Fingerprinting and Background Screening FAQ

Legislation was passed during the 2024 Florida Legislative Session establishing background screening requirements for health care professions regulated by the Florida Department of Health's Division of Medical Quality Assurance. This applies to all licensed healthcare practitioners and not just dentists. Note, it also applies to dental hygienists.

• You must complete the process by your licensure renewal, Feb. 28, 2026.
• Please note that this is not something you can do at the last minute. The Florida Dental Association (FDA) suggests completing the process at least 14 days before the end of the biennium.
• Waiting too long will result in the expiration of your license. Plan ahead and complete all screening requirements well before your expiration date. The renewal period opens 90 days in advance, so use this time to start the screening process and avoid disruptions to your license status.

The process must be done every 5 years; dentists must complete it every other biennium.

No. Fingerprints must be submitted electronically through a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) approved service provider that is photo capable and compliant with Florida's Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.

Maybe. The statute requires a Level 2 background screening. The Board of Dentistry can only view previous results if they were submitted by a FDLE approved and Clearinghouse compliant Livescan service provider and entered or retained in the Clearinghouse system within the last five years by one of the specified agencies defined in s. 435.02(7), Florida Statutes. If these conditions apply and your previous screening meets the current screening standards required by the Department of Health, then it is possible that you may not need to submit a new background check. However, if you completed a Level 1 screening, then you would need to be rescreened.

No. Concealed carry permits are done through the Department of Agriculture and it is not one of the agencies that reports to the Clearinghouse for the Board of Dentistry/Department of Health; therefore, the screening completed for this specific purpose would not already be on file.

Yes. Your screening results cannot be shared with the Florida Department of Health if the privacy statement is not received.

• Register in the CHAI system (see user guide for assistance). 
• Create or update your profile. If this is your first time using the CHAI system, you will be creating a profile.
• Schedule an appointment with a Livescan provider (you can schedule an appointment within the CHAI system or refer to Locate a Provider). You are responsible for the screening costs and should be aware that fees vary by service provider. 
• Bring your ORI Number and complete your fingerprinting appointment.
• The ORI Number for dentists is EDOH4560Z
• Request your Transaction Control Number (TCN) from the Livescan provider before leaving your appointment. You must input this number when you are renewing your license.

Please contact the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) at 850-412-4503.

EDOH4560Z

Yes. You will need to input this number to renew your license.

You can track the submission of your prints by entering your TCN at FDLE’s TCN Lookup. 

The FDA will be offering fingerprinting appointments at the 2025 Florida Dental Convention (FDC). 

• Link to Register: https://events.floridadental.org/index.cfm?do=reg.flow&event_id=69
• Appointments are available for dentists and hygienists (members and non-members) and Exhibit Hall Pass registrations.
• To sign up for an appointment, you will add it as a "course" to your FDC registration. These fingerprinting appointments have the course codes "FP01" to "FP34," so there are 34 appointment time options. You can search the course code "FP" in your registration to easily view the available appointments. Your selected appointment will be included in your course itinerary.
• If you have already created a registration and need to log back into it to add a fingerprinting appointment, you can use the above link and your registration ID. If you cannot locate your registration ID, contact Grace Pereira at gpereira@floridadental.org or 850.350.7162.

• $110 for FDA members, ADA members, and hygienists who work for member dentists (section hygienists).
• $115 for non-member dentists and hygienists who work for non-member dentists (non-section hygienists) and exhibit hall pass registrations.
• THIS FEE IS NON-REFUNDABLE.