The contracting parties solemnly agree that:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

1. This compact organizes an electronic information sharing system among the states and the federal government to exchange criminal history records for a variety of legally authorized noncriminal justice purposes, including background checks for governmental licensing and employment.

2. Under the compact, the FBI and the states agree to maintain detailed databases of their respective criminal history records, including arrests and dispositions, and to make them available to party states for authorized purposes. The FBI shall also manage the federal data facilities that provide a significant part of the infrastructure for the system.

Article 1

Definitions

As used in this compact:

1. "Administration of criminal justice" includes criminal identification activities and the collection, storage and dissemination of criminal history records.

2. "Compact officer" means, for the United States government, an official who is designated by the Director of the FBI and, for a party state, the chief administrator of the state’s criminal history record repository or a designee who is a regular full-time employee of that repository.

3. "Criminal history record repository" means the state agency that is designated by the governor or other appropriate executive official or the legislature to perform centralized recordkeeping functions for criminal history records and services in the state.

4. "Criminal history records" means information that is collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals and that consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal, sentencing, correctional supervision or release. Criminal history records does not include identification information such as fingerprint records if the information does not indicate involvement of the individual with the criminal justice system.

5. "Criminal justice" includes detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders.

6. "Criminal justice agency" means the courts, any governmental agency or any subunit of any governmental agency that performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or executive order and that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice. Criminal justice agency includes state and federal inspector general offices.

7. "Criminal justice services" means services that are provided by the FBI to criminal justice agencies in response to a request for information about a particular individual or as an update to information that was previously provided for criminal justice purposes.

8. "Criterion offense" means any felony or misdemeanor offense that is not included on the list of nonserious offenses published periodically by the FBI.

9. "Direct access" means access to the national identification index by computer terminal or other automated means not requiring the assistance of or intervention by any other party or agency.

10. "Executive order" means an order of the president of the United States or the chief executive official of a state that has the force of law and that is adopted in accordance with applicable law.

11. "FBI" means the federal bureau of investigation.

12. "Interstate Identification Index System" or "III system" means the cooperative federal-state system for the exchange of criminal history records and includes the national identification index, the national fingerprint file and, to the extent of their participation in the system, the criminal history record repositories of the states and the FBI.

13. "National fingerprint file" means a database of fingerprints or other uniquely personal identifying information about an arrested or charged individual that is maintained by the FBI to provide positive identification of record subjects indexed in the III system.

14. "National identification index" means an index that is maintained by the FBI and that consists of names, identifying numbers and other descriptive information relating to record subjects about whom there are criminal history records in the III system.

15. "National indices" means the national identification index and the national fingerprint file.

16. "Non-compact or nonparty state" means a state that has not ratified the compact.

17. "Noncriminal justice purposes" means the use of criminal history records for crime prevention and other legitimate law enforcement purposes authorized by federal or state law including, but not limited to, employment suitability or licensing determinations, immigration and naturalization matters and national security clearances.

18. "Party state" or "compact state" means a state that has ratified the compact.

19. "Positive identification" means a determination, based on a comparison of fingerprints or other equally reliable biometric identification techniques, that the subject of a record search is the same person as the subject of a criminal history record or records indexed in the III system.

20. "Sealed record information" means:

(a) For adults, that portion of a record that is not available for criminal justice uses, not supported by fingerprints or other accepted means of positive identification or not subject to restrictions on dissemination for noncriminal justice purposes pursuant to a court order that is related to a particular subject or pursuant to a state or federal statute that requires action on a sealing petition filed by a particular record subject.

(b) For juveniles, whatever each state determines is a sealed record under its own law and procedure.

21. "State" means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Article II

Purposes

The purposes of this compact are to:

1. Provide a legal framework for the establishment of a cooperative federal-state system for the interstate and federal-state exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal justice uses.

2. Require the FBI to permit use of the national identification index and the national fingerprint file by parties to this compact and to provide, in a timely fashion, federal and state criminal history records to requesting states, in accordance with the terms of this compact and with rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council under article VI of this compact.

3. Require party states to provide information and records for the national identification index and the national fingerprint file and to provide criminal history records, in a timely fashion, to criminal history record repositories of other states and the federal government for noncriminal justice purposes, in accordance with the terms of this compact and with rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council under article VI of this compact.

4. Provide for the establishment of a compact council to monitor III system operations and to promulgate system rules and procedures for the effective and proper operation of the III system for noncriminal justice purposes.

5. Require compact states to adhere to system standards concerning record dissemination and use, response times, system security, data quality and other duly established standards.

Article III

Responsibilities of Compact parties

A. The FBI has the following responsibilities:

1. The FBI director shall appoint an FBI compact officer who shall:

(a) Have responsibility for administering the provisions of this compact within the department of justice and the federal user community.

(b) Ensure that compact provisions and rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council under article VI of this compact are complied with in the federal user community.

(c) Regulate the use of records that are received by means of the III system from party states when such records are supplied by the FBI directly to other federal agencies.

2. The FBI shall:

(a) Provide to federal agencies and to state criminal history record repositories criminal history records that are maintained in its database for any noncriminal justice purposes described in article IV. These responses shall include information from non-compact states and from compact states relating to records for which such states have not assumed responsibility, to the extent that such data is maintained in FBI records.

(b) Provide a telecommunications network and maintain centralized facilities for the exchange of criminal history records for both criminal justice and noncriminal justice purposes described in article IV. The FBI shall ensure that the exchange of these records for criminal justice purposes has priority over the exchange of these records for noncriminal justice purposes.

(c) Modify or enter into user agreements with non-compact state criminal history record repositories to require them to establish record request procedures that conform to procedures prescribed in article V of this compact.

B. The states have the following responsibilities:

1. Each party state shall appoint a compact officer who shall:

(a) Have responsibility for administering the provisions of this compact within that state.

(b) Ensure that compact provisions and rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council under article VI are complied with in the state.

(c) Regulate the in-state use of records that are received by means of the III system from the FBI or from other party states.

2. Each party state’s criminal history record repository shall:

(a) Provide information and records for the national identification index and the national fingerprint file.

(b) Provide the state’s III system-indexed criminal history records for noncriminal justice purposes described in article IV.

3. Each party state shall:

(a) Participate in the national fingerprint file.

(b) Provide and maintain telecommunications links and related equipment that is necessary to support the services set forth in this compact.

C. In carrying out their responsibilities under the compact, party states and the FBI shall comply with system rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council concerning record dissemination and use, response times, data quality, system security and other aspects of system operation.

D. For the purposes of the maintenance of record services:

1. The use of the III system for noncriminal justice purposes authorized in this compact shall be managed so as not to diminish the level of services provided in support of criminal justice purposes.

2. The administration of compact provisions shall not reduce the level of services available to authorized noncriminal justice users on the effective date of this compact.

Article IV

Authorized Record Disclosures

A. To the extent authorized by the privacy act:

1. On request of a state criminal history record repository, the FBI shall provide criminal history records, including all unsealed federal criminal history records relating to criterion offenses for record subjects indexed in the III systems, for any noncriminal justice purpose that is allowed by federal statute or federal executive order or a state statute that has been approved by the United States attorney general and that authorizes national indices checks.

2. The FBI and state record repositories shall provide criminal history records, including all unsealed state criminal history record information relating to criterion offenses for record subjects indexed in the III system, to criminal justice agencies and other governmental or nongovernmental agencies for any noncriminal justice purposes that are allowed by federal statute or federal executive order or a state statute that has been approved by the United States attorney general and that authorizes national indices checks.

B. Records obtained under this compact may be used only for the official purposes for which they were requested. Compact officers shall establish procedures and measures, consistent with the provisions of this compact and with rules, procedures and standards that are established by the compact council under article VI, to ensure that records are used only by authorized officials for authorized purposes and to require that subsequent record checks are requested to obtain current information whenever a new need arises. These procedures must ensure that record entries that may not legally be used for a particular noncriminal justice purpose will be deleted from the response and, if no information authorized for release remains, an appropriate "no record" response will be communicated to the requesting official.

Article V

Record Request Procedures

A. Applicant fingerprints or other approved forms of positive identification shall be submitted with all requests for criminal history record checks for noncriminal justice purposes.

B. Requests for criminal history record checks that use the national indices and that are made under any approved state statute shall be submitted through that state’s criminal history record repository. A state criminal history record repository shall process interstate requests for noncriminal justice purposes through the national indices only if the requests are transmitted through another state criminal history record repository or the FBI.

C. Requests for criminal history record checks that use the national indices and that are made under federal authority shall be submitted through the FBI or, if the repository consents to process fingerprint submissions, through the repository in the state in which the requests originated. Direct access to the national identification index by entities other than the FBI and state criminal history record repositories shall not be permitted for noncriminal justice purposes.

D. State criminal history record repositories and the FBI may charge fees for handling requests that involve fingerprint processing for noncriminal justice purposes, except that no fees shall be charged for providing criminal history records in response to an electronic request for a record that does not involve a request to process fingerprints.

E. If a state criminal history record repository cannot positively identify the subject of a record request made for noncriminal justice purposes, the request, together with fingerprints or other approved identifying information, shall be forwarded to the FBI for a search of the national indices. If the FBI positively identifies the subject as having a III system-indexed record or records, the FBI shall advise the state repository that submitted the request. The state repository shall then be entitled to obtain the additional criminal history record information from the FBI or other state repositories.

Article VI

Establishment of Compact Council

A. A compact council is established. The council shall promulgate rules and procedures governing the use of the III system for noncriminal justice purposes. The rules and procedures shall not conflict with FBI administration of the III system for criminal justice purposes. The council shall continue in existence so long as the compact remains in effect. For administrative purposes, the council shall be located within the FBI. The council shall be organized and its first meeting held as soon as practicable after the effective date of this compact.

B. The council consists of fifteen members who are appointed by the United States attorney general as follows:

1. Nine members who serve two year terms and who are selected from the duly designated compact officers of party states based on the recommendation of the compact officers of all party states. In the absence of the requisite number of compact officers available to serve, the chief administrators of the criminal history record repositories of non-compact states shall be eligible to serve on an interim basis.

2. Two at-large members who serve three year terms, one of whom represents federal criminal justice agencies and one of whom represents federal noncriminal justice agencies, and who are nominated by the director of the FBI.

3. Two at-large members who serve three year terms, one of whom represents state or local criminal justice agencies and one of whom represents state or local noncriminal justice agencies, and who are nominated by the compact council chairman.

4. One member who serves a three year term, who is simultaneously a member of the FBI’s advisory policy board on criminal justice information services and who is nominated by the membership of this board.

5. One member who serves a three year term, who is simultaneously an employee of the FBI and who is nominated by the director of the FBI.

C. The chairman of the council shall be a member of and elected by the members of the council. The chairman shall be a compact officer unless there is no compact officer on the council who is willing to serve, in which case the chairman may be an at-large member. The chairman shall serve a two-year term and may be reelected to only one additional two-year term.

D. The council shall meet at least once each year. Meetings shall be open to the public. Appropriate prior public notices shall be provided.

E. The council shall have authority to request from the FBI any reports, studies, statistics or other information or materials as it finds necessary to enable it to perform its duties under this compact. The FBI, to the extent authorized by law, may provide such assistance or information.

F. The chairman may establish technical or other committees as necessary and may prescribe their membership, responsibilities and duration.

Article VII

Ratification of Compact

This compact becomes effective immediately on its execution by two or more states as between those states and the United States. On subsequent ratification of the compact by additional states, it shall become effective among these states and party states that have previously ratified the compact. When ratified, the compact has the full force and effect of law within the ratifying jurisdictions. The form of ratification shall be in accordance with the laws of the executing state.

Article VIII

Miscellaneous Provisions

A. Administration of the compact shall not interfere with the management and control of the director of the FBI over the FBI’s collection and dissemination of criminal history records and the advisory function of the FBI’s advisory policy board chartered under the federal advisory committee act for all purposes other than noncriminal justice.

B. Nothing in this compact requires the FBI to obligate or expend funds beyond its appropriations.

C. Nothing in this compact diminishes or lessens the obligations, responsibilities and authorities of any state, whether a compact state or a non-compact state, or of any criminal history record repository or other subdivision or component of any criminal history record repository under Public Law 92-544 or regulations and guidelines promulgated thereunder, including the III system standards that are referred to in article III(c) regarding the use and dissemination of criminal history records and information.

Article IX

Renunciation

This compact binds each party state until renounced by it. Renunciation of this compact shall be effected in the same manner by which a state ratified the compact. Renunciation shall become effective six months after written notice of renunciation is provided to all other parties.

Article X

Severability

The provisions of this compact are severable. If any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any participating state or of the United States or if the applicability of any phrase, clause, sentence or provisions of this compact to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held to be invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability of the remainder of this compact to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected. If a portion of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining party states and in full force and effect as to the affected party state as to all other provisions.

Article XI

Adjudication of Disputes

The compact council has original jurisdiction concerning this compact regarding interpretations of the compact or rules or standards established by the compact council pursuant to article V and disputes or controversies between parties to this compact. The council shall hold a hearing concerning the above at any regularly scheduled meeting and shall only render a decision based on a majority vote of its members. The FBI shall exercise immediate and necessary action to preserve the integrity of the III system, to maintain system policy and standards and to prevent abuses until the council holds a hearing on such matters. Parties may appeal the decisions of the compact council to the United States attorney general and finally to the appropriate United States district court, which shall have original jurisdiction of all cases or controversies arising under this compact. Any appeal so arising that is initiated in a state court shall be removed to the appropriate United States district court in the manner provided by 28 United States Code § 1446 or other statutory authority.