Oklahoma § 59-567.18 - Criminal history records and background checks

§ 59-567.18. Criminal history records and background checks

A. Any applicant for a license or certificate described below

shall be required to undergo a national criminal history background

check as described in this section.

1. Registered Nurse (RN) license,

2. Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) license,

3. Practical Nurse License (LPN),

4. Advanced Unlicensed Assistant Certificate,

5. Multistate nursing license, when Oklahoma is the Primary

State of Residence.

B. Licensing and certification decisions shall be based on, in

addition to other licensure requirements, a criminal history records

search conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that

is not more than ninety (90) days old.

C. Contingent upon available resources by the Board, all

criminal background checks effective January 1, 2013, are subject to

the following:

1. Submission of a full set of fingerprints to the Board for

the purpose of permitting a state and federal criminal history

records search pursuant to Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma

Statutes and Public Law 92-544 that is not more than ninety (90)

days old. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation may exchange

these fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

2. The applicant shall furnish the Board fingerprints as

established by Board rules and a money order or cashier's check made

payable to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation or the Board's

designated vendor;

3. The Board shall forward the fingerprints along with the

applicable fee for a national fingerprint criminal history records

search to the Bureau;

4. The Bureau shall search the Oklahoma Automated Fingerprint

Identification System and forward fingerprints to the FBI for a

national criminal history records search;

5. Any and all state and federal criminal history record

information obtained by the Board from the Bureau or the FBI which

is not already a matter of public record shall be deemed nonpublic.

The confidential information shall be restricted to the exclusive

use of the Board, its members, officers, investigators, agents, and

attorneys in evaluating the applicant's eligibility or

disqualification for licensure; and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 59. Professions and Occupations

6. Fingerprint images may be rejected by the OSBI and the FBI

for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, fingerprint

quality or an inability by the OSBI or FBI to classify the

fingerprints. These rejections require the applicant to be

fingerprinted again. Applicants with fingerprints rejected for

improper registration will be required to re-register, re-pay and be

re-fingerprinted. Applicant is responsible for insuring and

verifying that all data is correct in the fingerprinting process.

D. The necessary steps to initiate the criminal background

checks may be performed by the Board or its designated vendor.

E. An individual applying for any type of multistate license,

when Oklahoma is the primary state of residence, shall submit to a

criminal background check that complies with this section; provided,

however, that if the individual has been continuously enrolled in

the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Rap Back Service since

issuance of the initial multistate license, the individual shall not

be required to undergo another criminal history record search. No

criminal history record information will be disseminated outside the

Board, as described in paragraph 5 of this subsection.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 101, § 11, eff. Nov. 1, 2011. Amended by

Laws 2013, c. 228, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2018, c. 72, § 2,

eff. Nov. 1, 2018; Laws 2024, c. 94, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2024.