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October 29, 2026

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CDSS · Caregivers & care facilities

CDSS caregiver Live Scan forms in 2026: the new signature line and what else changed

  • Government notice
    CDSS PIN 26-08-CCLD
  • Notice issued
    April 29, 2026
  • Deadline
    None; updated forms are “strongly encouraged”
  • Last checked
    October 29, 2026
  • Written by
    Pasadena Live Scan Service

In 30 seconds

  • The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) updated three Live Scan forms: LIC 9163, LIC 9163B and the TrustLine form, TLR 9163G. Each now has a signature and date line for the applicant.
  • By signing, you confirm you received and read the privacy notices printed on the form. CDSS strongly encourages agencies to use the updated forms, so ask for the current version before your appointment.
  • CDSS also recommends starting your application in Guardian before you’re fingerprinted, and reminds employers that a DOJ letter alone doesn’t let you start work.

Which form is yours?

  • LIC 9163: Request for Live Scan Service, Community Care Licensing. CDSS says to use it for every program except the Ombudsman program and TrustLine.
  • LIC 9163B: the same request for Long Term Care Ombudsman applicants.
  • TLR 9163G: TrustLine Registry application, for nannies, babysitters and other TrustLine applicants.

Not part of this change

These use their own process or form, so check with the agency that asked for your fingerprints:

  • In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider enrollment, which runs through your county
  • Jobs and licenses that use the DOJ’s general BCIA 8016 Live Scan form
  • Teachers, nurses and other state-licensed professions

What the new signature line means

According to CDSS, the FBI requires agencies to show that applicants were told about their privacy rights and their right to challenge their record before they’re fingerprinted. The updated forms add a mandatory signature and date line as a written record of that.

When you sign, you confirm that you received and read three notices printed on the form: the Privacy Notice, the Federal Privacy Act Statement and the Noncriminal Justice Applicant’s Privacy Rights. The same applies whether you’re fingerprinted by Live Scan or on a paper fingerprint card.

Before your appointment

  1. Get the form from your facility, agency or the TrustLine program. They fill in their own section, including the information that sends your results to them.
  2. Check the version. The revision date is printed next to the form number, for example LIC 9163 (11/25). CDSS’s forms list currently shows LIC 9163 (11/25), LIC 9163B (1/26) and TLR 9163G (7/26). If yours is older, ask your agency for the updated form.
  3. Ask whether your application starts in Guardian. Your employer may give you a Live Scan form that Guardian fills in for you (see below).
  4. Read the privacy notices, then sign and date the applicant acknowledgment on the form.
  5. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID to your appointment.

Start in Guardian before you’re fingerprinted

Guardian is CDSS’s online background check system. In PIN 26-09-CCLD (May 4, 2026), CDSS strongly recommends that applicants start their application in Guardian before going to a Live Scan site. If you go straight to fingerprinting, information such as your email address and the facility you’re joining isn’t captured, and CDSS has to follow up with you, which slows things down.

When the applicant starts the application, the steps CDSS describes are:

  1. Get an Applicant Instruction Form with a unique PIN code from the facility or provider.
  2. Create a profile in the Guardian Applicant portal and enter your information. You’ll need a valid email address.
  3. The facility or provider reviews and finalizes your application.
  4. Guardian creates a Live Scan form already filled in with your details.
  5. Take that form to a Live Scan site and get fingerprinted.

CDSS said in May 2026 that applicants with no criminal history and no other flags were clearing in about 14 days. Anything that needs further review takes longer.

Your DOJ letter isn’t your clearance

After you’re fingerprinted, you may get a letter in the mail from the California Department of Justice. In PIN 25-12-CCLD (August 15, 2025), CDSS explains that the DOJ letter is only one part of the background check. It does not authorize you to work, live or be present in a licensed facility, home care organization or resource family home.

You, and the facility, need to wait for the official CDSS clearance or exemption letter. The same rule applies to people on the Home Care Aide and TrustLine registries. Your clearance letter is also available in Guardian.

For facility operators: transfers and new facility numbers

  • New facility number: if your facility gets a new nine-digit facility number, for example after a change of location or ownership, contact your CCLD Regional Office to move everyone on your roster in one mass roster transfer (PIN 26-02-CCLD, January 16, 2026).
  • Single transfers: send a Criminal Background Clearance Transfer Request (LIC 9182) to your Regional Office, a Criminal Record Exemption Transfer Request (LIC 9188) to the Care Provider Management Branch, or complete the transfer in Guardian.
  • Updated transfer forms: LIC 9182 (12/25) and LIC 9188 (1/26) now say to use a separate form for each facility number and add a Volunteer type. CDSS says there are no policy changes (PIN 26-05-CCLD, April 15, 2026).
  • Resource Family Approval: if the DOJ assigns a Foster Family Agency a new ORI number, all RFA applicants must be fingerprinted again. RFA clearances also can’t be transferred when someone joins an additional Foster Family Agency, including a suboffice.

What our office does, and doesn’t do

We take fingerprints for applicants with LIC 9163, LIC 9163B and TrustLine forms, including forms printed from Guardian. Our rolling fee is $21. Any DOJ and FBI fees depend on your program, and your form or agency will tell you what’s owed. We don’t fill in your agency’s section, start Guardian applications, ask for your Guardian PIN code, or see or decide anyone’s clearance.

Have your current form?

Book a Live Scan appointment at our Pasadena office, or call us with questions about your form.

Schedule an appointment
Call (626) 792-2185

Official sources

Information checked on October 29, 2026. Rules can change; follow your facility’s or agency’s current instructions. Pasadena Live Scan Service is an independent fingerprinting provider, not the California Department of Social Services or the Department of Justice. This article is general information, not legal advice.