The National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998

On October 9, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact (Compact) Act of 1998, establishing an infrastructure by which states can exchange criminal records for noncriminal justice purposes according to the laws of the requesting state and provide reciprocity among the states to share records without charging each other for the information. The Compact became effective April 28, 1999, after Montana and Georgia became the first two states to ratify it, respectively. To date, 34 states have ratified the Compact.

On October 9, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact (Compact) Act of 1998, establishing an infrastructure by which states can exchange criminal records for noncriminal justice purposes according to the laws of the requesting state and provide reciprocity among the states to share records without charging each other for the information.

The National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998 establishes a Council to promulgate rules and procedures for the effective use of the Interstate Identification Index (III) System for noncriminal justice purposes.

The Goal: To make available the most complete and up-to date records possible for noncriminal justice purposes.

The Mission: To enhance public safety through noncriminal justice background checks based on positive identification, while protecting individual privacy rights.

Compact Council Chairman:
Leslie Moore

Kansas State Bureau of Investigation

FBI Compact Officer:
Chasity S. Anderson

If you require additional information or have questions, please contact us at compactoffice@fbi.gov.

Please note that Title 42, United States Code (U.S.C.) Sections 14611-14616 was transferred by the compilers of the U.S. Code to 34 U.S.C. § 40311-40316. All Compact resource documents will be updated to reflect this change during their scheduled review.


Compact Council Ratification Overview

States that ratify the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act, or Compact, enjoy a seat at the table to help set polices and regulations they will be subject to regarding national noncriminal justice background checks.

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