CA CSR Application Question..passport photo?

[Mike Rowell]

I haven't qualified to go or anything, but I'm curious about something that wasn't entirely clear on the website:

Do you have to have some sort of official passport photo to send in, or will any old (reasonable) 2x2inch photo of yourself do? The first time application checklist says "2 passport photos enclosed (2x2 in size)," and I couldn't find anything more specific about it on the CRB's FAQ section.

Also, as far as getting fingerprints done, is this generally a quick process? The reason I ask is that I have one more shot at qualifiers on May 26th, and the deadline for having all the requisite docs mailed in is the 27th.
(I have everything filled out just in case!)

[Quyen]

If you want to make sure everything is absolutely kosher so your application doesn't get rejected, I'd get the passport photos. You can get them at any ol' Walgreens. For the fingerprinting, call your local police station and set up an appointment. Fingerprinting takes no more than 5 minutes.

Good luck on the qualifier! :)

[Heather]

Mike, I got my pics done at a little travel shop by my house. It was only like $5 for two of them. Worth it not to have to worry about it.

The fingerprints don't take that long. There's one of those livescan places like 2 minutes away from school on Stockton. They didn't require an appointment, and it took maybe 30 minutes from when I walked in to when I walked out. They don't take cards, though. Only cash and checks. I think it was like $75-80 total.

[Mike Rowell]

Thanks for the info everybody. I think it'll be a few months before I really need to worry about this. Still, good to know.

[Lee]

The passport photo thing seems to be a new trend for the state of CA. I recently passed the notary test, and we had to do the same thing for that. They just instituted it for notaries within the last year. Probably doing the same thing for CSRs.

[Quyen]

No, the passport photo is not a "new trend for the state of CA." I've been reporting for eight years (unless you consider that "new"), and I had to submit passport photos back then. It is SOP ... there's a specific reason the Department of Consumer Affairs wants a mug shot and fingerprints.