Los Angeles Fingerprint is an educational publication owned and operated by Anshin Mobile Notary & Livescan. Its purpose is to explain what actually happens during fingerprint appointments, including the technology and privacy rules most applicants never see. That experience also supports people who need professional Live Scan fingerprinting in Los Angeles.
Editorial perspective: We have been fingerprinting applicants for more than a decade, and this article comes from a question we hear all the time: “Can you send me a copy of my fingerprints?” It is a completely reasonable question. The answer surprises people because a Live Scan transaction does not become a customer file sitting in our office.
People often call us after a Live Scan appointment and ask for one of two things:
“Can you email me a copy of my fingerprints?”
Or:
“Can you send me my record?”
We understand why they ask. They watched their fingerprints appear on our screen. We were the people who took them. It seems logical that we must have a copy somewhere that we can pull up, print, or attach to an email.
But that is not how the system works.
The plain answer is that we capture your fingerprints, transmit the electronic transaction through the approved system, and do not keep a reusable copy that we can print, email, or send to somebody else. We do not receive your background-check results either.
From an applicant’s point of view, fingerprinting can look like someone taking digital photographs of ten fingers. From our side of the scanner, it is a secure submission process with very specific limits on what we can access, save, and use.
What you see on the scanner is only one part of the transaction
During the appointment, you can see the ridge detail from each finger appear on the screen. We can see it too, because we need to decide whether the image is good enough to submit.
One of the first things an experienced technician looks for is whether the ridges are clear and complete. We look at pressure, position, moisture, worn skin, scars, and whether part of the finger rolled outside the capture area. If something does not look right, we capture that finger again. Our article about what technicians see on the Live Scan screen explains that quality check in more detail.
Once the images are usable, the system combines them with the information needed for that particular submission. That can include your name, date of birth, identifying information, the reason for the background check, and the requesting agency’s routing information.
So the machine is not simply saving ten photographs. It is building an electronic fingerprint transaction for one authorized purpose. The fingerprint images and the applicant information are packaged together, secured and encrypted by the approved system, and transmitted to the California Department of Justice.
The routing information matters just as much as the fingerprint quality. For example, the ORI code identifies the agency connected to the request. The fingerprint provider cannot later change the purpose or send that completed transaction to an entirely different agency simply because the applicant asks us to.
Why can’t we just open the images and send them to you?
This is usually the next question.
If the images appeared on the screen, people assume there must be a normal image file behind the scenes—something like a photograph, scan, or PDF that we can open in another program.
There is not.
The Live Scan terminal is not an ordinary office scanner. We cannot open Adobe, browse through a folder with applicants’ names, or export someone’s fingerprints onto a flash drive. The system is designed specifically to capture and transmit fingerprint transactions, not to create a customer library of biometric images.
California DOJ requirements also treat the fingerprint images and applicant information as confidential. We cannot create our own separate archive, copy the information into another database, extract it for another purpose, or share it like an ordinary business document.
The device may temporarily hold transaction data inside the controlled system while a successful transmission is being completed or while a narrowly permitted correction is handled. That does not mean we have a reusable customer copy. It is system-level processing, not a folder we can open.
In practical terms, this means we cannot:
- email your Live Scan fingerprint images to you;
- print them onto a fingerprint card;
- save them to a flash drive;
- send them to a new employer or licensing agency;
- reuse them for a different background-check request; or
- open them in ordinary image software.
Once people understand this, another common question makes more sense: “Don’t they already have my fingerprints?” A prior fingerprint capture does not become a universal file that every future agency can request from the fingerprint provider.
The Live Scan computer is a dedicated terminal
There is quite a bit happening behind the counter that applicants never have a reason to see.
We cannot buy a scanner, connect it to any computer, and start submitting fingerprints. The provider, operators, equipment, software, and transmission connection all go through approval and verification requirements. The system used for Live Scan is a dedicated terminal.
That terminal is not our regular business computer. We do not use it to browse the internet, prepare documents, run marketing software, or store unrelated company files. Its job is to capture and transmit fingerprint transactions through the approved connection.
This is an important part of the answer. When we tell someone, “We cannot pull up your old fingerprints,” we are not refusing to be helpful. The system is intentionally designed so a fingerprint business cannot treat biometric information like an ordinary customer attachment.
What we actually keep after the appointment
We do retain a limited record of the transaction. But it is important to understand what that record is—and what it is not.
The Live Scan provider keeps the operator copy of the Request for Live Scan Service form and the required transaction-log information for 12 months. The form includes the applicant and agency information used for the submission. It also contains the ATI number generated for that transaction.
It does not contain a printed copy of your electronic fingerprint images. It does not contain your background-check results.
Those forms contain private personal information, so we keep them in locked storage. After the required 12-month retention period, they are destroyed by cross-cut shredding. We do not keep them indefinitely.
The retained form can still be very helpful. Applicants lose their copy. Sometimes an agency says it has not received a response. Someone may need the ATI number to check what happened with the submission. If the appointment is still within the retention period and we can properly identify the transaction, we may be able to retrieve that form information.
What we may be able to help recover is the ATI and submission information. We cannot recover a set of fingerprint pictures or the background-check result.
Your fingerprints, your ATI, and your results are not the same thing
A great deal of confusion disappears when these items are separated:
| Item | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| Your fingerprint images | The digital ridge detail captured and transmitted as part of the authorized transaction |
| Your ATI number | The identifying number for that particular Live Scan transaction |
| Your background-check response | The response sent to the agency authorized to request it |
| Your own criminal history record | A personal record obtained through a separate California DOJ or FBI record-review process |
The fingerprint provider handles the first two parts of that list: we capture and submit the fingerprint transaction, and we place the ATI number on your completed form.
We do not receive the background-check response. In a typical employment, licensing, or volunteer Live Scan, the response goes to the authorized requesting agency. That is why calling the fingerprint provider and asking whether you passed will not produce an answer. We never see the result.
If that distinction raises another question, our related articles explain why your employer generally cannot simply send you its Live Scan response and what a fingerprint-based criminal history check is actually looking for.
If you want your own record, that is a different request
When someone says, “I want my fingerprints,” what they sometimes really mean is, “I want to see what is on my record.”
Those are two different things.
If you want your own California criminal history record, you generally need a California DOJ Record Review. If you want your own FBI Identity History Summary, that is a separate federal process. An employment or licensing Live Scan does not automatically give the fingerprint provider—or the applicant—a copy of that record.
The fingerprints are the identifier used to perform the authorized search. They are not the record itself. The article What Does a Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Background Check Actually Look For? goes deeper into that difference.
Physical fingerprint cards are different
Ink fingerprint cards are where the filing-cabinet idea makes a little more sense, because there really is a physical object.
If we roll your fingerprints onto an FD-258 card, you can see the impressions on the card. The completed card is handed to you or to the appropriate person for the process. It may be mailed to an out-of-state licensing board, submitted for a federal purpose, or handled according to the requesting agency’s instructions.
A card can also be scanned in a separate authorized process when the receiving organization allows it. That still does not mean a fingerprint provider should keep everyone’s cards. We are not a custodian of people’s physical fingerprint records. Once the card is completed and handed over, the applicant, attorney, business manager, or requesting agency is responsible for it.
If you need a physical card, that needs to be arranged as a fingerprint-card appointment from the beginning. We cannot take a California Live Scan transaction from last month and turn it into an FD-258 card today.
Applicants who are preparing a card for mailing may also want to read how an experienced technician checks an FD-258 before it leaves the appointment.
What should you do after your Live Scan?
First, decide what you are actually trying to get. The answer determines the next step.
- You need proof that you were fingerprinted: Keep your completed applicant copy of the Request for Live Scan Service form.
- You want to check the transaction status: Use the ATI number and your date of birth in the California DOJ Applicant Background Check Status tool.
- The agency says it has no results: Give the requesting agency your ATI number so it can investigate the transaction connected to its request.
- You lost your ATI number: Contact the provider that completed the appointment promptly. If the form is still within the required retention period and the transaction can be verified, the provider may be able to locate the ATI.
- You want to see your own California record: Follow the California DOJ Record Review process.
- Another organization wants fingerprints: Ask whether it requires California Live Scan, an FD-258 card, or something else. If the instructions are unclear, start with our guide to figuring out which fingerprint process you actually need.
Applicants who have the correct current Request for Live Scan Service form can schedule professional California Live Scan fingerprinting. Before leaving the appointment, look at your copy, make sure the ATI number is present, and keep that form with the rest of your application paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Live Scan provider send me a copy of my fingerprints?
No. The provider does not keep your submitted fingerprints as a reusable customer image file. We cannot print, export, email, or repurpose the fingerprint images from an earlier Live Scan transaction.
Does the Live Scan machine save my fingerprints?
The system may temporarily retain transaction data while successful transmission or a narrowly permitted correction is being completed. That is not a customer archive, and it does not allow the provider to retrieve your fingerprint images for another use.
Can you print my Live Scan fingerprints onto an FD-258 card?
No. If an agency requires a physical FD-258 card, your fingerprints need to be captured through the fingerprint-card process. We cannot convert an earlier California Live Scan transaction into a card for another submission.
Does the fingerprint provider receive my background-check results?
No. In a typical employment, licensing, or volunteer Live Scan, the response goes to the authorized requesting agency. The fingerprint provider never sees the criminal history response.
What does the provider keep?
The provider retains the required transaction log and a copy of the Request for Live Scan Service form for 12 months in secured storage. The form includes the ATI and submission information, not a set of electronic fingerprint images or the background-check results.
What if I lost my ATI number?
Contact the provider that completed the appointment. If the transaction is still within the retention period and can be properly verified, the provider may be able to recover the ATI information from the retained form.
How do I obtain a copy of my own criminal record?
Use the personal record-review procedure for the record you need. A California DOJ Record Review is used to request your California criminal history record. An FBI Identity History Summary is requested through a separate federal process.
The practical lesson
A Live Scan appointment is a secure submission, not the creation of a fingerprint file for the shop.
We capture the ridge detail. We check the images for quality. We enter and verify the required information. Then we transmit the transaction through the approved system. We keep the form and transaction information we are required to keep, but we do not become the custodian of a reusable fingerprint file or the recipient of your background-check results.
So when someone asks, “Can you send me my fingerprints?” the honest answer is simple: we do not have a copy we can send.
What we can do is help identify the right next step—finding the ATI, checking the transaction status, contacting the requesting agency, completing a personal record review, or taking a new set of fingerprints on a physical card when that is what the next organization actually requires.
This article is part of Fingerprint Myths and Privacy and What Your Background Check Actually Does. Related reading: Why Can’t My Employer Send Me a Copy of My Live Scan Results?, Don’t They Already Have My Fingerprints?, and What Does an ORI Code Actually Do in a Live Scan Submission?