What If the FBI Was Unable to Process Your Fingerprint?

Sometimes, the FBI is unable to process your fingerprint, creating unexpected delays for identity checks and background verifications. This can happen due to smudged prints, worn fingerprints, or technical issues during scanning, making it difficult for the FBI to capture a clear image. While rare, this situation can be frustrating for applicants who rely on FBI checks for employment, licensing, or security clearances. Understanding why fingerprint processing may fail and knowing that a formal rejection letter can serve as valid documentation helps navigate this uncommon but important challenge.

Along with this, we will also discuss how professional FBI fingerprinting and application coordination service providers like Globeia can help avoid the rejections.

The FBI may be unable to process a fingerprint submission when the impressions are not clear enough for comparison. Fingerprint quality can also be affected by physical conditions such as worn or damaged ridge detail:

Important: If your fingerprints are rejected more than once, the FBI’s current Identity History Summary guidance recommends having multiple sets of fingerprints taken if fingerprints are continuously rejected, preferably by a fingerprinting provider.

Also Read: 10 Mistakes to Avoid While Doing Fingerprinting

If the FBI is unable to process your fingerprint on the first submission, the agency requesting your background check will notify you. In most cases, you will have the opportunity to resubmit your fingerprints. Depending on your first submission, the agency may suggest trying a different method such as submitting digitally if you initially used ink, or vice versa.

If your second submission also experiences issues, a formal second rejection letter may allow the agency requesting your background check, such as an employer, licensing body, or immigration authority, to apply for a CJIS Biographic Verification (formerly referred to as a National Name and Date of Birth Check), subject to specific eligibility requirements and rejection codes. This option is available to authorised agencies only and is not directly accessible to individual applicants.

While some fingerprints may naturally be faint or worn, taking a few precautions can improve ridge clarity and reduce the chances of a second FBI fingerprint rejection:

• Clean and prepare your hands: Make sure your hands are clean before your appointment. If your hands are naturally moist, you can wipe off to dry up excess moisture. If your hands are overly dry and flaky, you can apply a small amount of hand lotion.
• Warm and massage your fingerprints: Cold hands may reduce ridge contrast. Warming your hands or gently massaging your fingers increases blood flow to heighten faint ridge details.
• Use a trained fingerprint technician: An experienced fingerprint associate will guide you properly to ensure rolled impressions of all ten fingers.
• Use approved cards or certified live-scan equipment: Ensure your technician uses an unbent, official FD-258 or FD-1164 card with standard black ink.

Taking these steps helps ensure your fingerprints meet FBI standards for processing, minimizing delays in background checks or identity verification.

• If your fingerprints are rejected the first time, applicants usually make a second attempt, taking all possible measures to ensure high-quality prints. This includes having an experienced technician capture the fingerprints, using proper ink or a certified electronic live-scan device, and preparing your fingers by cleaning them without making them overly dry or oily. The goal is to provide the FBI with clear, complete, and readable fingerprint impressions that meet processing standards.
• In rare cases, even after these precautions, the FBI may still be unable to process fingerprints. When this happens, a second fingerprint rejection letter is issued, stating that the fingerprints cannot be processed.
• For certain federal, state, or regulatory noncriminal-justice submissions, two qualifying fingerprint image-quality rejections may allow the requesting agency to seek a CJIS Biographic Verification. The FBI’s current instructions specify that this process is available to authorized agencies when the fingerprints have been rejected twice because of improper image quality, subject to specific requirements and rejection codes.
• For an individual requesting an FBI Identity History Summary directly, however, a second fingerprint rejection does not automatically trigger a CJIS name check. The FBI specifically states that it does not provide name checks for Identity History Summary requests.

For applicants outside the United States, an FBI fingerprint rejection can be significantly more difficult to resolve due to international shipping delays, additional courier fees, and limited local fingerprinting infrastructure:

• Risk of Extended Shipping Delays: If the FBI cannot process the fingerprint impressions, an overseas applicant may need to arrange another fingerprinting appointment and mail a new fingerprint card to the FBI. This can make repeated rejection more disruptive and time-consuming than it is for applicants who can access U.S.-based fingerprinting services.
• Limited Local Fingerprint Options: Applicants outside the U.S. often have to use a local law enforcement agency or private fingerprinting provider that offers fingerprinting services. Because procedures vary by country, it is vital to use a technician experienced with U.S. federal background checks.
• Submitting Multiple Fingerprint Cards: The FBI advises applicants with repeatedly rejected fingerprints to have multiple sets taken, preferably by a fingerprinting technician, and to mail all the fingerprint cards with the request. Using multiple freshly completed cards can reduce the risk of having to arrange another overseas fingerprinting appointment and international shipment if one set cannot be processed.

Managing an FBI Identity History Summary application involves more than submitting fingerprints, especially for applicants outside the United States, who must coordinate professional fingerprinting, document preparation, international shipping, and FBI submission correctly across multiple stages.

Globeia brings these steps together through a single workflow:

1. Complete the Globeia’s SmartForm

Begin the booking by filling the SmartForm, providing the required details like your preferred date, time, and location. This allows Globeia to prepare the correct documentation and services for your FBI Identity History Summary before the appointment.

Before your appointment is confirmed, a secure Face ID verification is completed through Globeia's SmartPortal to link the fingerprint collection to the correct applicant.

2. Complete Your Fingerprinting Appointment

FBI Mobile Fingerprinting - If you have chosen Globeia’s mobile fingerprinting service, a trained fingerprinting associate from Globeia visits you to collect your fingerprints using the appropriate FBI fingerprint card, such as FD-258 or FD-1164.

In-office Fingerprinting - You visit the nearby Globeia office (if available at your location) at the allotted time, and a professional captures your fingerprint impressions on the appropriate FBI form.

Also Read: How to Prepare for Your Mobile Fingerprinting Appointment?

3. Review Your Fingerprint Card and Documents

After fingerprinting, Globeia professionals review the fingerprint card as per the FBI guidelines to find any common issues before submission. Applicants who already have fingerprints taken elsewhere can also have their existing cards reviewed and choose the complete FBI Identity History Summary application coordination services to avoid any unnecessary errors and delays.

4. Send the Original FBI Fingerprint Card to Globeia Inc. in the USA

Once your fingerprint card is complete, the original card is securely sent to Globeia Inc. in the United States. Globeia's U.S. office coordinates the next stage of the FBI Identity History Summary application. 

For international applicants, this can simplify the process by providing a coordinated U.S. submission route instead of requiring the applicant to manage each stage independently.

5. Application Submission to the FBI

Globeia Inc. coordinates the application and fingerprint submission with the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. The FBI independently reviews and processes the application and determines whether the fingerprint submission can be processed.

6. Track the Application Through SmartPortal

Applicants can monitor their application through the Globeia SmartPortal, including relevant status updates during document review, fingerprint completion, submission coordination, and results delivery.

7. Receive Your FBI Identity History Summary

Once the FBI completes processing, the Identity History Summary is delivered according to the selected service and delivery option. Globeia can also coordinate additional services, such as the U.S. Department of State apostille and certified translation, when required for use in another country.

Why This Process Matters After An FBI Fingerprint Rejection

Globeia's role is to help address avoidable problems earlier: using the appropriate fingerprint card, checking print quality before the appointment ends, reviewing the application and documents, coordinating the original card's U.S. routing, and guiding the applicant if the FBI requests a resubmission.

If the FBI is unable to process a fingerprint submission, Globeia can guide the applicant through the next steps and help coordinate another fingerprinting appointment where applicable. However, fingerprint acceptance and processing decisions remain solely with the FBI.

Here’s how Globeia is helping the FBI Identity History Summary applicants across the world:

• Professional FBI Fingerprinting: Globeia’s trained associates collect ink fingerprints using the appropriate FBI fingerprint card for the application. This provides applicants with professional fingerprint collection rather than requiring them to manage the fingerprinting process on their own.
• Fingerprint Quality Checks: Fingerprint impressions are reviewed during the appointment for common quality issues. If an impression needs to be improved, it can be retaken before the applicant leaves, helping reduce avoidable problems with the fingerprint card.
• Application and Document Review: Globeia reviews the application information and required documents before submission coordination. This helps identify missing information or common documentation issues before the application moves forward.
• U.S.-Based Application Coordination: Completed fingerprint cards and required documents can be coordinated through Globeia Inc. in the United States for the FBI Identity History Summary process. This can simplify the process for applicants who are managing their applications from outside the U.S.
• Support if Fingerprints Are Rejected: If the FBI is unable to process the submitted fingerprints, Globeia can guide the applicant through the next steps and help coordinate another fingerprinting appointment where applicable.
• Application Tracking: Applicants can use the Globeia SmartPortal, where applicable, to upload documents, monitor application progress, and receive relevant updates throughout the process.

• Receiving an “unable to process” result from the FBI is not unusual, especially older applicants whose ridge detail naturally diminishes with age, individuals whose work wears down fingerprints, or those regularly handling chemicals or tools. Applicants are given a second opportunity to submit their fingerprints, and technicians take all measures to ensure the best possible quality. In rare cases where the second submission is still rejected, the FBI issues a formal rejection letter.
• This letter serves as valid documentation, demonstrating that the applicant made every effort to comply with fingerprinting requirements. It does not indicate any issue with the applicant's criminal history or background. It simply records the outcome of the fingerprint submission. Whether the letter can be accepted as an alternative to an FBI Identity History Summary depends on the requirements of the requesting agency or organization.

Need help with an FBI fingerprinting or a rejected fingerprint submission? Get in touch with Globeia to start your FBI Identity History Summary application - professional fingerprint collection, quality checks, application coordination, and live tracking through Globeia’s SmartPortal, all in one place.