The Division of Criminal Justice Services, DCJS, maintains New York State's official criminal history records and is their only official source. Those records detail the arrests, indictments, convictions and sentences reported by police departments, district attorneys, the courts and other criminal justice agencies, and DCJS states that they are not public records: they cannot be obtained under the Freedom of Information Law, DCJS does not release them to third parties or to businesses that sell background checks, and no one may request a record on another person to find out whether that person has a criminal history.
What the public can do is obtain their own record, by fingerprints, through DCJS's vendor IdentoGO, and choose between a suppressed version, which omits sealed and suppressed matters, and an unsuppressed one that shows everything. An employer or licensing agency sees a DCJS record only when a state, federal or local law specifically authorizes a fingerprint based check for that job or license, and must tell the applicant so.
- Your own record: an IdentoGO appointment with service code 15464Z for a suppressed record or 15465F for an unsuppressed one, $17.50 as of February 2, 2026 inside New York, one form of ID, payment to Idemia by card, check or money order; the response comes by U.S. mail in three to four weeks and cannot be picked up.
- From outside New York: the same codes at any IdentoGO enrollment center for $57.45, or, with no center nearby, an FD-258 card printed by local police and mailed with the signed cardscan confirmation to IdentoGO's card scan operation in Tallahassee for $17.50.
- Fee waiver: a criminal history record fee waiver application packet from the DCJS Records Review Unit, 80 South Swan Street, 5th Floor, Albany, New York 12210, for anyone unable to pay the $17.50.
- Employers: access only with statutory authority and a Use and Dissemination Agreement with DCJS; questions to the Office of Legal Services at (518) 457-8413.
Written by SearchSystems.net from New York's own systems: the DCJS Request Your New York State Criminal History page, the DCJS Request for Access to Criminal History Record Information form, the DCJS CPL 160.50 seal verification form, the DCJS CPL 160.59 seal verification form, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
A closed record, by design
The DCJS page sets out the basic rules. The official record is not public, is not provided under FOIL, and is not released to third parties or to the businesses that sell background checks, which DCJS says get their information by searching public databases and records by name, date of birth or other demographics rather than by fingerprints. A potential employer or licensing agency may ask you to submit fingerprints to DCJS only when a local, state or federal law allows it, and must make you aware of that requirement; the page links the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance for applicants with records. You cannot request a criminal history record response for another person.
Suppressed or unsuppressed
A person may request either an unsuppressed or a suppressed record, with a separate request for each. The unsuppressed record contains every record, including those suppressed or sealed under the Criminal Procedure Law: cases dismissed under CPL 160.50, violation and infraction convictions under CPL 160.55, eligible substance abuse related convictions under CPL 160.58, convictions the court sealed under CPL 160.59, youthful offender adjudications under CPL 720.35, and individual charges dismissed in court with their equivalent arrest charges for cases disposed on or after November 1, 1991. The suppressed record leaves all of that out. The response is either a copy of the New York State criminal history record, the rap sheet, or a no record response verifying that none exists, together with information on how to challenge the accuracy of anything reported; it may also show fingerprints submitted as required by law for employment, licensing or other purposes. Requesting the record is the way to review it and correct incomplete or incorrect information, for you or your attorney.
Requesting from inside New York: $17.50
A New York resident schedules a fingerprint appointment on the IdentoGO website or at 877-472-6915 with service code 15464Z for a suppressed record or 15465F for an unsuppressed one. Someone who needs the record for international purposes selects travel or other country as the reason, so that DCJS can supply the signed document needed for an apostille from the Department of State. The appointment requires one form of identification from IdentoGO's list, a New York photo ID waiver for minors when a parent or guardian requests a record for a child aged 11 to 17 without acceptable ID, and payment of $17.50 as of February 2, 2026 by credit card, check or money order made out to Idemia. DCJS processes the request and returns the response by U.S. mail within three to four weeks; it cannot be picked up in person.
Requesting from outside New York: $57.45, or by card
Outside New York the same service codes are entered on the IdentoGO website, which locates an enrollment center by zip code or city, and the appointment costs $57.45 as of February 2, 2026, with the same ID rules. Where no center is near, the applicant prints an FBI FD-258 card, has local law enforcement take the prints, enrolls online for cardscan submission with the service code and the international reason where needed, pays IdentoGO's $17.50 at enrollment, and mails the signed confirmation page with its barcode and the completed card to Prints, Inc, IdentoGO NY Card Scan Operations, 100 Salem Ct., Tallahassee, FL 32301; IdentoGO will not forward prepaid envelopes to DCJS. The response again comes by mail in three to four weeks. A person unable to pay the $17.50 fingerprint processing fee requests a fee waiver application packet by email or by mail from the Records Review Unit, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, 80 South Swan St., 5th Floor, Albany, New York 12210, giving a complete current mailing address.
Seal verification
When a court has sealed a record, DCJS verifies the seal on request. Its fillable forms for CPL 160.50, 160.55 and 160.59 seals are completed, printed, signed and mailed with a copy of the court's signed seal order to the DCJS Correspondence Unit, 5th Floor, 80 South Swan Street, Albany, NY 12210, by the individual or by an attorney or advocate on their behalf; DCJS will not verify a seal without the signed order. The 160.59 form covers convictions sealed by petition.
Employers and licensing entities
Criminal history record information held by DCJS may be released only to entities with statutory authority or under a judicial order or subpoena. The Executive Law defines the qualified agencies eligible to receive it, and access for employment or licensing is permitted only where a state law, federal law, or a local law of a New York village, town, city or county specifically authorizes a fingerprint based criminal history check. Every authorized agency holds a contract with DCJS, the Use and Dissemination Agreement, and applies on the Request for Access to Criminal History Record Information, which is not for individuals. The form asks for the agency, its ORI if it already has an agreement, whether it seeks New York only or New York and FBI records for employment, licensing, criminal justice or another stated reason, and a copy of the authorizing law; peace officer agencies get only limited access to wanted and missing information unless they prove criminal justice agency status under 28 CFR 20.3. A local law must name the license type or job title, require fingerprints and fees to DCJS in its prescribed form, name the agency and staff title that will review the record, and require that fitness be judged under Correction Law Articles 23 and 23-A, with proof of filing with the Department of State. General questions go to the Use and Dissemination Unit at (518) 485-8434 and legal questions to the Office of Legal Services at (518) 457-8413 or dcjslegalservices@dcjs.ny.gov, with Criminal History Record Information Access Inquiry in the subject line.
Reading a New York response
A DCJS rap sheet is a fingerprint matched official record that reaches its subject and the agencies the law names, no one else. A suppressed response is what an authorized employer would see of sealed matters, which is nothing; an unsuppressed response is the whole file, for review and correction. Public information about New York criminal cases lives in the courts, which is why the New York court records guide, not the DCJS record, is where a check on another person begins.
Questions about background checks in New York
Related New York records
The DCJS record is the one New York keeps closed; the records it keeps open are covered on this site: the New York court records guide explains the court system's own case searches, the arrest records guide covers what an arrest makes public and the sealing laws, the inmate search guide covers the DOCCS lookup, and the New York county pages list each sheriff and county clerk.