Hard Card Fingerprinting

To become licensed in Florida, all healthcare practitioners must be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check. For healthcare practitioners who live in the United States, this is not a difficult process. They go to a Live Scan Provider, and everything is handled in one (1) place But for others, it is a bit more detailed.

The attorneys at Howell, Buchan, & Strong represent most of the healthcare professions in Florida that are licensed by the Department of Health (DOH), such as physicians, dentists, nurses, chiropractors, and more.  Whether the healthcare practitioner is applying for a license or needs a background exemption from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) because they have a criminal history, our attorneys have the experience to help.

Fingerprinting Process

Many practitioners living in other countries and applying for a license in Florida have a hard time obtaining their fingerprints for the DOH.  DOH uses Live Scan Providers for individuals to obtain their fingerprints and have them processed for their licensure application. Live Scan Providers have offices throughout the United States, but not in other countries.

The DOH offers a solution, but it is a bit more cumbersome. Here is an overview of the steps involved with using hard cards for fingerprinting:

• You must obtain a set of “hard cards” to have your fingerprints printed on.
• You must complete the information on the hard card. This includes the ORI code the company will need to process your fingerprint hard cards and send the results to the proper licensing agency.
• You must go to your local police department (or similar authority in your country) and have your fingerprints printed on the hard cards. You should complete two (2) hard cards.
• You must then use a company approved to process fingerprint hard cards in Florida. The DOH provides a list of these organizations. That process generally includes paying a fee, completing a form, sending the form along with the hard cards and a government issued identification with a photo to a company that will process the fingerprint hard cards.
• The company will immediately email you a copy of your payment receipt.
• Once the company processes your fingerprints, they will email you again to provide your tacking number, or TCN, that you provide to the DOH for your licensure application or AHCA for your background exemption.

In addition to our clients applying for a license or applying for a background exemption, surgeons are often required to use hard cards because the repetition of washing their hands for surgery actually changes their fingerprints.  As a result, Live Scan printing sometimes does not work, and a hard card is required for them. The same process applies.

We Have the Experience

Howell, Buchan, & Strong attorneys have years of experience successfully assisting healthcare professionals with licensing and background exemptions for multiple agencies, such as DOH, AHCA, and the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Let us guide you through the process or we can do it for you. Sometimes, the process includes multiple agencies and multiple applications.  Either way, we know what needs to be done. Call us for a free 30-minute consultation today or go online at the link below to book your free consultation.