Last reviewed: October 3, 2026
The short answer
Mobile fingerprinting for Lowell employers covers the prints a private provider may take: FD-258 cards for staff licensing in other states, Live Scan where the requesting program accepts a private provider, personal FBI checks for staff going abroad and a federal sponsor’s own cards when the sponsor allows it. Fingerprint Boston, the fingerprinting office at 1215 Main Street in Tewksbury, charges a $295 base travel fee per visit, plus any zone or traffic surcharge quoted in writing, and its standard per-person rates. SAFIS, CORI, TSA, NMLS, FINRA and New Hampshire nursing checks go elsewhere, and the personal FBI check can never screen a hire.
The FBI rule every employer should know first
The personal FBI check, an Identity History Summary, is a person’s own record. The FBI’s Identity History Summary page says summaries “are not to be used for employment or licensing,” and that an FBI-approved channeler, a private company that submits personal requests, “cannot process a request for employment and/or licensing purposes.” Employment and licensing checks go through the identification bureau of the state that requires them.
So an employer should not ask a new hire for a personal FBI report, and Fingerprint Boston will not sell its $170 check as a hiring screen. The $170 covers fingerprint capture, a technician review, electronic submission through Fingerprint Boston’s FBI-approved channeler and the FBI’s own fee, and it fits personal review, visas and immigration, work, study or residency abroad, adoption abroad and apostilles. IdentoGO’s Massachusetts page labels its own channeler service “for personal use only, NOT for employment or licensing submission.”
Some agency processes accept prints from a private provider, and that share of the work is what an on-site visit is for.
Three requests a visit cannot fill
- A personal FBI report as a hiring or volunteer screen. It is the person’s own record, not an employer check.
- An applicant’s own copy of their CORI. 803 CMR 2.10 bars requesting or requiring one, except as the CORI law allows.
- SAFIS prints rolled anywhere but IdentoGO. They do not count.
What mobile fingerprinting for Lowell employers can cover
Ask one question about each name on your roster: who asked for these prints? Their letter or packet answers it, and only the first group below belongs on a visit.
| Need | Who decides | Where prints are taken | On a visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fits an on-site visit | |||
| Staff licensing in another state | That state’s board | FD-258 cards, if the board accepts a private provider | Yes: $59.95 first card, $25 each extra |
| Programs that take electronic prints | The requesting program | Live Scan, only where it accepts a private provider | Yes, where accepted: $79.95 |
| Staff going abroad | The employee, for a foreign authority | Channeler check for U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the U.S. | Yes: $170, as the employee’s own request |
| Federal contract staff | The federal sponsor | The sponsor’s own SF 87 or FD-258 cards | Yes, if the sponsor allows it |
| Goes elsewhere | |||
| Massachusetts schools, child care and other SAFIS programs | The state | IdentoGO enrollment centers only | No |
| Massachusetts CORI | The employer | No prints: a name-based iCORI request | No prints needed |
| TWIC and HAZMAT | TSA | A TSA enrollment center | No |
| Mortgage loan originators | NMLS | Fieldprint, the NMLS-approved vendor | No |
| Broker-dealer staff | FINRA | FINRA-approved cards or FINRA’s electronic vendors | No |
| A first New Hampshire nursing or LNA license | New Hampshire | Law enforcement or authorized state staff | No |
Private Live Scan helps only when the letter names a program that accepts it, since Massachusetts runs its own state checks through SAFIS. Staff going abroad who are not citizens or permanent residents request their record from the FBI directly through its eDO portal and pay the FBI’s $18 fee, with prints at a participating post office or on an FD-258 card that can be rolled on the visit for $59.95. Federal sponsors set their own terms: GSA’s SF 87 page says contractors need their government sponsor behind any order of that card.
If an employer pays for personal checks for work abroad, each result still goes to the employee, not a personnel file. Print before departure, because the State Department says U.S. embassies and consulates abroad do not provide fingerprinting services.
What still goes through the state or another vendor
Pull these names off the roster before you ask for a quote. Fingerprint Boston’s guide to which Massachusetts applications need IdentoGO and which can use a private office goes further.
State fingerprint checks for schools, child care and Department of Developmental Services programs run through SAFIS. IdentoGO calls itself “the exclusive live scan fingerprinting provider” for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and posts the SAFIS registration guides. A privately rolled card does not count.
CORI is searched by name and date of birth, without prints. Employers request it through iCORI at $25 per request, with up to 10 business days to process, after a signed acknowledgment form and an in-person photo ID check under 803 CMR 2.11. Remote hires can sign before a notary; see our guide to mobile notary services in Lowell.
These are TSA security threat assessments, with prints taken at a TSA enrollment center. TSA lists $124 for a new TWIC and $85.25 for a HAZMAT assessment and recommends enrolling at least 60 days ahead.
Loan originators authorize a check in NMLS, then book Fieldprint, its approved vendor. NMLS says Fieldprint can visit groups of 30 or more for an added fee, or book 10 or more into an approved Live Scan site at no extra cost.
The FINRA fingerprint FAQ says the standard FD-258 “will be rejected.” Firms use FINRA-approved cards from FINRA’s card vendor or a FINRA-certified electronic vendor, which Fingerprint Boston is not.
Applicants for an initial nursing or licensed nursing assistant (LNA) license give prints to a qualified law enforcement agency or authorized state staff under RSA 326-B:15. A private office is not on that list.
What an on-site visit costs
Fingerprint Boston prices its mobile fingerprinting service for employers in two parts. The trip is a $295 base travel fee, plus zone and traffic surcharges for distance and congested areas, quoted in writing before you book. Each person then pays the office rate: $59.95 for the first FD-258 card and $25 for each extra card, $79.95 for Live Scan, or $170 for a personal FBI check with the channeler and FBI fees included. There is no minimum group size; one person is fine. Payment is taken online when you book, and visits cover Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Two examples before any surcharge: 12 staff who each need one FD-258 card come to $719.40 plus the $295 base, or $1,014.40. Five nurses needing 2 cards each ($424.75) and 3 staff going abroad with personal FBI checks ($510) come to $1,229.75 with the base. Board fees go to the boards. For more roster sizes, see these worked pricing examples for on-site visits.
Paid time away from work, priced with BLS wages
Per-person rates match the office’s, so compare paid time against the travel line. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the mean hourly wage for all jobs in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area, which includes Lowell, at $43.09 in May 2025, in figures released June 5, 2026. The table assumes about 1 hour of paid time per office trip to Tewksbury and back, and about 10 minutes per person on site.
| Staff printed | Office trips, 1 hour each | On site, 10 minutes each, plus $295 base | Cheaper before surcharges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $43.09 | $7.18 + $295 = $302.18 | Office, by $259.09 |
| 5 | $215.45 | $35.91 + $295 = $330.91 | Office, by $115.46 |
| 12 | $517.08 | $86.18 + $295 = $381.18 | Visit, by $135.90 |
| 25 | $1,077.25 | $179.54 + $295 = $474.54 | Visit, by $602.71 |
On these numbers the base fee is covered at 9 people, before any surcharge. Below that the office is cheaper, and a visit buys other things: nobody leaves a client, a class or a shift. At the area’s median wage of $32.03, the break-even moves to 12 people. BLS wages exclude benefits, so an hour away costs more than the table shows, while a surcharge pushes the other way.
Before you book: what to collect and which letters to send
Most failed visits fail on paperwork.
From each person
- Full legal name exactly as on the photo ID, and on the passport for staff going abroad.
- The letter or packet that asked for prints, with any ORI, the code that routes the prints.
- How many cards the agency wants, and any card, cover sheet or waiver it supplies.
- Citizenship or permanent resident status, for a personal FBI check.
- The destination’s checklist for work abroad, including any apostille and how recent the report must be.
- One unexpired government photo ID for the day.
- Sort by letter, not by job title
Move SAFIS, CORI, TSA, NMLS, FINRA and New Hampshire nursing names to their own list. Two people with one title can need different things.
- Send one instruction letter per agency
Board packets show card counts, ORIs and waivers. The Kansas State Board of Nursing, for example, accepts prints from “any place authorized to do the prints” on the current FD-258 and rejects prints taken more than 6 months earlier. Add a sponsor’s written approval of a private provider and each destination’s checklist.
- Get the quote in writing
It lists the $295 base, any surcharge and each person’s service. Fingerprint Boston asks for about a week’s notice for a standard roster and 2 to 3 weeks in hiring season.
- Brief staff the day before
Each person needs their slot, their photo ID and any card the agency mailed them. A forgotten ID means a rebooking.
- Decide who mails what
Board and sponsor cards come back sealed for mailing. Personal FBI results go to each employee, not to HR.
Visit day: scheduling and print quality
Fingerprint Boston budgets about 30 minutes to set up and about 10 minutes a person, in a room with a door (dates of birth get read aloud), a table, a chair and one outlet. The office keeps weekday hours, Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM, so if your volunteers only come in the evening, ask about the visit window when you request a quote.
- Book 10-minute slots and send people down 2 or 3 at a time.
- Split care staff across a shift change instead of calling night staff in on a day off.
- At a school, use free periods, lunch and the hour after dismissal.
- Anyone who misses the visit can book the Tewksbury office.
For print quality, the FBI’s tip sheet on rejects lists low-quality images first among common reject reasons and tells technicians to hydrate fingers. Ask staff to moisturize in the days before, not right before, and to skip alcohol sanitizer for the hour before. The technician checks each image on screen and each card under magnification, and re-rolls weak prints at no charge.
Three worked examples
Fingerprint Boston’s three employer case studies run this sorting and cost math on full rosters. Each is an anonymized composite with figures worked out from posted rates.
- The Merrimack Valley home care agency case study starts with an owner who wanted a personal FBI check on every caregiver and shows what replaced it: CORI, New Hampshire checks for New Hampshire work and prints only where a board asks.
- An independent school west of Boston printed 18 staff in one visit: personal FBI checks with apostilles for 14 staff working abroad and FD-258 cards for 4 teachers licensed elsewhere. New hires stayed on CORI and SAFIS.
- A Cambridge and Burlington research company sorted 35 names into 28 captures over two visits, including a federal sponsor’s SF 87 cards, and sent 7 people to SAFIS, CORI or a board that named police.
Getting printed for yourself
For your own license, visa or record, our July guide to fingerprinting in Lowell covers the common reasons, and Fingerprint Boston keeps a page of fingerprinting options for Lowell residents. Notaries, shredding and other local services are in the LowellBusiness directory guide.
Questions Lowell employers ask
Can a Lowell employer use the $170 FBI check to screen new hires?
No. The FBI says Identity History Summaries are not to be used for employment or licensing, and an FBI-approved channeler cannot process a request for those purposes. A Massachusetts employer runs CORI itself through iCORI, and fingerprint checks required by law go through the agency’s own process, such as SAFIS at IdentoGO.
Is there a minimum group size for an on-site visit?
No. One person is fine. Each visit carries a $295 base travel fee plus any zone or traffic surcharge, quoted in writing, and each person pays the office rate. For 1 or 2 people the Tewksbury office is usually cheaper. With 1-hour office trips priced at the Boston-area mean wage, a visit pays for itself in staff time at about 9 people.
How much does mobile fingerprinting cost for a Lowell business?
A $295 base travel fee per visit, plus Fingerprint Boston’s standard rates: $59.95 for the first FD-258 card and $25 for each extra card, $79.95 for Live Scan, or $170 for a personal FBI check with the channeler and FBI fees included. Zone and traffic surcharges apply for distance and congested areas, and payment is taken online when you book.
Can Fingerprint Boston take SAFIS fingerprints for our school or child care program?
No. Massachusetts SAFIS fingerprints for schools, child care and Department of Developmental Services programs are captured only at IdentoGO enrollment centers, which IdentoGO describes as the state’s exclusive live scan provider. A card rolled on a private visit does not count, so staff with SAFIS letters book IdentoGO directly.
Do employees need fingerprints for a Massachusetts CORI check?
No. CORI is searched by name and date of birth. The employer requests it through its own iCORI account, which DCJIS lists at $25 per request with up to 10 business days to process. Before each request, the employer collects a signed acknowledgment form and checks a government photo ID in person, or accepts a form signed before a notary.
Does a visit cover New Hampshire and Rhode Island workplaces?
Yes. Fingerprint Boston runs on-site visits across Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island from its Tewksbury office, each quoted in writing before you book. The rules travel with the agency, not the address: an applicant for a first New Hampshire nursing or LNA license still gives prints to law enforcement or authorized state staff.
Sources: FBI, Identity History Summary Checks; IdentoGO, Massachusetts; DCJIS, Request CORI as an organization; 803 CMR 2.10; 803 CMR 2.11; TSA, TWIC; TSA, HAZMAT endorsement; NMLS, group fingerprinting; FINRA, fingerprint FAQ; RSA 326-B:15; GSA, SF 87; State Department, Criminal Records Checks; Kansas State Board of Nursing; FBI, reducing fingerprint rejects; BLS, Boston-Cambridge-Newton wages, May 2025. Checked October 3, 2026.
Get a written quote for your roster
Send Fingerprint Boston a date, your address and one instruction letter per agency for a written quote. Payment is taken online when you book. The office at 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 works by appointment, Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM: (978) 424-4629.
Book a visit or request a quoteDisclosure: LowellBusiness.com and Fingerprint Boston share an owner. Prices and rules on this page were checked against the sources listed on October 3, 2026.