You will be required to submit your fingerprints sometime within 180 days of the date your request for deferment is sent to the BCA. The CBC will give you up 60 days’ notice as long as the Peacetime Emergency remains in effect. However, if the Peacetime Emergency should end, you will be required to provide your fingerprints within 25 days of the end of the emergency.

From the perspective of the Health Related Licensing Boards (HLBs) the timeline for when fingerprints will be required has never been specifically defined. However, you will be required to submit your fingerprints at some date within 180 days after submitting the request for deferral. It is possible you read the applicable Executive Order or received information from a different source. There are three sources that are applicable to this situation. First, we have Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-23. The Order indicates that fingerprints may be waived until renewal of your license. However, the HLBs still require a CBC be completed based on other information. Under these conditions, the requested CBCs fall under the requirements found in HF 4531 and certain FBI requirements, neither of which “waive” fingerprinting, but rather defer or delay it for as short a time as possible. As we are still unsure of when the Peacetime Emergency will end, we are unsure when the fingerprinting requirement will become effective. You will be notified by email when the date is determined.

You will receive an email notification as soon as a deadline for submitting your fingerprints has been determined. If the Peacetime Emergency remains in effect, you will receive approximately 60 days’ notice of the deadline. However, should the Peacetime Emergency end, you will receive approximately 25 days’ notice.

Whether you submit the request for deferral now or wait until it is nearer your licensing date is up to you. Click here to view a short video about the impact of COVID-19 on the CBC process and the available options. Here are some things you will want to consider:

1. Keep in mind, the purpose for the deferment is to allow for licensing when the only thing pending on your application is the CBC. If you are not in that position (or won’t be within 60 days), submitting your request prematurely can add an unnecessary burden to everyone involved in processing the CBCs, in turn slowing the process for applicants who are only waiting for this last step to receive their license.
2. Does your board have special requirements that will impact when your CBC is completed? (For example, see the special notice for applicants to the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy at the top of this page.)
3. Do you have other requirements that need to be met before you can be licensed? For example, if you won’t graduate until August it might be wiser to wait until at least June to consider using the fingerprint deferment option.
4. What is the current status of the Peacetime Emergency? At the time these answers are being written, the COVID-19 experience is still new and there is uncertainty about how long the Peacetime Emergency will last. As new information is received, we all may have a better sense of when the emergency will be lifted. To the degree that we are all receiving the same information, you need to use your judgment to decide whether it would be better to wait or to go ahead with the fingerprint deferment now.
5. Do you have a fingerprinting option right now? The deferment option is designed to assist in licensing during the Peacetime Emergency because most fingerprinting locations are not currently available. If you have access to an open fingerprinting location during this time and are not living in an area with a “Stay-at-home” order, you may choose to be fingerprinted and submit fingerprints instead of the deferral paperwork. This option is not likely to be available in most locations. Please Note: The CBCP does not recommend breaking social distancing guidelines in order to be fingerprinted. However, if you require the Fingerprint Packet please contact our office.

It is likely that no additional fees will be assessed. However, there are rare circumstances in which you may be charged an additional CBC fee ($33.25).

Keep in mind, the purpose for the deferment is to allow for licensing when the only thing pending is the CBC. If you are not in that position (or won’t be within 60 days), submitting your request prematurely can add an unnecessary burden to everyone involved in processing the CBCs, in turn slowing the process for applicants who are only waiting for this last step to receive their license. With the critical need for skilled healthcare professionals at this time, waiting until you have 60 days left in your licensure process falls in the category of being a good citizen.

No. For some boards you must complete your CBC before you can even schedule the exam. For example, see the special notice for applicants to the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy. For most boards, the exam and the CBC are both requirements for licensing but are not dependent on each other. Each board has their own requirements and you should check requirements for licensing on your Board’s website. At this time, we recommend you find out how far in advance you must (or can) schedule the exam. If you are confident that you will be taking the exam within the next 60 days or so, go ahead and submit your CBC paperwork for deferring the fingerprint requirement.

No, the original forms with your original wet signature must be received in our office before we can process the fingerprint deferred CBC.