Fingerprinting among new requirements for insurance agents in Virginia effective Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, fingerprinting will be among the requirements for individuals living in Virginia who are interested in becoming licensed insurance agents in the Commonwealth.

The new requirement is the result of legislation passed by the 2019 Virginia General Assembly that requires the submission of fingerprints with applications for resident insurance licenses. This requirement, however, does not pertain to license renewal applications.

Fingerprinting will be conducted using “live scan” technology, which digitally captures and transmits the fingerprints to the Virginia State Police and the FBI for background checks.

The State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance has contracted with Fieldprint, which provides a complete electronic fingerprinting process from collection through transmission to the FBI.

Used by several other state agencies in the Commonwealth, Fieldprint is authorized to send fingerprints to the FBI.

For insurance license applications requiring fingerprinting, the process is simple:

• Create a secure user account on Fieldprint’s website by going to http://fieldprintvirginia.com/, and use Fieldprint Code “FPVABOICHRR” to ensure that the results from the fingerprint review are provided to the Bureau of Insurance.
• Enter all demographic information required by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the FBI to conduct a fingerprint-based background check.
• Search for a fingerprinting location at one of Fieldprint’s 46 locations across Virginia or elsewhere in the United States and schedule a 10-minute appointment at a date and time that fits your schedule.
• When you arrive to be fingerprinted, bring your appointment number and two forms of valid identification such as a driver’s license or passport. Your fingerprints are collected electronically by Fieldprint’s trained technicians and are electronically transmitted to the Virginia State Police and FBI for a background check. The results are then sent to the Bureau of Insurance for review.

The fingerprinting cost is $35.72, which includes fees required by the Virginia State Police and FBI. Applicants can pay the fee by credit card when setting up their appointment with Fieldprint.

Companies and agencies that wish to set up an account to pay for their employees may contact the Fieldprint Customer Service Team at 877-614-4364 or [email protected].

If an applicant does not have any criminal history, the results should be available within 24-48 hours. For individuals who have a criminal history requiring research, a final decision may take up to 60 days.

Applicants must submit their application for an insurance license within 90 days of submitting their fingerprints to Fieldprint. When applying for another insurance license, fingerprinting is not required if the applicant previously submitted fingerprints within the last 12 months and the applicant is currently licensed as an insurance agent.

The new fingerprinting requirements are among numerous changes for insurance agents in Virginia that become effective Jan. 1. The changes, which include the switch from perpetual agent licenses to biennial license renewal, fee changes, and changes regarding continuing education (CE) due dates, are designed to create greater efficiencies and transparency by ensuring that agent information is updated regularly and to coordinate an agent’s license date with their CE due date. The changes also are designed to identify license applicants with criminal histories outside of Virginia.

For questions, contact the Bureau of Insurance Agent Licensing Section at [email protected] or call 804-371-9631.