Alaska Background Check

Your requester category controls what Alaska releases

Alaska Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Records and Identification Bureau is the state repository. It offers Alaska-only history checks, not an automatic national report. Use the form for the record subject when requesting your own information, or the separate other-requester form when another person or organization seeks the release. First confirm the category and purpose required by whoever will receive the report.

The subject-only option includes all criminal charges and dispositions, including a sealed record. The any-person option covers current/open charges and convictions, excluding sealed records. The interested-person category has a different permissible scope for qualifying work involving minors or dependent adults. The other-requester form requires the subject’s release and requester information; an additional statutory-purpose category requires a DPS client number.

Choose name matching or fingerprint identification

DPS lists $20 for a name-based Alaska check and $35 for a fingerprint-based Alaska check. Fingerprints are recommended because name searches can miss history under aliases. For Alaska submissions use the standard FD-258 card in the required physical format; DPS warns that differently sized cards or paper stock can be rejected. A fingerprint check improves identification but does not turn an Alaska-only response into an FBI check.

Keep former names, the complete birth date, and the intended recipient ready. The subject form also asks for mailing address, Alaska driver’s license number, sex, contact details, and other identifiers. Sign the required statement; the form says an unsigned statement prevents processing. Send sensitive identifying material only through the official request channel you have verified.

Use the online link, mail form, or an available walk-in office

DPS links an online name-based request service from its Background Checks page. If that route does not work for your request, use the appropriate downloadable form or confirm a walk-in location. Most DPS offices and many local police departments offer walk-in checks, but confirm service and hours before traveling. This guide does not claim that every office can complete every category while you wait.

1. For the standard mailed name request, select the correct release category and complete all required subject and recipient information.
2. Enclose a check or money order payable to State of Alaska. The forms give $20 for the original name-based report and $5 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.
3. Mail originals to Criminal Records and Identification Bureau, 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507. The request-form contact is 907-269-5767. Ordinary applicants should not use the fax-submission exception reserved for state agencies with an approved reimbursement arrangement.

Plan the copies and delivery before submitting

For mailed name checks, DPS offers mail or fax delivery; receiving both requires purchasing the extra copy. A later request for another report costs $20, rather than the $5 same-order extra-copy price. Select the recipient and number of copies before submitting, and retain a copy of the request and payment details for status questions.

The reviewed general DPS request instructions do not promise a single processing period or describe every certification requirement. Ask the bureau about current turnaround and whether the format meets the receiving organization’s requirements. A court-certified judgment, repository history, and an employment clearance are separate deliverables. If the report identifies a disputed disposition, obtain that case’s court order rather than assuming a summary contains the full file.

DOH and DFCS provider screening is a separate program

The Department of Health Background Check Program checks criminal and civil history for people associated with covered DOH or Department of Family and Community Services entities. Those providers use the New Alaska Background Check System (NABCS). Individuals cannot open a NABCS application for themselves; the participating entity submits it for a person it plans to associate with. Ask the provider for its instructions before buying a personal DPS report.

A complete program application includes the application, nonrefundable fee, and fingerprint card when applicable. Incomplete applications close after 30 days and then require a new application and full payment. The program contact is 907-334-4475 or [email protected]. Do not apply the DPS $20/$35 prices automatically to this separate program.

Challenge an error with the correction form and supporting record

DPS supplies Request to Correct Criminal Justice Information, form CRI-103. Identify whether the problem is an incorrect personal identifier, charge, missing or wrong disposition, omitted set-aside, or mistaken identity. Attach available court documents; the form asks for supporting documentation instead of an unsupported assertion that the record is wrong. For mistaken identity, arrange fingerprints through the bureau.

The correction form gives 5700 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507; telephone 907-375-6410; fax 907-269-0363; and [email protected]. A set-aside is not necessarily deletion: the form explains that an SIS entry remains while its disposition changes to Set-Aside. It also identifies an appeal to the Commissioner of Public Safety if correction is denied. Retain the response with the original disputed history.