The SHARE Act of 2025 establishes federal requirements for the FBI to share criminal history records with states for professional licensing checks conducted under interstate compacts, while strictly limiting how states can use and share that sensitive information.
Peter Welch
Senator
VT
The SHARE Act of 2025 establishes new rules for how states can share and use criminal history records when processing professional licenses across state lines through interstate compacts. It mandates that the FBI must provide relevant criminal history information to state licensing authorities for these multi-state checks. Crucially, the receiving state authority is strictly limited to using this data solely for the licensing decision and cannot share the detailed records with any other entity, though they may confirm the check's completion.
SHARE Act Mandates FBI Share Criminal Records for Professional Licensing Across State Lines
The SHARE Act of 2025 (States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment Act) is all about making it easier for professionals—think nurses, engineers, or therapists—to work across state lines when their states are part of a compact. This section specifically lays out the ground rules for background checks, ensuring that states can verify an applicant’s history without compromising their privacy.
The Federal Mandate: Streamlining Background Checks
If your state is part of an interstate compact—an agreement between states to mutually recognize professional licenses—and that compact requires a criminal background check, the FBI is now required to step in. Specifically, the Director of the FBI must provide the necessary criminal history record information directly to the State Licensing Authority (the state board that issues your license). This is a big deal because it standardizes and speeds up the process of getting the federal data needed to grant a license or privilege, effectively cutting out bureaucratic hurdles that used to slow down professionals trying to move or work in multiple states.
Privacy Firewall: Who Sees What
Here’s where the bill gets really interesting and puts up a serious privacy firewall. When your State Licensing Authority gets those detailed FBI records—which include everything from arrests to sentencing—they can only use that information for one purpose: deciding whether to approve your license or privilege. They are strictly forbidden from sharing the detailed criminal history record information with anyone else. This includes the interstate compact Commission itself, other state agencies, or the public. For someone applying for a license, this means that sensitive information about past mistakes, charges, or convictions won't be widely circulated among multiple government bodies.
The Binary Determination Rule
So, how does the compact Commission know the check is done? The State Licensing Authority is allowed to send a simple “yes” or “no” answer—a binary determination—stating whether the background check was satisfactory according to the compact’s rules. For example, if a compact says anyone with a felony conviction in the last five years is disqualified, the state board reviews the FBI data, makes its decision, and then just tells the Commission, “Check complete, satisfactory,” or “Check complete, unsatisfactory.” They don't have to send the actual record, which keeps the sensitive details locked down with the initial decision-maker. This tight restriction on sharing detailed records is designed to protect applicants while still allowing the necessary checks to happen efficiently.