West Virginia Background Check

Begin with the reason for the West Virginia check

For a West Virginia criminal-history request, start with the State Police Criminal Records Section and the organization requiring the report. A job or licensing program may need a particular fingerprint service and recipient. A personal record review, a program-authorized state/FBI check and a public court search are different requests; buying one does not guarantee that it satisfies another.

State Police cites West Virginia Code 15-2-24(d) for the described nongovernmental disclosures: written authorization must be signed and acknowledged by the person whose record is requested. Its criminal-record page routes background checks through IdentoGO. For questions about the applicable request, contact Criminal Records at 304-746-2418; its listed fax is 304-746-2294.

Use the correct service code and enrollment route

IdentoGO’s West Virginia instructions explain that a six-character service code identifies the agency, fingerprinting reason and transaction price. Obtain the code from your employer, licensing agency or other requesting organization. Some reasons are available in the online lookup, but not all codes are public; do not select a similar-looking program to bypass a missing code.

Start from IdentoGO’s current West Virginia page and choose Digital Fingerprinting for an agency-required check; it also provides appointment changes and status checks. State Police lists scheduling assistance at 855-766-7746 and says checks are no longer obtained at its headquarters. The separate FBI History Check on the vendor page is for personal use, not employment or licensing submission.

Fees and result delivery are program-specific

The State Police page reviewed does not give one current all-purpose fee or turnaround for every background check. Verify the service-code price, whether FBI processing is authorized, any fingerprint-collection charge, and who receives the result before submitting. Ask the requesting agency whether it needs direct delivery; a personal copy may not meet its screening instructions.

For a concrete example, the West Virginia Insurance Commission’s April 2026 fingerprinting FAQ quotes $44.50 for its applicants and requires results to go directly to the Commission. Applicants should retain the receipt’s 12-digit TCN for their license application. That program’s price and routing are not a general fee or delivery rule for every West Virginia resident.

If you are outside West Virginia or fingerprints fail

The provider’s non-resident instructions describe pre-enrollment and prepayment for “Submit A Fingerprint Card by Mail,” plus certain out-of-state live-scan locations with an additional fee. Use the current instructions shown for your actual service code before sending a card. A nearby fingerprint location may offer a different product or lack the submission route your program requires.

For insurance applicants, the Commission says a first illegible fingerprint submission can be repeated by live scan without another charge if resubmitted within 90 days. Retain the rejection and transaction reference and follow that program’s instructions. Do not apply this program-specific replacement rule to an unrelated check or pay for a new request without checking the reason for rejection.

Use court searches for cases, not a complete history

The West Virginia Judiciary’s Court Records Access page now provides separate circuit-court and magistrate-court searches, each spanning all 55 counties. Choose the branch matching the filing court. For a known case, record its number, county, parties and document date so the local clerk can identify the actual record.

The magistrate search expressly warns that retrieved information is not guaranteed to represent a complete civil or criminal history, and directs users to validate it with the filing court’s clerk. A docket hit is not a certified order, and no hit is not a background-check clearance. If proof of the outcome is required, ask that clerk for the judgment or disposition and its copy/certification price.

Challenge the specific incorrect history entry

The State Police forms directory lists Challenge of Criminal History Record, Form WVSP 136A. The published form asks for the entry as it currently reads, the corrected charge or disposition, dates and the basis of the challenge, together with a signature and right-index fingerprint. It lists a $20 processing fee payable to the Superintendent, West Virginia State Police.

Its mailing destination is Criminal Identification Bureau, 725 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309. Confirm that the currently listed form and fee still apply before sending it, since the form bears a 02/12 revision date. Keep the court order or other proof supporting the correction; a court-file error may also need review by the originating clerk.

Expungement is separate from correcting an inaccurate entry. State Police directs applicants to establish what its history contains, then contact the Circuit Clerk in the county of the originating arrest about petitioning that Circuit Court. It sends completion notice to the Circuit Clerk and directs expungement-status communications through that office. A name search’s silence is not that notice.

Keep the meaning and scope with the response

Save the request type, service code, submission date, receipt and receiving organization alongside the result. If only a court case was checked, describe it that way. If a fingerprint submission is still pending, use the vendor receipt and agency contact to check its progress. Neither a collection appointment nor an empty magistrate result establishes what an authorized repository check will return.