Maryland fingerprinting provider bonds.
From $100.
To be authorized as a private fingerprinting (live-scan) provider in Maryland, you file a surety bond with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services through its CJIS Central Repository. The standard amount is $10,000, on a 3-year term. The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does a Maryland fingerprinting provider bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard fingerprinting bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with CJIS. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount ($10,000 standard), and the effective date — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No waiting — the executed bond is generated as soon as you pay for most applicants.
File with CJIS
Submit the executed bond with your private fingerprinting provider authorization, alongside your approved live-scan equipment. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Maryland lets private companies submit electronic fingerprints directly to the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Central Repository for background checks — but only after the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services issues an Authorization Certificate. A surety bond is one of the conditions of that certificate.
The bond is a conduct guarantee: it ensures the provider's faithful and honest conduct in handling fingerprints and the sensitive personal data tied to them. It's a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety, and the State (the obligee) — with the people you fingerprint as the protected parties.
The standard authorization bond is $10,000, issued on a 3-year term to align with the Authorization Certificate, renewable by continuation. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Enter $10,000 (or whatever CJIS specified) — the premium is 1% of that bond amount, with a $100 minimum. No credit check up to $25,000.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with CJIS. Submit the executed bond with your private fingerprinting provider authorization, alongside your approved live-scan equipment. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with the standard $10,000 amount (or your CJIS-specified figure) — the executed bond is generated instantly.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Maryland bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Fingerprinting provider bond, issued today.
Pricing from $100, 3-year term. Enter $10,000 and file with CJIS the same day.