Fingerprinting Services

Many people come to the Sheriff’s Office to be fingerprinted, for government job applications, concealed fingerprintweapon permits and for other purposes. In the past, although digital fingerprinting was available, many of the fingerprints were done the old fashioned way – on a paper fingerprint card. State and federal agencies now require fingerprints to be done digitally.

What does this mean for the citizens who need these services?
The up front cost has increased. People used to pay a $5.00 fee to the Sheriff’s Office for their fingerprints on a card. They would then pay various charges to other agencies when they submitted those fingerprints for processing. Now, because the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for submitting both the fingerprints and other information directly, people will pay all costs associated with the fingerprint processing at the time they are fingerprinted. The fee collected by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office for this service remains $5.00. However, the total cost of processing the fingerprints in order to meet the request of the citizen may cost from $35.00 to $75.00, depending on the agency the fingerprints will be submitted to.

The Records Division of the DeSoto County Sheriff Office offers Live Scan digital fingerprinting process that replaces traditional ink fingerprinting. An applicant’s fingerprints are securely transmitted to a government agency, which performs a criminal history background check using an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

Live Scan is often required by statute for certain types of state-issued licenses, employment, and volunteer work. It has many advantages over ink fingerprinting, including image quality and result turnaround time.

Bring your ORI Code  to the Records Division . For the correct ORI Code we recommend  you verify with the requesting agency before visiting us. It’s the easiest and best practice to arrive prepared.

ORI Code: This is the Department Originating Agency Identifier Number, which tells the Florida Department of Law Enforcement the purpose of the background checks. An ORI Code is generally a 9 digit code consisting of 2 state/agency identifying characters and 6-7 additional characters.

When you arrive for this process you must have the proper ORI Code. The information in the ORI Code facilitates the transferal of fingerprint images to the State and Federal government and then to the requesting agency.  If you do not have the ORI code it will not be possible to be fingerprinted.

How can I find out what my companies ORI Code is?

Before the electronic fingerprinting process can start an individual or business must have a specific code, which can be obtained from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by the entity requiring you to be fingerprinted. Without having the proper ORI Code your background check may be sent to the wrong agency delaying your background check or having it to be resubmitted costing you additional money.

Background checks are controlled and regulated by law. The results of the background checks that a requesting agency receives depend on the requirements of the agency. Businesses differ from schools, etc and different businesses may have different requirements. So, a requesting agency should always provide you with an ORI Code to make your fingerprinting experience easy and fast.

Services the Sheriff's Office does not offer include:
  • Fingerprinting for the Immigration and Naturalization Service
  • Fingerprinting for the Agency for Health Care Administration
  • Photo Services
The Records Division is  open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Fingerprinting is completed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday's between 8:00am and 11:00am, by appointment only. You must have a valid State/U. S. Government I.D. and an ORI Code. There is a $5.00 local fee for this service and a FDLE processing fee. For the exact price of FDLE processing fee call the Records Division at 863-993-4700 ext. 2236 or 2237.