Under Minnesota law, all applicants for employment at a fire department must undergo a Minnesota criminal history background check. A national criminal history background check is also required for applicants who have not lived in Minnesota for five years.

Send your background check request to:

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
CHA Unit
1430 Maryland Ave. E.
St. Paul, MN 55106

National fingerprint-based background check requirements

Employers who conduct national fingerprint-based criminal history record checks are required to follow certain FBI processes. You must provide the applicant with the Privacy Act statement and the applicant must acknowledge receipt of that statement. Applicants who are the subject of a national fingerprint-based criminal history record check have certain privacy rights.

In addition, state agencies, cities, counties, public school districts and tribes (government non-criminal justice agencies, or NCJA) that are requesting national fingerprint-based background checks must enter into an agreement with the BCA and obtain a unique agency identifying number, typically called an ORI. These items are required by the BCA to comply with FBI audit requirements of all NCJA.

1. Request information on obtaining an ORI for a government non-criminal justice agency. You may contact the BCA CHA Unit by phone at 651-793-2400, option 1, or by email at BCA.CHA@state.mn.us to request information on obtaining an agreement and ORI.
2. Follow the instructions in the letter to start the agreement/ORI process.
3. Communicate with the BCA as needed during the agreement/ORI process.
4. After receiving your assigned ORI, enter this number on the fingerprint card when submitting background checks to the BCA.

An auditor will be assigned to your agency. The auditor will contact your agency to begin the onboarding process that explains the audit and the overall process. The audit will not take place immediately. With the guidance of your auditor, the agency will have time to acclimate to policy requirements and to understand the audit process.

Information contained in a Minnesota criminal history background check

Watch this video or read this document for a high-level overview of the information agencies and organizations receive when conducting a Minnesota criminal history background check.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the above outlined procedures or if you require assistance, you may contact the Criminal History Access Unit at 651-793-2400, option 1.