New York Background Check Guide · 2025
A finance role on Wall Street, a hospital position at Mount Sinai or Strong Memorial, a teaching license through SED, a real-estate broker's license, every one of those involves a fingerprint-based background check through the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). The DCJS maintains the state's official "RAP sheet," and they let you pull a personal copy of the same record.
This guide explains how to get your own New York RAP sheet, what shows up on it, and how the Clean Slate Act (CPL 160.57), which became fully effective in November 2024, automatically seals millions of older convictions.
New York runs more fingerprint-based background checks than almost any other state, partly because so many licensed professions require them and partly because Article 23-A makes it riskier for employers to rely on incomplete or third-party data. The state's DCJS is the single source of truth, and getting a copy on yourself takes guesswork out of the process.
The DCJS RAP sheet is built from data flowing in from all 62 counties, the unified court system, and dozens of law-enforcement agencies. Disposition gaps are particularly common in cases that moved between county and city courts in NYC or that involved adjournments in contemplation of dismissal (ACDs). Catching a stale "open case" on your RAP sheet before an employer or licensing agency does is much cheaper than disputing it after.
The Clean Slate Act is automatic in principle, but the implementation has been rolling out in waves since November 2024. Verify your eligible records were actually sealed by running a personal RAP sheet review. If something that should be sealed still appears, contact DCJS directly.
Healthcare, finance, real estate, teaching, security, private investigation, and most other licensed professions in New York run fingerprint-based DCJS checks. Each has its own list of disqualifying offenses. Knowing what's on your record beforehand lets you address any concerns through Article 23-A's individualized-assessment framework rather than reacting to a denial.
NYC's Fair Chance Housing Act (effective 2024) restricts how landlords can use criminal records, but commercial screening services still pull data ultimately sourced from court records and the DCJS. Fixing errors at the source produces cleaner tenant reports going forward.
Felony convictions and most misdemeanor convictions processed in New York courts appear on the DCJS RAP sheet, unless they've been sealed under Clean Slate or by court order. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, sentence, and disposition.
Arrest records appear on the DCJS RAP sheet, including arrests that did not result in conviction. Under CPL 160.50, arrests that didn't lead to conviction are automatically sealed for most purposes, but they remain on the personal RAP sheet you request on yourself.
YO adjudications (handled in New York instead of adult convictions for certain 16- to 18-year-old defendants) are sealed and not visible to private employers, but they appear on your personal RAP sheet review.
Non-criminal violations (disorderly conduct, harassment in the 2nd degree, etc.) generally don't appear on standard employment background checks but may show on your personal review.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile delinquency adjudications (sealed by default), most traffic offenses (excluding VTL 1192), and civil cases fall outside the DCJS system. A complete personal check usually combines the RAP sheet with federal and multi-state sources.
The official statewide route. Schedule an L-1 Enrollment Services fingerprint appointment through criminaljustice.ny.gov/ojis/recordreview. Total cost is approximately $61.50, $50 DCJS fee plus $11.50 fingerprint processing. Results are returned in 7–10 business days by mail. Fee-waiver applications are available for those who qualify.
The Unified Court System's WebCriminal portal at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcrim_attorney provides public access to criminal case information from most New York courts. This catches case histories that may not yet be in the DCJS file.
For NYC-only cases, the OCA's eCourts system provides a Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens/Bronx/Staten Island case search at iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcrim_attorney/Login.
For a single report combining New York DCJS data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is fastest. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI. Particularly useful if you've lived in multiple states.
Signed by Governor Hochul in November 2023 and effective November 16, 2024, the Clean Slate Act is the largest expansion of record sealing in New York history. Waiting periods are measured from the date of sentence completion (including any post-release supervision):
Sealing under Clean Slate is automatic, no petition required, but DCJS is rolling out the sealings in batches. Sealed records remain accessible to law enforcement, courts, and certain regulated industries (gun licensing, work involving children/vulnerable adults).
Arrests and prosecutions that didn't result in conviction are automatically sealed under CPL 160.50. Convictions for non-criminal violations are sealed under CPL 160.55. Both have been on the books for decades and predate Clean Slate.
This 1976 law is one of the strongest worker protections in the country for people with conviction histories. It requires employers and licensing agencies to conduct an individualized assessment of:
NYC's local Ban the Box law goes further than state law: it prohibits employers from inquiring about criminal history before a conditional job offer is made, with a mandatory Fair Chance Process for any post-offer review. The 2021 amendments strengthened the law further.
Third-party background checks in New York are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
Yes, especially with Clean Slate now in effect. If you have any conviction more than 3 years old (misdemeanor) or 8 years old (felony), it should already be sealed. Verify it actually was. If you have any older arrests, dispositions you've never confirmed, or any record at all, the $61.50 DCJS RAP sheet review is the single most useful document you can hold.
For a comprehensive personal report combining New York DCJS data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The official route is the DCJS Personal Criminal History Review, a fingerprint-based RAP sheet check. Schedule through L-1/IDEMIA, pay approximately $61.50, and receive your record in 7–10 business days. For broader coverage, search the Unified Court System WebCriminal portal or use a professional multi-state service.
For convictions, New York has no state cap on reporting, but Clean Slate sealing automatically removes most misdemeanors after 3 years and most felonies after 8 years. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction reporting at 7 years on third-party employment reports.
Records sealed under Clean Slate, CPL 160.50/55, or court order should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports or on standard DCJS checks. They remain accessible to law enforcement and certain regulated industries (firearms licensing, work with children, etc.).
DCJS Personal Criminal History Review (RAP sheet): approximately $61.50 ($50 DCJS + $11.50 fingerprinting). FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80. Fee-waiver applications are available for those who can't pay.
Yes. The federal FCRA requires written consent for third-party background checks. Article 23-A requires individualized assessment of any conviction-based denial. NYC employers covered by the Fair Chance Act cannot conduct background checks until after a conditional offer. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.