TAPS Registration for Bounty Hunters for Acquiring Fingerprints & Background Information

Due to an update in TCA 40-11-318, any resident of Tennessee who is a United States citizen and who intends to perform the functions of a bounty hunter must submit to a criminal history background check at the sheriff’s office at the county of the person’s permanent residence. Here are the steps  you need to take:

Instructions for Fingerprinting Tennessee Applicant Processing Services

Follow the simple steps outlined below to complete the fingerprinting process:
1. Using your computer web browser, go to www.L1enrollment.com and choose Tennessee.

2. If you do not have access to the internet, you may call us toll-free at (855) 226-2937 to schedule an appointment. If you call, you will be asked the following questions instead of completing these steps yourself.

3. Click Online Scheduling and choose the language you wish to use for scheduling (English or Spanish)

4. Enter your first and last name and click “go”

5. Choose the proper employing or licensing agency as your Agency Name and click “go”. (choose other)

6. Choose the proper Applicant Type and click “go”. (choose Bounty Hunter)

7. Enter your ORI, OCA, or other identifying numbers required by your employing or licensing agency clicking “go” after each. (use TN920762Z)

8. Select the location where you want to be fingerprinted. You may choose a region of the state,  click on the map, or enter a zip code to get a list of locations in a specific area. Press “go”

9. Click on the words “Click to Schedule” across from the location you want, under the day you wish to be fingerprinted. If you want a date further in the future, click the “Next Week>>” link to display more dates. Once you select the location/date combination, select the time for your appointment and click “go”.

10. Complete the demographic information page. Required fields are indicated by a red asterisk (*). When complete, click “Send Information”

11. Confirm the information. Follow the on screen directions to make any changes necessary. Once you see the data is correct, click “Send Information”.

12. If you are required to pay for your own fingerprinting, then you will be presented with payment options. Complete your payment process and click “Send Payment Information”.

13. Print your confirmation page.

14. Bring approved identification documents with you to the appointment. These approved document options are identified on your confirmation of your appointment.

15. Arrive at the facility at your appointed date and time.

16. The Enrollment Officer at the site will check your ID, verify your information, verify or collect payment, capture your fingerprints, and submit your data. This normally takes less than five minutes.

17. You will receive a signed receipt at the end of your fingerprinting session which can be provided to your agency for proof of fingerprinting, if needed.

18. All results will be processed and delivered to your employing or licensing agency for processing by the TBI. L-1 is never in possession of criminal record data results.

Below are the laws in full:

TCA 40-11-318 Bounty hunting

(a)(1) “Bounty hunting” is defined as a person who acts as an agent of a professional bondsman who attempts to or takes into custody a person who has failed to appear in court and whose bond has been forfeited, for a fee, the payment of which is contingent upon the taking of a person into custody and returning such person to the custody of the professional bondsman for whom the bounty hunter works; provided, that “bounty hunting” does not include the taking into custody of a person by a professional bondsman.

(b) No person who has been “convicted of a felony” shall serve as a bounty hunter in the state of Tennessee. Persons having been convicted of a felony who perform the services of a bounty hunter as defined in this section commit a criminal offense, punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.

(c) Before a bounty hunter takes into custody any person who has failed to appear in court, such bounty hunter shall present to the office of the appropriate law enforcement officer of the political subdivision where the taking will occur:

(1) A copy of the applicable warrant;

(2) A copy of the bond; and

(3) Proper credentials from a professional bondsman in Tennessee or another state verifying that the bounty hunter is an agent of a professional bondsman.

(d) Failure to present all of the proper credentials as specified in this section to the office of the appropriate law enforcement officer prior to taking any person into custody shall be punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.

(e) A professional bondsman, who knowingly employs a convicted felon to act as an agent of such bondsman for purposes of taking into custody a person who failed to appear in court, commits a Class A misdemeanor.

(f) Any resident of this state who is a United States citizen and who intends to perform the functions of a bounty hunter as defined in subsection (a), shall submit to a criminal history background check as provided by § 38-6-109 at the sheriff’s office at the county of the person’s permanent residence. The person requesting the criminal history background check shall be responsible for any fees associated with the background check. The criminal background check shall include fingerprint checks against state and federal criminal records maintained by the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) and the federal bureau of investigation (FBI). The sheriff’s office shall maintain files in their respective counties on bounty hunters requesting a criminal history background check. A sheriff may charge a fee of not more than two hundred dollars ($200) for each background check performed pursuant to this subsection (f) and in addition to the background check fees payable to the TBI, the FBI and any designated vendor. If the bounty hunter is from a state other than Tennessee, proof that the bounty hunter has completed an equivalent criminal history background check in the person’s home state within the last year shall be provided to the appropriate law enforcement agency of the political subdivision where the taking will occur.

TCA 38-6-109. Verification of criminal violation information.

(a) The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall process requests for criminal background checks from any authorized persons, organizations or entities permitted by law to seek criminal history background checks on certain persons, pursuant to a format and under procedures as it may require.

(b) (1) At the request of any persons, organizations or entities authorized by law to make fingerprint requests, the Tennessee bureau of investigation shall receive fingerprint samples from the persons, organizations or entities permitted by law to make those requests and shall check the prints against its records by using its computer files of criminal offenders contained in the Tennessee crime information center (T.C.I.C.) to process these requests and, to the extent permitted by federal law, shall also check the prints against records maintained by the federal bureau of investigation to determine if prior criminal history or convictions exist.

(2) Upon completion of the search, the bureau shall report its findings to the requesting persons, organizations or entities authorized by law to receive such information.

(c) (1) Agencies or organizations that have an agreement to do so with the Tennessee bureau of investigation and that have any responsibility or authority under law for conducting criminal history background reviews of persons may also access directly the computer files of the T.C.I.C. using only names or other identifying data elements to obtain available Tennessee criminal history background information for purpose of background reviews.

(2) If review by the method permitted by subdivision (c)(1) indicates the need for further verification of the individual’s criminal history, and if authorized by the requesting entity’s legal authority, the requesting entity may submit fingerprint samples for a criminal history background check by the Tennessee bureau of investigation as otherwise authorized by this section.

(d) The fees for fingerprint searches shall be the same for a Tennessee search as for a federal bureau of investigation search and shall be according to the fee schedule established by the federal bureau of investigation.