Applying for a Good Cause Exception (Board of Fingerprinting)
This section describes the process after a person's fingerprint clearance card is denied or suspended.
Requesting an Appeal
The first step in the appeal process is to request an appeal. To make this request, a person sends us a copy of the letter of denial or suspension she or he received from the Department of Public Safety (DPS); there are spaces on those letters for the appellant's signature and the date. The Board must receive this request within 30 days of the denial or suspension date listed on the DPS letter. If you are sending this request late, please include a detailed explanation of why it's late.
The appellant should send this request to the Board by either of the following means:
Arizona Board of Fingerprinting
Mail Code 185
P.O. Box 6129
Phoenix, AZ 85005-6129
Fax
(602) 265-6240
It is important that you include all pages of the DPS letter.
Application Package
After the Board staff receives a request, it will send an application package by mail (or, if indicated on the request, by fax). Please note that the application package will go to the address listed on the letter, so you should indicate any address change.
Before the Board looks at the application, it must receive a complete application package. Failure to submit a complete application package will delay the appeal and may cause the application to be denied. A complete application must include at least the following.
- Application form (completed, signed, and notarized). Appellants should not fail to answer any of the questions. The application form also requires a personal statement that explains, from the appellant's perspective, every arrest that may be on your criminal history record. Appellants should make sure to address every arrest, even if it did not appear on the letter from DPS, and even if the arrest did not lead to a conviction. Appellants also may want to describe the positive lifestyle changes they have made. (For more information on personal statements, please see the "Resources" section of our Forms & Resources page.)
- Two letters of reference (completed on the forms provided by the Board). Both letters must be completed by someone who has known the appellant for at least one year. One form must be completed either by the appellant's current or former employer or by someone who has known the appellant for at least three years. Appellants may submit more reference letters, if they like. However, they must submit at least two, and the references must use Board-prescribed form.
- Evidence that the appellant has met all sentencing requirements. For every conviction on an appellant's record, regardless of whether the offense appeared on the DPS letter, the appellant must prove to the Board that the appellant met his or her sentencing terms. Sentencing terms might have included probation, parole, restitution, fines, community service, counseling, educational classes, drug or alcohol screening, incarceration, etc. To prove that an appellant met these requirements, she or he must provide a document from the court that sentenced her or him that shows the appellant completed the requirements. If the appellant contacts the court, and it says it has no record, the appellant should get a written statement from the court that indicates it has no record. If the appellant has not completed your sentencing requirements, he or she should submit a written statement that indicates the progress made toward completing them.(For more information on personal statements, please see the "Resources" section of our Forms & Resources page.)
- Police reports (not required of all applicants). If any of the appellant's arrests ocurred within five years of the date the fingerprint clearance card was denied or suspended, the appellant must provide police reports for each arrest, even if the arrest did not appear on the DPS letter, and even if the appellant was not convicted. The appellant must provide the entire report.
- Disposition information (not required of all applicants). If the appellant's denial or suspension letter indicated that DPS could not find the disposition of an arrest, she or he must provide court documentation indicating the disposition. ("Disposition" means what finally happened to a case after an arrest, such as conviction, acquittal, dropped charges, etc.) If the appellant contacts the appropriate court, and it says it has no record, the appellant should get a written statement from the court that indicates it has no record.(For more information on personal statements, please see the "Resources" section of our Forms & Resources page.)
- Child Protective Services. All applicants must disclose whether they have had a substantiated allegation of child abuse or neglect made to a child-welfare agency, regardless of whether the allegation led to criminal charges. In Arizona, the child-welfare agency is called Child Protective Services (CPS); the agency may have a difference name in other states. If the applicant has had a substantiated allegation of child abuse or neglect, he or she must contact CPS or the child-welfare agency, request a copy of the final report on the allegation, and submit that report with the application. The applicant must also submit a written statement that explains the allegation.
Investigator Review
When you send in your application, the Board staff will order your criminal history records from DPS. Once these records arrive, a Board investigator will examine all criminal records and submitted application materials to determine whether the application is complete. If it is not complete, she or he will send a letter or contact you by telephone to explain what's missing from the package. If it is complete, the investigator will send the file to the Board for an expedited review.
Expedited Review
The Board conducts an initial review of complete applications called an expedited review. All applications are examined under an expedited review; there is no need to specially request a review. Appellants are not present at this review; an expedited review is just an examination of the criminal records and the documents the appellant submitted. The Board makes one of two determinations when reviewing files:
- The file qualifies for a good cause exception under an expedited review. That is, the appellant can receive a card without having to appear at a hearing. The Board will direct DPS to issue a card, which normally arrives at your address within a couple of weeks.
- The file does not qualify for a good cause exception under an expedited review. That is, the appellant must appear at a hearing. This determination is not the same as a denial. Appellants still have an opportunity to present their case with oral testimony and, in some cases, additional documents.
For applications received on or after September 19, 2007, the expedited review must take place within 20 days from the time the Board receives the complete application package, including the criminal-history information from the Department of Public Safety.
Administrative Hearing
Appellants who are not approved for a card under an expedited review must appear at a hearing. Hearings take place in Phoenix, Arizona, and are conducted by an administrative law judge designated by the Board. At the hearing, the hearing officer will ask questions and give the appellant the opportunity to submit testimony (either the appellant's own testimony or that of a witness) to demonstrate that he or she is rehabilitated and not a recidivist. The hearing is the applicant's opportunity to demonstrate why he or she should be granted a good cause exception. The hearing may be the last opportunity the applicant has to submit evidence in support of the application.
For applications received on or after September 19, 2007, the hearing must take place within 45 days of the expedited review. However, under state law, an applicant must be given at least 20 days notice of the hearing. Therefore, the hearing will take place between 20 and 45 days of the expedited review, unless the applicant requests that the hearing be rescheduled or continued.
Within 80 days of the hearing, either the administrative law judge or the Board will make the final decision, depending on when the Board received the good-cause-exception application.
- If we received your application prior to September 26, 2008, the administrative law judge will make the final decision. (For more information, see the section "Results: Administrative Law Judge Makes Final Decision" below.)
- If we received your application on or after September 26, 2008, the administrative law judge will make a recommendation to the Board, and the Board will make the final decision. (For more information, see the section "Results: Board Makes Final Decision" below.)
The hearing officer may allow an individual to appear at a hearing telephonically. However, the circumstances must be exceptional, and the appellant must demonstrate that appearing in person would be an undue hardship. In general, inconvenience, however signficant, is not grounds for having a telephonic hearing. To request a telephonic hearing, the appellant should submit a written statement explaining why he or she would suffer undue hardship if not allowed to appear telephonically at the hearing. The statement should be submitted with enough time for the hearing officer to examine and respond to the request; appellants should not wait to submit request for telephonic hearings until just a few days before the scheduled hearing.
Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to accomodations, including American Sign Language interpreters. Applicants should notify the Board office as soon possible of any required accomodations to allow the Board staff sufficient time to make arrangements for the accomodations.
Due to budget constraints, the Board currently does not provide language interpreters (apart from American Sign Language). If applicants are not comfortable communicating in English, they should bring an interpreter to the hearing.
Results: Administrative Law Judge Makes Final Decision
If we received your good-cause-exception application before September 26, 2008, the administrative law judge (rather than the Board) will decide whether to grant or deny your application. At some point after the hearing, the administrative law judge will file an order granting or denying the application. For applications received on or after September 19, 2007, the order must be filed within 80 days of the hearing. In many cases, however, the order will be filed sooner.
After the hearing officer files his or her order, the Board staff will mail the order to the appellant. If the hearing officer granted a good cause exception, the Board staff will notify the Department of Public Safety in writing to issue a fingerprint clearance card. In general, it takes DPS 10-14 working days to issue the card. If the hearing officer denied a good cause exception, the appellant will receive information on what further steps he or she can take.
Results: Board Makes Final Decision
If we received your good-cause-exception application on or after September 26, 2008, the administrative law judge will file with the Board a recommended order either granting or denying your application. The recommendation describes what the administrative law judge determines are the facts in your case and how the law applies to those facts. However, it is only a recommendation is not the final decision. The Board itself will make the final decision by adopting, rejecting, or modifying the administrative law judge's recommendation.
The Board will hold another hearing, where it will decide whether or not to accept the administrative law judge's recommendation. There will be at least three but normally five Board members present. These Board members represent some of the state agencies that require fingerprint clearance cards. At least 20 days before the hearing, the Board staff will send you a notice indicating the time, date, and location of the hearing. You are entitled to attend the hearing, but you are not required to attend. If you do attend, you will not be permitted to speak or present evidence. You will only be allowed to observe the Board proceedings.
Along with the notice of your hearing, you will also get a copy of the administrative law judge's recommendation. If there's anything in the recommendation that you disagree with, you can submit a written response at least 10 days before the hearing (the due date will appear on the hearing notice). Prior to the hearing, the Board will review your written response. Your written response cannot include new evidence that you did not present at or before your hearing before the administrative law judge. Therefore, you should make certain that you present all evidence at or before the hearing before the administrative law judge.
At the hearing, the Board members will have discussion, if necessary. They will then make a decision to accept, reject, or modify the administrative law judge's recommendation. You will know when you leave the hearing whether your application was approved or denied.
Under no circumstance whatsoever should you attempt to contact Board members prior to the hearing. If you attempt to contact Board members, your application may be denied.
For applications received on or after September 19, 2007, the Board's decision must be made within 80 days of your hearing before the hearing officer. Unfortunately, the process is not likely to take much less time, given the legal requirements that the Board has to meet.