September 2021
The Oregon Real Estate Agency requires real estate license applicants to submit fingerprints per
Oregon Revised Statutes 696.790 “for the purpose of requesting a state or nationwide criminal records check." This license requirement is also known as a “background check."
The Agency relies upon Oregon State Police (OSP) as the only authorized provider of this service. While the majority of background checks are returned within an expected turnaround time of two weeks, there have been occasions in which unexpected delays can occur. Recently, the Agency has received a number of inquiries with respect to OSP processing times that have exceeded two weeks. As of August 20, 2021, the Oregon Real Estate Agency had not received fingerprinting results for 31% of the prints submitted during the month of July 2021.
OSP has explained that the delay is due to a vendor error that created a one-month backlog. They have assured us that they are committed to resolving this problem as soon as possible. We apologize for the delay as this creates an interruption in the licensure process. We will continue to monitor the results.
If you or someone you know has questions regarding the clearance of a background check, please direct those inquiries to the Oregon Real Estate Agency.