Criminal History

To complete the criminal history background check you must be fingerprinted by the designated vendor for the State of Texas. Staff will email the required form needed to schedule their fingerprinting appointment to applicants who have not yet been fingerprinted for the JBCC, after we’ve received their applications.. Please be sure to follow the step-by-step instructions on the form to help ensure you complete the fingerprinting process successfully. 

For a list of locations and hours of operation, please visit the vendor's website (located on the Texas Fingerprint Service Code Form). You must schedule an appointment by visiting their website or calling using the contact information indicated on the form. All fees are paid to the vendor at the time your fingerprints are taken. Do not submit any fees to the JBCC with your application packet.

If there is an incident in your past that you are concerned may cause a problem with your becoming a Certified Process Server, and you are enrolled or planning to enroll in a civil process orientation, you may first request a criminal history evaluation letter from the JBCC. Under section 3.5 of the JBCC Rules, you may request a criminal history evaluation letter by a written request in which you state the basis for your potential ineligibility. The Commission will notify you in writing of its determination. If you wish to take the civil process orientation course before a determination has been made you may do so, with the understanding that a certification will not be issued until the Commission makes a determination on your eligibility status. Also, if you take the course and the Commission then determines you are not eligible, you will not receive a refund of the application fee.

Under section 3.5 (a) of the JBCC Rules, an initial or renewal application may be denied, and a regulated person may be disciplined, if the person's criminal history or other information indicates that the person lacks the honesty, trustworthiness, or integrity to hold the certification, registration, or license.

Under Rule 3.1 (b) of the JBCC Rules, an applicant must provide the Commission with his or her Texas and national criminal history records by fingerprint search according to directions published on the Commission's website. The criminal history searches cannot be conducted until after an application is submitted.