Accurate Biometrics Awarded Five-Year FBI Fingerprint Contract

Chicago-based, Accurate Biometrics, Illinois' largest fingerprint service provider, has been awarded a new five year FBI Channeling Contract that provides Accurate Biometrics direct access to the FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). This marks the second FBI channeling contract award for Accurate Biometrics. The previous five–year contract term expired, November 21, 2011. The significance of this award is that it allows Accurate Biometrics to offer direct FBI fingerprint submission to its clients, nationwide, including public housing authorities, Indian Reservations, and banks to name a few.

Accurate Biometrics was the first channeling agent approved to submit fingerprints for individuals who seek a personal review of their own FBI criminal history or proof that such history does not exist. Uses of the personal review process, also referred to as Departmental Order 556-73, include immigration and visas including student visas to countries that honor the FBI Departmental Order report. This process is also widely used for adoptions, including international adoptions.

Until Accurate Biometrics' approval, the personal review of a FBI criminal history record could only be processed by a direct request to the FBI. The FBI response time could take up to 8 weeks. Today, Accurate Biometrics offers same day response time from its Chicago office, and less than five days when the applicant is printed using livescan at any of the company's 60 fingerprint sites in Illinois or a request is received via US mail. Coming in early December 2011, applicants will have access, via the Accurate Biometrics' website, to view and print the FBI response.

Accurate Biometrics holds the Illinois Master Fingerprinting Contract and is the leading fingerprint service provider in the State of Illinois servicing more than 2,000 clients seeking fingerprint-based criminal history background checks from the Illinois State Police and the FBI. Accurate Biometrics is a woman-owned, small business.

“As the new contract term steps off, we are honored to serve the national and international biometrics community with our knowledge of the industry and opportunity to meet the needs of our clients through channeling and departmental order processing”—Peggy Critchfield, President of Accurate Biometrics.