One of the questions we hear often after a Live Scan appointment is:
“Can my employer just send me a copy of my results?”
Or:
“If the agency gets my background check, can I ask them to email it to me?”
It seems like a reasonable question. After all, the record is about you. You gave your fingerprints. You signed the form. So why can’t the agency simply forward you whatever it receives?
The answer is that criminal history information is not treated like an ordinary document. It is highly protected information, and the agency receives it only for a specific authorized purpose.
Your Live Scan Is Not a General Background Check Copy
When you complete a Live Scan for employment, licensing, volunteering, or another agency purpose, you are not simply ordering a copy of your own record.
You are authorizing a specific agency to receive a response for a specific purpose.
That agency may be allowed to use the information to decide whether you qualify for a license, job, permit, certification, or other authorized purpose. But that does not mean the agency can freely redistribute the information.
That is the part many applicants do not realize.
Authorization Is Limited
A Live Scan submission is tied to the requesting agency and the reason for the background check.
For example, a licensing agency may be authorized to receive your results for a license application. An employer may be authorized to receive information for a specific employment purpose. A volunteer organization may be authorized for a different purpose.
Each authorization has limits.
The agency does not receive your criminal history information as something it can copy, forward, email, or share freely. It receives access for the purpose allowed by law or by the agency’s authorization.
Why This Protects You
At first, this can feel frustrating.
Applicants sometimes think:
“Why make this so difficult? It is my record.”
But the privacy rules exist for a reason.
Criminal history information can affect employment, licensing, housing, immigration, professional reputation, and personal privacy. If that information were casually forwarded, copied, or shared, the consequences could be serious.
Imagine if the wrong record were associated with the wrong person.
Imagine if outdated or incomplete information were circulated without context.
Imagine if one agency forwarded sensitive criminal history information to another organization that was never authorized to receive it.
These rules are not just red tape. They protect the applicant.
The Agency May See Something You Do Not See
Another common misunderstanding is that the applicant automatically receives the same report the agency receives.
That is usually not how an agency Live Scan works.
In many applicant background checks, the results are sent directly to the requesting agency. The applicant does not receive a copy from the Live Scan operator, and the agency generally cannot simply email the applicant a copy of the criminal history information it received.
If there is an issue, the agency may notify the applicant in the way its rules require. But that is different from handing over the actual background check response.
How Do You Get Your Own Record?
If you want to see your own California criminal history record, the proper process is generally a California DOJ Record Review.
If you want to see your own FBI Identity History Summary, the proper process is an FBI background check for personal review.
Those are different from an employment, licensing, or agency Live Scan.
In those cases, you are requesting your own record for your own review. You are not asking another agency to forward results it received for a different authorized purpose.
Applicants who need help understanding FBI background checks can learn more here: FBI background check.
Why You May Need to Be Fingerprinted Again
This is also why applicants are often asked to complete a new Live Scan even if they were fingerprinted before.
Another agency may already have received results for a prior application, but that does not mean it can forward those results to a new agency.
The new agency may need its own authorization, its own submission, and its own response.
This can feel repetitive, but it is part of how the system limits access to sensitive criminal history information.
Applicants who need California Live Scan fingerprinting can learn more here: Live Scan fingerprinting.
The Live Scan Operator Does Not Receive Your Record Either
Another important point: the fingerprint technician or Live Scan operator does not receive your criminal history record.
The operator captures your fingerprints, verifies identifying information, and submits the transaction through the proper system.
The results go to the authorized recipient, not to the technician.
So if an applicant calls later and asks, “Can you send me my results?” the answer is no. The Live Scan provider does not have those results to send.
The Bottom Line
Your criminal history information is protected because it matters.
A Live Scan does not give everyone permission to see your record. It authorizes a specific agency to receive information for a specific purpose.
If you want your own record, there are separate processes for that, such as a California DOJ Record Review or an FBI Identity History Summary.
That distinction may feel technical, but it is important. It helps protect applicants from unauthorized sharing, misuse, and confusion involving sensitive criminal history information.
For applicants who need mobile fingerprinting at a home, office, workplace, or other location, Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan provides mobile fingerprinting services in Los Angeles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer send me a copy of my Live Scan results?
Usually, no. In an agency Live Scan, the results are sent to the authorized requesting agency for a specific purpose. The agency generally cannot simply forward the criminal history information to the applicant.
Can the Live Scan provider give me my results?
No. The Live Scan provider captures and submits the fingerprints. The provider does not receive your criminal history results.
If it is my record, why can’t I just get it from the agency?
The agency receives the information under a limited authorization for a specific purpose. If you want your own record, the proper process is usually a DOJ Record Review or an FBI Identity History Summary request.
Why do I have to get fingerprinted again if another agency already did it?
Because the prior agency’s authorization does not automatically transfer to another agency. Each requesting agency may need its own fingerprint submission and response.
What should I do if an agency says something appeared on my background check?
If you need to understand what is on your own record, you may need to request your own California DOJ Record Review, FBI Identity History Summary, or both, depending on the situation.