To challenge a Not Cleared recommendation and establish your eligibility, take the following steps:

1. Contact your selecting organization as soon as possible after the date of your Not Cleared recommendation to indicate that you would like to challenge the factual accuracy of the results.

2. Obtain a copy of your criminal history information from the FBI for your personal review. There are two ways to do this, outlined below. Costs and turnaround times will vary. Discuss the best option for your specific situation with your selecting organization, which may, if it chooses, pay for this additional check.

• a. You may request your criminal history information directly from the FBI through the U.S. Postal Service. This method costs $18, plus any fees charged by a local fingerprinting provider. Visit the FBI’s Identity History Summary Checks page for more information, including current processing times. https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/identity-history-summary-checks
• b. You may use a Channeler (including, but not limited to, Fieldprint) to expedite the process. A number of Channelers are approved by the FBI to provide FBI checks for personal review, including Fieldprint. You may use Fieldprint or any other vendor that is convenient to you to complete this step, as it is outside the scope of AmeriCorps’s contract with Fieldprint. For a list of available vendors, visit https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/list-of-fbi-approved-channelers-fordepartmental-order-submissions. The services offered by individual Channelers will vary. Prices are generally between $40 and $60 per check and turnaround times range from nearly instantly to a few business days from submission of fingerprints. Be sure to indicate to the Channeler that you are requesting this check for personal review.

3. When you have obtained your FBI criminal history record information, demonstrate to the selecting organization that you are, in fact, eligible. The steps you will need to take will vary based on the specific reason you have obtained a Not Cleared recommendation as follows:

• a. If your FBI criminal history record information contains erroneous information, including offenses that have been expunged, you may demonstrate to the satisfaction of the selecting agency that the information was erroneous. This might require providing court documentation or further information from a law enforcement agency. To correct FBI criminal history record information, see https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks
• b. If your FBI criminal history record information contains a conviction for an offense that relates to sex offenses or a crime of neglect, cruelty, or endangerment that did not actually lead to a requirement to register as a sex offender, you must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the selecting organization that you are not required to register as a sex offender. Contact the selecting organization to discuss the situation. Selecting organizations may request any further information required to confirm this, including a copy of your information, court documents from the conviction, or further information from a law enforcement agency. Note that organizations may choose not to select an individual even though he or she is statutorily eligible to serve, based upon their own standards for selection.
• c. If your FBI criminal history record information contains a charge for a potentially disqualifying offense without clearly indicating that you were not convicted, you must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the selecting organization the final outcome of the case. Contact the selecting organization to discuss the situation. Selecting organizations may request from you any further information required to confirm this, including a copy of your FBI information, court documents from the case, or further information from a law enforcement agency.

4. Whether an individual is fit to work or serve with a selecting organization is a matter of discretion for the selecting organization, even though an individual may otherwise be eligible. Selecting organizations have a right and a duty to exercise their discretion in a manner that promotes a safe and effective program, mindful of state and federal nondiscrimination laws.