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The New Mexico Department of Public Safety will be transitioning to a new fingerprint supported background checks provider, IDEMIA, effective this May 2023.
Important Dates for the Transition:
April 13, 2023: Last day to register for ink cards is April 13, 2023. Your ink card application must be received by Aril 14, 2023 for your request to be processed.
April 14, 2023: Last day Thales will accept ink cards is April 14, 2023. All ink cards received after that date will be returned and the applicant will be refunded.
April 27, 2023: Last day to register under Thales is April 27, 2023, at 5:00pm MT.
April 28, 2023: Last day for fingerprint sites to capture fingerprints is April 28, 2023, at 5:00pm MT. All open registrations will be canceled and refunded.
DPS and IDEMIA will be sending out announcements detailing specific information of the new solution to current state agencies who currently have an established ORI number and a current Thales login to view background check results. Please look for important communications from EnrollmentDelivery@us.idemia.com. More information will be submitted through email as well as posted on the New Mexico Department of Public Safety website.
ELECTRONIC FINGERPRINTING:
New Mexico Applicant Fingerprint Processing (NMAPS)
NMAPS is the applicant background check solution that is totally electronic and provides New Mexico residents the means to complete their required federal and state background checks quickly and conveniently.
Your first point of contact to check on the status or any delay of your application should be the agency you initially submitted your application and prints to. Once prints are submitted to DPS electronically your agency will receive a response from DPS within 24-48 hours and from the FBI within 48-72 hours.
For more information on this service, click here.
If you have questions on your electronic fingerprinting, please email nmaps.dps@dps.nm.gov
MANUAL FINGERPRINTING:
NMDPS offers manual fingerprinting services at NMDPS Headquarters:
Fingerprint hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM
4491 Cerrillos Rd., Santa Fe, NM 87507
(505) 827-9181
Fees: $9.00 for the first two cards and $2.50 for each additional card
The New Mexico State Central Repository for Criminal History maintains arrest record information on persons arrested in New Mexico for felony, misdemeanor (offenses punishable by six months or more imprisonment) and DWI offenses.
IDENTITY THEFT:
The victim or any member of the public shall be directed to the New Mexico Attorney General website to access information on identify theft and prevention and to obtain a copy of an Identity Theft Prevention and Repair Kit. Further information on the prevention of identity theft can be located on the Federal Trade Commission website.
This information is based on fingerprint cards taken at the time of arrest, which serve as the source document for criminal history and are submitted to this State Repository by the arresting agency. The completeness and accuracy of this information is dependent on the contributing agencies.
IN-STATE BACKGROUND CHECKS:
Pursuant to 29-10-6(A) of the New Mexico Arrest Record Information Act, an individual may inspect, in person, through his counsel, or through his authorized agent, arrest record information concerning him/her.
To obtain arrest record information, a Department of Public Safety (DPS) Authorization for Release of Information form (click here for Spanish version) must be completely filled out (legibly) and submitted to this agency for processing. The form must be notarized and the fee is $15.00 per record check, which should be a money order or cashier”s check made payable to the Department of Public Safety. The DPS must receive the authorization form with the “original” signature. With the required release and proper payment, all adult arrest records are released.
If a “Police Certificate of Good Standing” is needed (usually for immigration purposes), the cost of the certification with the background check is $33.00.
The turn around time is 7-15 working days from the date of receipt (depending on the current volumes and workload) and should only be requested by mail. Attached is the required release form, which may be duplicated.