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To mail fingerprint cards to the FBI, send completed FD-258 cards to the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services division with the required application form, payment, and a return envelope. Most applicants now use an FBI-approved channeler or a live-scan location instead, which sends prints electronically and avoids the slower paper-card route.
The FD-258 is the FBI's standard applicant fingerprint card: a paper card with boxes for all ten rolled fingerprints, plus plain impressions of both hands, your personal details, and the reason for the check. Prints are usually taken with ink by a trained technician at a police station, a sheriff's office, or a private fingerprinting service. Rolled prints matter: a flat press of a fingertip is not enough, and a card with smudged or partial rolls is the top reason the FBI rejects a submission and asks for a fresh card.
Ask the technician to check every box before you leave. A missing signature, a blank field for date of birth, or a card bent in a pocket can all trigger a rejection that costs weeks. If you are abroad, US embassies and some local police stations will take FD-258 prints, but the card and the process are the same.
For most people, yes. An FBI-approved channeler is a private company authorized to collect fingerprints and submit them electronically to the FBI, then return the results to you. The electronic route is faster, it catches poor-quality prints at the scanner before submission, and it avoids the postal delay in both directions. Channelers also handle applicants who need results sent to an employer or licensing board, rather than to themselves.
Direct mailing still has a place: applicants outside the United States, applicants whose prints cannot be captured electronically, and people who need the FBI's own paper-based Identity History record process. If you mail direct, expect a longer wait and build in time for a possible rejection and resubmission.
| Route | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Mail FD-258 direct to the FBI | Paper card mailed with form, payment, and return envelope | Applicants abroad or with prints that cannot be scanned |
| FBI-approved channeler | Prints captured and sent electronically, results returned to you | Most US applicants who want speed |
| Live-scan location | Prints scanned on site and sent electronically | Employment and licensing checks |
| Police station ink prints | Technician rolls prints onto FD-258 cards | Anyone mailing a paper card |
Read the FBI's current instructions before you mail, because the mailing address, accepted payment forms, and form version change from time to time. An out-of-date form is a needless rejection.
Yes. Photocopy or photograph both sides of every card before you mail it, and keep the copies with your application receipt and tracking number. If the FBI rejects a card for print quality, a copy tells the technician exactly which fingers were smudged, so the retake fixes the right ones. If the package is lost, a copy proves what you sent and when, which helps when you ask the FBI or the postal service to trace it.
Store those copies privately. Fingerprint records are sensitive identity data, so keep them in a locked file or an encrypted folder, not in an ordinary email inbox or a shared drive.
Use a tracked or registered service for the outbound package, and keep the receipt until the results arrive. The FBI does not confirm receipt of a mailed card the way a courier confirms a delivery, so your tracking record is your proof of arrival. If results have not arrived well past the expected window, contact the FBI's Identity History record unit with your tracking number, mailing date, and full name as written on the card. That combination lets staff find your submission in their queue.
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