Fingerprinting
All students entering into a Teacher Licensure program or intending to take a course through the Teacher Education Department that requires field experience work must first submit fingerprints for a state and federal background check. Students who have had fingerprinting done in the past may need to submit their fingerprints again. We require that your fingerprints are submitted through the Colorado Department of Education. If you have had fingerprints submitted for a Substitute Teaching License in Colorado, application to an alternative licensure Program in Colorado, or application to another teacher licensure program in Colorado, chances are your fingerprinting requirement is met. Any other fingerprinting will likely not be acceptable. To check to see if your fingerprints are on file with the Colorado Department of Education, visit this link and submit the requested information.
Colorado Department of Education Fingerprinting database
If this page shows that your fingerprints are “Met”, you will not have to resubmit your fingerprints through us. If you know you submitted your fingerprints through CDE and the page comes up showing “Must Submit Fingerprints”, it may just be that your fingerprints have not yet cleared through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation yet. This process can take up to 4 months.
Getting Fingerprinted
For those who know they need to get their fingerprints done, we encourage you to visit the Teacher Application Center to obtain a blank finger print card and information sheet on getting finger printed. Finger print cards submitted to us must be accompanied by a cashier’s check or money order (no personal checks or other forms of payment accepted) for the exact amount of $39.50. No other amount will be accepted. Please note: regardless of the expiration date on the money order or cashier's check, CBI will only accept them for six months after they are issued. Also, please sign your money orders and cashier's checks if applicable.
We strongly suggest that you read through the following document for more information on completing your fingerprinting requirement:
Fingerprinting FAQs (
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Substitute License and Fingerprinting
If you are planning on applying for a Substitute Teaching License in Colorado and you are planning to apply to the Teacher Licensure program at MSU Denver, we would like you to submit the fingerprints through us, not directly to CBI yourself. When we submit your prints, it will take the same amount of time, but we can verify that they were submitted and check off your requirement for our program. If you submit them on your own, we will have to wait until the prints clear through CBI.
Returned Fingerprints
In the event that your fingerprints are returned due to poor quality, we suggest you have your fingerprints done digitally. Please stop by or call the Teacher Application Center for details on where to get the digital fingerprinting done.
If you should receive rejected fingerprints in the mail directly, please be sure to resubmit a new finger print card through the Teacher Application Center. Make sure you keep all documentation that comes attached to your rejected finger print card and bring all of that in to us when you are ready to resubmit. Usually the rejected fingerprints are sent back to our office and we contact you when you need to have the fingerprints done again.
Criminal Record
Some students express concern about their criminal background history affecting their chances of being licensed to teach in the State of Colorado. To get a better idea of where you stand, you can read through the following Colorado Revised Statutes regarding denial of licensure based on criminal history. We cannot guarantee that you will be granted a license, even if we do allow you to complete our licensure program. The decision to license you belongs solely to the Colorado Department of Education. Also, please be aware that in some cases, CDE may approve you for licensure, but some schools or school districts may still deny you a job based on the same criminal history.
You may request a copy of your current background check in Colorado if you have previously submitted your finger prints to CBI. Visit the CBI Records Check website for instructions on ordering the report. Please keep in mind that this report is not a replacement for your fingerprinting requirement for our program. If your fingerprints were not submitted through the Colorado Department of Education, you will still need to have them done again even if there is a background check on file for you from a previous/different fingerprinting procedure.
