Attorney General Julius C. Michaelson Customer Service Center
4 Howard Avenue (corner of Pontiac Ave. and Howard Ave.)
Cranston, RI 02920
401-274-4400
Tell us about your experience:
We value your feedback. We welcome you to complete a short Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Valoramos sus comentarios. Le invitamos a tomar una breve encuesta de satisfacción al cliente.
Notice:
Starting, Monday, July 23, 2018, all in-person state and/or national background checks will ONLY be available at our new Customer Service Center, located at 4 Howard Avenue, Cranston (in the Pastore Complex).
All BCI records are confidential law enforcement documents. However, these records may be released according to state and federal statute for specified purposes.
Applicable transactions include in-person requests for state and national background checks, as well as security guard licenses and precious metal and pawn dealer applications.
Credit cards accepted include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.
The cost for a state background check, or BCI as it is referred to, is $5.*
The cost for a national background check is $35.*
* Forms of payment include check, money order, or credit cards (cash not accepted). Please make check out to “BCI.”
* Credit cards are not accepted for mail.
* Please note: a processing fee of two percent plus 50 cents will be charged per credit card transaction.
Background Checks
Pistol Permits
Rhode Island General Law §11-47-18 empowers the Attorney General to issue a license or permit to state residents 21 years of age or older to carry a pistol or revolver, whether concealed or not, upon a proper showing of need. In assessing the need of an applicant to carry a pistol or revolver, the Office also considers the issuance of a restricted permit for specified purposes.
Pistol Permit Application, Policy, and Relevant State StatutesPrecious Metals
How to obtain a Precious Metals, Tools and Electronics and Regulated Metals License
Precious Metals and/or Tools and Electronics License
To obtain a national background check:
Regulated Metals License
Security Guard Licenses
Under Rhode Island General Law §5-5.1-13, the Office of Attorney General is responsible for the licensing of the private security guard businesses. The obligation is set forth in the Rules and Regulations established pursuant to the Private Security Guard Act of 1987. Federal guidelines now require that all security guards be fingerprinted for a national background check. BCI is charged with ensuring that all security guard companies, their employees and management personnel comply with the Act. Presently, BCI has 90 active security guard licenses on file.
FAQs