days of applying.

The federal law for military spouses also lets a board run a background check before recognizing an out-of-state license (50 U.S.C. § 4025a(d)). Each state's position is on its page in our state license index.

What order should I do things in?

The fingerprint instructions often come with the application itself, so the order matters:

File the application.
Get prints taken with the board's exact instructions: the right vendor, the right code, and the right reason for the check. A print submitted under another agency's code goes to that agency, not your board.
Keep the receipt or transaction number. If results do not reach the board, that number is how it gets traced.

If you live outside the state, ask the board how out-of-state applicants submit. Electronic vendors and paper cards are handled differently, and a print submitted the wrong way can be rejected.

Does a criminal record end an application?

Disclose it on the application, even if it was dismissed, sealed or long ago, unless the question itself excludes it. A fingerprint report can show arrests as well as dispositions, and an answer that does not match reads as concealment. Gather certified court records and a short written explanation before you file. Florida's MOBILE Act endorsement route, for example, is closed to anyone convicted of or pleading no contest to a felony or misdemeanor related to health care practice (Fla. Stat. § 456.0145(2)(c)). More in disclosing past discipline.

How we help

Our fingerprint coordination ($75 to $150, listed on our pricing page) gets the right card or vendor code for each board, schedules the appointment, and tracks the results to the board. It is often bundled into an License by Endorsement ($499 per state). The vendor's and the state's processing fees are separate.

Common questions

Do I need fingerprints if I am already licensed in another state?

Usually yes. Texas and Florida require them for every new applicant, and Arizona's universal recognition law expressly keeps the fingerprint requirement.

Can I get a Texas determination about my record before chiropractic school?

Yes. Texas issues criminal history evaluation letters to people enrolled in or planning to enroll in chiropractic school. The fee is $150 and the board must decide within 90 days of a complete request.

Does Florida keep my fingerprints?

Yes. FDLE retains them and they are entered into Florida's Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, which is used for later renewals that need a national check.

Does every state fingerprint chiropractors?

No. Alaska, according to the FCLB directory, accepts name-based checks and instead requires criminal history reports from each state where you have held a license.