Act 300 with fingerprints: the Puerto Rico Background Check Program

The Puerto Rico Background Check Program is the Department of Health programme that processes the fingerprint-based criminal history check known as Act 300. It runs across two chained systems: the Department of Health’s credentials and criminal history platform, where the provider creates the application, and the Department of Justice’s applicant services portal, where the person books the appointment, has fingerprints and a photograph taken, and pays. The photograph forms part of the certification, as a way of identifying whoever holds the document.

The application is created by the person or entity wishing to create Act 300 applications, registering as a provider on the Department of Health platform. The applicant — the person being screened — comes in later, when they receive the Screening Id. The Department of Health sets an absolute cut-off: if the person appears in any of the three public registries of people ineligible to provide these services, they are automatically ineligible to provide direct service to the population and the system will not allow the application to continue.

• That the person or entity needing the check first registers as a provider on the Department of Health platform and creates the Act 300 application.Verified against the official source
• That the applicant does not appear in any of the three public registries of ineligible persons. If they do, the system does not allow continuing.Verified against the official source
• Having received the Screening Id by email before going to the Department of Justice portal.Verified against the official source
• Completing, signing and initialling the authorisation for fingerprinting and photograph. The Department of Health warns that if you do not agree, the process will not go ahead.Verified against the official source

• The fingerprinting consent form, completed and printed, with information matching the identification you will bring.
• The printed email containing the payment ID, and the printed payment receipt.
• Approved and NOT EXPIRED identification, physical, not a copy and not digital. If you were born in Puerto Rico or the United States: original state REAL ID or current federal driver’s licence; original state or federal “Real ID” identification card; original valid US passport, booklet and not card; original Department of Defense common access card; or original United States Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs identification card.
• If you were not born in Puerto Rico or the United States, or you are a foreign national: original valid US passport, booklet and not card, physical, not digital, not a copy and not expired; or original foreign passport with one of these immigration documents: certificate of citizenship (N560), certificate of naturalisation (N550), INS I-551 alien residence card issued from 1997, INS I-688 temporary resident identification card, or INS I-688B or I-766 employment authorisation card.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm which Act 300 you are being asked for

   Two things share the name. The Puerto Rico Police publish an “Act 300 Certification Application Form” in their document library. The Department of Health runs this programme, which is the fingerprint one. If you were told “Act 300 with fingerprints”, this is it. Asking which one before starting saves you an entire process.

2. 2

   Step 2: The provider registers first

   The person or entity needing the check goes to the Department of Health platform, enters the Register area, registers as an individual or entity and completes the form. The programme verifies the information and, if needed, calls to validate it. Once approved, an email titled “PRBCP New User Account Login Information” arrives with the system link, the username and a temporary password.

3. 3

   Step 3: The Act 300 application is created

   From the main screen, the provider clicks “Create new Act 300 application”. The system shows “Search for Existing Profile” and asks for the applicant’s social security number and date of birth. If the person is not there, “Add New Applicant” appears and the “Person Summary” is completed; if they have been through before, the system shows their profile with a green “Add New Application” button. In the profile you must record prior addresses if they lived elsewhere in recent years, and any alias or prior name if they have been known by another name.

4. 4

   Step 4: The three public registries

   Before submitting, the system requires searching the applicant in three public registries of ineligible persons. For each: click the link, which opens the registry in another tab; search by first and last name; close it and return to the system; and mark the result under “Research Results” — Cleared if they did not appear, Not Cleared if they did. It must be repeated for all three. If the person appears in any of them, they are automatically ineligible to provide direct service to the population and the system does not allow continuing.

5. 5

   Step 5: The Screening Id arrives and your part begins

   On submission, the system emails the applicant with instructions to validate the information in the Department of Justice system, book the appointment and pay. The email is titled “Notification to continue your background check process and Screening Id”. Without that Screening Id you cannot take the next step.

6. 6

   Step 6: The fingerprint appointment, in seven steps

   At applicantservices.pr.gov you choose the Department of Health area — Puerto Rico residents, or applicants outside Puerto Rico — and enter as a guest or create an account with your personal email. The process has seven steps: transaction information; data import using your Screening Id and your first surname; personal information, where you validate everything is correct and that the address is the physical one — blanks may stay blank, except the social security number; demographic information; selecting the location for fingerprinting, and note that each location has its own calendar, so if there are no appointments you can switch locations; the appointment, with date and time; and payment. Print the receipt and bring it on the day.

7. 7

   Step 7: On the day, ID is what fails

   Bring the completed, printed consent form, the printed email with the payment ID, the printed receipt, and approved, unexpired identification. It must be physical: not a copy, not digital. If it is a passport, the booklet, not the card. The information on the consent form must match the identification you bring.

The application is created on the Department of Health platform, cmsnationalbackgroundcheck.salud.pr.gov. The appointment and fingerprinting are handled at applicantservices.pr.gov, of the Department of Justice, at whichever location you choose from the list of available machines. The Puerto Rico Background Check Program can be reached at prbackgroundcheck@salud.pr.gov, and the Department of Health at 787-765-2929.

• Trying to create the application yourself: the provider or hiring entity creates it.
• Confusing this fingerprint-based Act 300 from the Department of Health with the Act 300 form the Police publish.
• Turning up to the appointment with an expired ID, a copy, or the digital version on your phone.
• Bringing the passport card instead of the booklet.
• Giving up because one location has no appointments, when each location has its own calendar.
• Not printing the email with the payment ID, the receipt and the consent form.
• Omitting prior addresses or aliases in the profile, which the system expressly asks for.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  www.salud.pr.gov

• Department of Health credentials and criminal history platform

  Departamento de Salud

  cmsnationalbackgroundcheck.salud.pr.gov

• Department of Justice — applicant services (fingerprinting)

  Departamento de Justicia

  applicantservices.pr.gov