How to Help Prevent Your Fingerprints from Getting Rejected by Live Scan

How Do You Reduce the Risk of Getting Your Live Scan Getting Rejected?

This blog addresses what to do when your fingerprint is rejected by Live Scan.

Have you ever input your ID in the Live Scan machine and nothing happened? You lift your finger, clean it and still, it gets rejected. What do you do?

This blog post addresses what you can do to help ensure your Live Scan fingerprints do not get rejected.

Fingerprints are Your Unique Identifiers

No two people have the same fingerprints—not even identical twins. This is called biometrics—whether you're using your fingerprint to unlock your phone or your fingerprints are being taken to run a criminal background check.

However, as a human, you are exposed to the elements daily, which can cause wear, infections and distortion of your fingerprints. Given this, it can sometimes be challenging for fingerprint machines to process your fingerprints correctly.

Causes of Low-Quality Fingerprints

Any activity involving heavy use of your hands can cause calluses and smoothen your fingerprints. This creates a risk of your fingerprints getting rejected by Live Scan.

Your fingerprint quality may be low due to a variety of factors including;

• Frequent hand washing with soaps and sanitizers, which can wear on fingerprints and reduce the natural oils present on your hands

• Exposure to harsh chemicals like bleach and chlorine

• Activities that involve manual labor or repetitive behaviors including construction, rock climbing, weight lifting, playing musical instruments, gardening and more

• Repetitive office work including mailroom work and typing

• Elderly people might also struggle with fingerprint capture due to loss of skin elasticity and aging

• Heredity and other genetic factors

What to Do When Your Fingerprints are Rejected

The most common scenario when you visit a certified Live Scan fingerprinting agency like J & H Live Scan to get your fingerprints enrolled is that they don't scan clearly. Our professional staff will immediately notice and have you re-scan your fingerprints. After several trials, we may ask you to come back after taking the below steps to help ensure your fingerprints scan correctly.

You can perform the following at home before returning to J&H Live Scan Service Providers for fingerprinting services:

• Moisturize every time you wash and dry your hands with quality lotion that includes Shea butter, olive or other natural oils, and oatmeal creams

• Use natural oils to help make your finger ridges more visible

• Reduce the use of hand sanitizer as most hand sanitizers contain alcohol and other drying chemicals

• Choose your non-dominant finger for Live Scan

If the type of work you do exposes you to low-quality fingerprints, consider scheduling your Live Scan appointment during or after the weekend, before going back to work. Make sure to use hand moisturizer or lotion before your appointment, but NOT the day of, as it can make it hard for the Live Scan machine to read your fingerprints.

Consider getting your fingerprints taken at a certified and reputable agency like J&H Live Scan Service Providers. Our well trained staff can detect low-quality fingerprints and help you re-scan your fingerprints before forwarding them to the required agency. We are also mobile, and will bring our Live Scan services directly to you.

Book an appointment for a Live Scan today!