At the bottom of your Live Scan form there is a line labeled ATI. Most people never look at it until an employer, a licensing office, or a status website asks for it. This guide explains what an ATI number is, where to find it, what you can and cannot do with it, and what to do if you have lost yours.
The Short Answer
ATI stands for Applicant Tracking Identifier. It is the unique number assigned to your individual Live Scan fingerprint submission in California. The Live Scan operator writes or prints it on your copy of the Request for Live Scan Service form when your prints are sent. It works like a tracking number for a package. It identifies one submission, lets you look up that submission’s status, and lets the requesting agency or the Department of Justice find the transaction if there is a question.
Where to Find Your ATI Number
Look at the copy of the Request for Live Scan Service form the operator gave back to you. Near the bottom is a section the Live Scan operator completes. It usually includes:
- The name of the operator and the date of the transaction
- The transmitting agency
- The ATI number
- The fees collected
The ATI is a short code made up of letters and numbers. Some Live Scan sites print it on a separate receipt as well. If the handwriting is hard to read, ask the operator to confirm it before you leave. A single misread character makes the number useless for status checks.
Take a photo of the completed form before you leave the site, and keep the paper copy with your employment records. You may need it weeks later.
What the ATI Number Is Used For
Checking your status
The California Department of Justice offers an online Applicant Background Check Status tool. You enter your ATI number and your date of birth, and it shows where the transaction stands, such as in progress, completed and sent to the agency, or rejected. It does not show the contents of any record. For timing expectations and what each status means, see our guide on how long Live Scan results take.
Proving you were fingerprinted
Employers and licensing boards often ask for the ATI number, or a copy of the form showing it, as proof that you completed fingerprinting and as a way to match the incoming result to your file. Some hiring portals have a field for it.
Resolving problems
If results seem delayed, the requesting agency can use the ATI number when it follows up with DOJ. If your prints were rejected for quality and you need to be reprinted, the original ATI number is usually referenced on the resubmission so the second attempt is linked to the first.
What the ATI Number Is Not
Several codes appear on or around a Live Scan form, and they are easy to confuse.
- It is not the ORI. The ORI is a code that identifies the agency authorized to receive your results. Everyone fingerprinted for the same employer has the same ORI on their form. Your ATI is yours alone. We explain ORIs in detail in what an ORI number means.
- It is not a clearance. Having an ATI number means your prints were submitted. It says nothing about what the result was or whether you have been cleared to work.
- It is not a permanent ID. You get a new ATI number every time you are fingerprinted. Three Live Scans for three employers means three different ATI numbers.
- It is not a state criminal record number. California uses separate internal identifiers for criminal history records. The ATI tracks a transaction, not a person.
- It is not a mail code or billing number. Those are additional fields that route the response and the fees.
Reading the Rest of the Form
Since the ATI only makes sense in context, here is what the other main fields mean. Your employer normally fills in the top section before you go.
- ORI: the code for the agency that will receive your results.
- Authorized applicant type: the category you are being checked under, such as a school employee. It determines what kind of response the agency is entitled to receive.
- Type of license, certification, or permit, or working title: your job title or role.
- Agency name, mail code, and contact: where the response is delivered.
- Level of service: whether the check is DOJ only or DOJ and FBI. School positions generally require both.
- Applicant information: your name, any other names you have used, date of birth, and identifying details. Errors here are a common cause of delays.
Always use the form your employer provides. A blank form you downloaded, or one from a different employer, will send your results to the wrong place or nowhere at all.
What to Do If You Lost Your ATI Number
It happens often. Try these in order.
- Check your photos and email. Many people photograph the form or receive an emailed receipt from the Live Scan site.
- Call the Live Scan site where you were fingerprinted. Operators keep transaction records and can usually look up your ATI number with your name and the date of your visit. Bring or be ready to show identification.
- Ask the employer or agency that requested the check. Once the result arrives, the response they receive references the transaction, and HR may have a copy of your form on file.
The Department of Justice generally will not look up an ATI number for an applicant over the phone. The Live Scan site is the reliable route.
If none of that works and the result has already reached your employer, you may not need the number at all. Its main use for applicants is checking status while the check is pending.
Common Questions About Status Checks
The status tool says my ATI number is not found. Why?
The most common reasons are a mistyped character, for example a zero for the letter O or a one for the letter I, checking too soon after fingerprinting, or entering a date of birth that does not match what the operator typed. Recheck the number against your form. If it still fails after a few days, call the Live Scan site and confirm the number and the date of birth they submitted.
The tool shows “completed,” but my employer says they have nothing.
Completed means DOJ sent the response to the agency on the form. Ask the employer to check its secure results mailbox, and confirm that the ORI and mail code on your form were the right ones for that employer. If the form was wrong, the results went elsewhere and you will need to be fingerprinted again with the correct form.
It has been weeks and it still says “in progress.”
Some transactions require manual review, and those take longer. Let the employer know. The requesting agency can ask DOJ to follow up on a delayed transaction, using your ATI number.
Keeping Your Information Safe
An ATI number plus a date of birth lets someone see the status of a transaction, though not the record behind it. Treat the form with normal care. It also contains your Social Security number and other personal details. Send it only to the employer or agency that asked for it, use a secure upload when one is offered rather than ordinary email, and do not post a photo of it anywhere.
Why Each Employer Needs Its Own Live Scan
People are often surprised to be fingerprinted again for a new job when they were cleared a month earlier somewhere else. California Live Scan responses are released only to the specific agency that requested them, identified by its ORI. One agency generally cannot share or transfer a response to another. A new employer means a new form, a new submission, and a new ATI number. Keep each form with the paperwork for the job it belongs to.
How This Works for Blue Horizons Aides
Aides placed by Blue Horizons are fingerprinted using our form, which carries our ORI as an authorized DOJ applicant agency. The response comes directly to us, we complete the review, and we confirm clearance before an aide’s first day. If you are an applicant with us and you have misplaced your form, tell your coordinator. We can usually match your result from our side. More about the full screening process is on our page explaining DOJ background clearance for school staff.
Quick Reference
- What it is: the tracking identifier for one Live Scan submission.
- Where it is: the operator’s section at the bottom of your Request for Live Scan Service form.
- What it does: lets you check status online with your date of birth and helps agencies locate the transaction.
- What it does not do: show results, prove clearance, or carry over to another employer.
- If you lose it: contact the Live Scan site where you were fingerprinted.
The Bottom Line
The ATI number is a small detail that saves a lot of phone calls. Confirm it is legible before you leave the Live Scan site, photograph the form, and keep it until you have been told you are cleared. If you are considering aide work in Southern California and have questions about our screening steps, visit our careers page or contact us.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Forms and procedures are set by the California Department of Justice and can change. Check the DOJ website for current instructions.