Requesting More Than Ten Criminal Records

The CHSB requires that certified agencies submitting ten or more names per week submit their requests on disk rather than by mail. This includes requests for publicly accessible information, and requests from background check companies. Note that a disk with fewer than ten names will not be accepted.

To avoid difficulties it is recommended that first time disk users call the CHSB while they are setting up the disk. If a problem arises with a disk, CHSB will notify the agency by telephone or in writing, and return it if necessary. For questions regarding disk processing procedures, contact the CORI Unit at (617) 660-4640.

Required Materials

All submissions must include the following materials in addition to the disk.

1. A cover letter on your letterhead which includes:
   • The date and ALL agency codes (does not apply to public access requests);
   • A notation if you are a CH336, CH444, CH172g, CH172h or CH172i agency (does not apply to public access requests or for maintenance and background check companies);
   • The name of the file to be uploaded;
2. A signed statement attesting that each person named on the disk has been informed that a criminal record check is being performed on him/her, and that all signed acknowledgement forms are kept on file (this statement is not required for certified CH336, CH444, CH172g, CH172h or CH172i requests or public access requests);
   • If processing multiple types of criminal record checks (CH444 or CH336 and non-CH444 or non-CH336), use a separate disk for the different types to prevent processing errors.
3. A printout of the names in the order which they were entered onto the disk;
4. A self-addressed stamped envelope large enough for us to mail the results and the disk back to you.

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Data Formatting and Requirements

Example Data for Public Access and Certified Agencies

Example Data for Maintenance and Background Check Companies

Please note that:

• the information is in all capital letters;
• the dates of birth are in a mm/dd/yy format;
• the social security numbers are printed without hyphens;
• there are no column titles/headings;
• if you do not have the sex or social security number for an individual, that is fine, however leave the space as though you did (names and dates of birth are always necessary);
• if an individual has a maiden name or alias, it must be listed separately;
• the request forms do not need to be sent in with the disk, but they must be kept on file;
• DO NOT include any suffix after an individual’s name, such as Jr. or Sr., or a numeric designation such as III or IV;
• hyphenated names should be submitted in both hyphenated and separate name format as in the example above with Joanne Brown-Smith.

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Disk Formatting Instructions

For the information on the disk to be used by CHSB, the data must be saved under a "text" file on an IBM/MS DOS formatted disk. (Currently Macintosh formatted disks are not compatible with our system). The data must be entered into the correct fields of specific widths in order for our system to read the information. Below are formatting instructions for spreadsheet and word processing files.

Spreadsheet

In EXCEL, set your column widths to the length indicated in the Maximum Length row below. When saving the EXCEL document, be sure to save it as a "formatted text" (space delimited) file; our system will not be able to read the information if it is not saved correctly. This should be an option under your "Save As" command. Note that if you save your file as a text file in Excel, thus changing the extension from .xls to .prn YOU SHOULD NOT REOPEN THE FILE. If you do, your formatting will be lost. If you are going to enter names over a few days, save your file as an Excel file until you are ready to mail it in to us – the last thing you should do before sending it in is to save your file as formatted text (space delimited).

Word Processing

If you are using word processing software, the starting and ending space numbers are for your reference. Many programs have the ability to save files as “txt” files and, thus, can be used for this disk procedure. In word processing programs, it is necessary to actually space each column by hand; tabs and tables cannot be used. Also, please note that only the last name, first name, and date-of-birth are required for processing; however, to have the sex and social security number included is very helpful.

Spacing Requirements

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