FD-258 or Live Scan?
Last updated
If you have your fingerprints taken in Germany, you submit them on a paper card. Live Scan captures the impressions digitally and is available at approved sites in the USA, not in Germany. That is why a completed FD-258 card is the usual route here.
What is the difference between FD-258 and Live Scan?
The FD-258 is a paper form: the impressions are recorded on the card, and the card is then submitted to the relevant body. Live Scan is a procedure in which the impressions are captured digitally on a device and transmitted electronically.
Both routes lead to the same result, the authority comparing your impressions. The difference is where and how the impressions are taken.
Why can’t I use Live Scan from Germany?
Live Scan devices are located at law enforcement agencies and approved providers in the USA. For applicants staying in Germany that is not a practical route — the alternative would be travelling to the USA purely to have prints taken.
That is why the procedure for applicants abroad provides for the paper card: have the impressions taken locally, then submit the card.
How is the card prepared here?
We print the form supplied by the FBI, enter your details and the reason, and take impressions of all ten fingers on it — using a special fingerprinting ink from a US manufacturer, of the kind prescribed for this purpose. If you bring your own form, or one already filled in, we work with that directly.
After about 60 minutes you are holding two finished cards.
Will a card prepared in Germany be accepted?
Experience suggests so: since 2002 we have prepared over 400 cards. In that time exactly one card has been rejected by an authority, for a medically foreseeable reason.
What matters is the quality of the impressions — unusable prints are the most common reason for an objection. Here they are taken by a forensic fingerprint examiner who learned the discipline in state service and practised it for over twenty years as an expert for the authorities. If one of our cards is objected to nonetheless, we prepare a replacement free of charge.
What do I do with the finished card?
You submit it yourself to the relevant body; we do not post the cards. Which route applies — sending it in directly or using an approved provider — is set by the authority requesting the background check.
In brief
Is a paper card worse than Live Scan?
No, it is a different submission route. What counts is the quality of the impressions, not the medium.
Can I scan the card and submit it digitally?
That is for the authority requesting the background check to decide. As a rule the physical card is expected. If in doubt, ask them.
What is the most common reason for a rejection?
Unusable impressions, for instance from heavily worn or scarred fingertips. Such cases are usually foreseeable at the appointment and we raise them there.