Colorado background check: CBI searches, fingerprints and fair chance rules

How the CBI name search works

When people talk about a CBI background check, they usually mean this tool. The Internet Criminal History Check (ICHC) gives a Colorado only, name based report straight away on a phone or computer. The CBI says all Colorado criminal history is open to the public with a few exceptions:

• arrests of people 17 and younger, unless they were tried as adults;
• traffic arrests of people under 16;
• arrests sealed by a court order.

Law enforcement can see those excluded items; the public cannot. Only people currently on the sex offender registry are flagged. Each download is charged separately, and a common name can return several possible matches, so the person running it has to confirm which one is you. ICHC reports cannot be notarized. If you need a notarized copy for a visa or court, the CBI's employment and background checks page explains how to ask for a mailed name search instead.

Jobs that need a Colorado fingerprint check

Fingerprint checks cover Colorado and national FBI records and are used when a law calls for them. The CBI lists separate applicant groups, each with its own code, including:

Prints are taken by one of the two Colorado Applicant Background Services vendors approved by the CBI, which have sites across the state. The vendor adds its own service charge to the CBI and FBI charges. Pick the group your employer names, since the group decides where results go. More general tips are on our fingerprint check page.

The Chance to Compete Act in a Colorado background check

Colorado's Chance to Compete Act limits what most private employers can say and ask before they get to know you. Guidance from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's Division of Labor Standards and Statistics says employers may not:

• state in a job ad or application that people with criminal records may not apply;
• ask about criminal history on the initial application;
• require you to disclose criminal history on that first application.

The Act does not stop a background check. Employers can still run one later in the process and can ask about records once the first application stage is over. Government employers are outside this law, and jobs where another law requires screening have their own rules. Complaints go to the Division, which you can reach through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Sealing and old arrests

Since public Colorado records include arrests, sealing matters. When a court seals an arrest, the CBI removes it from public name searches; the CBI sealing page explains how to send the court order so the state file matches. Arrests with no outcome on file can also be updated: the CBI has a process for adding a missing disposition, which changes how the entry reads to employers.

Copies that a screening company saved before your sealing order may still exist. Send the company the order and ask it to remove the case. See how sealed records are handled for the wider picture.

When the record is not yours

Any person may dispute information on their Colorado record. You can take the dispute to the arresting agency, or ask the CBI for a record challenge, which compares your fingerprints with the record in question. The CBI's identity theft and misidentification page lists the steps: get a copy of the record, mark what is wrong, get fingerprinted with an approved vendor under the record challenge option, then send the marked record with your Process Control Number. The CBI then mails you a letter with the result.

If someone used your name when arrested, the letter helps you prove it to employers. Keep it with your ID papers. For screening company reports, also follow the dispute process.

Federal rules and getting help

When a Colorado employer uses a screening company, federal law requires a stand alone disclosure and your written consent, then an advance warning, report attached, before any rejection tied to it. Notice rules are on the FTC site, and the EEOC sets out how records ought to be weighed. Typical turnaround times are on our timing page.

What you read here summarizes CBI and Department of Labor material, not legal advice. A Colorado legal aid program or an employment attorney can look at your specific case.