BHEC Fingerprint Process
Effective September 1, 2020 the Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) is required to have its applicants undergo electronic fingerprinting. This requirement is codified in §507.251 and §507.257 of the Texas Occupations Code.
How It Works:
When you submit your application for license on our online system, you will receive a confirmation email. This email also includes the “Service Code” you will need to ensure your fingerprints will be accessible by BHEC. Don’t forget to check your junk/spam folder for the confirmation email as it might get caught by your spam filter.
The fingerprinting is done at locations all over the country via digital scanning so no ink is involved. It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete the electronic fingerprinting. The fingerprinting location will charge a fee for the process. Once the fingerprinting is completed, future renewals will not require a repeat of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions about fingerprinting.
Fingerprint FAQ’s
The FBI mandates that the fingerprinting information be available only to licensees and applicants, not the general public. The laws governing access to criminal history information provide significant penalties to agencies if they access (even inadvertently) the information of an individual that is not an applicant or licensee. BHEC does not have a way to restrict access on the website and therefore cannot post the information in that fashion.
No. BHEC only has authority to view the DPS/FBI history information of licensees and applicants.
Yes. Fingerprinting is entity-specific. If you were fingerprinted for another entity, even a government agency, only that entity can access your records. You will need to undergo the fingerprinting process again specifically for BHEC.
Submit a “Contact Us” request and we’ll send you the information.
No. Texas has contracted with IdenToGo for the fingerprinting process. IdenToGo has locations all over the United States. To find a location near you, visit their webpage: https://www.identogo.com/locations
No. The fingerprint record subscription is for BHEC, not the individual boards within it.
No. A printout of an individual’s arrest/conviction history is only a snapshot. By completing the fingerprinting process an agency has access to DPS’ “Rap-Back” service. This service provides BHEC with an email any time there is a change to the record of a subscribed individual. This is why applicants only need to undergo the process once, rather than at every renewal.
No. BHEC only has access while an individual has an active license or active license application on file. BHEC regularly submits lists of recently expired applications and licenses to DPS to have subscriptions to those individuals’ information cancelled. Once cancelled, BHEC cannot access that individual’s record unless the individual undergoes another fingerprinting using the agency’s service code.
No. Once you are fingerprinted under the BHEC service code, BHEC is subscribed to your info as long as your license remains active.
