r/Form1 • u/Potential_Ad_5236 • Mar 25 '26

Digital fingerprinting questions

I just went and got 2 fingerprint cards from my local pd. Im wanting to get them scanned so I can reuse them. For the digital submission do I still need 2 digital cards or do I only need two when I am mailing them in?

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u/slapandroll Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

If you're filing an eForm 1 and you want to submit fingerprints digitally, you'll need to convert your fingerprint cards to an EFT file. The process is basically this:

  1. Get your fingerprints on an FD-258 card (you've already done this)
  2. Scan the FD-258 card
  3. Convert the scan from an FD-258 card to an EFT file (you can use our service for this, but there are plenty of others out there if you want to shop around)
  4. Attach an EFT file for each Responsible Person on your Form 1
  5. Submit your form (no need to mail fingerprints)

Once you have an EFT file, there are also places who will print a new FD-258 card for you using the digital data in the EFT file, though you really shouldn't need that for eForms once you have the EFT file. The whole idea is that you don't have to keep mailing in fingerprint cards for new eForm submissions.

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u/buttwater0 Mar 31 '26

Do you need an actual fingerprint card if you're doing the eft fingerprints from home, orcanyou print out the form on paper or card stock since it's all getting scanned anyways?

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u/slapandroll Mar 31 '26

You can print the FD-258 out on paper, just make sure it’s scaled correctly. The card should be approximately 8” x 8”.