What is the name of your state? PA A neighbor was arrested for retail theft of $23.00 from a grocery store. He was arrested, fingerprints taken. That was Feb 28. Magistrate's office (district justice) still has no record of the arrest but it was in the newspapers. Guy can't pay fine until fingerprints come back from the state or wherever the cops had to send them. Magistrate can't set fine until cops get fingerprints back. How long is an average time to check for past offences. The guy says it's the 1st time he was arrested. Cop checked for warrants at time of arrest but there was none and guy was let go with a notice saying he has 10 days to pay fine but can't pay until fingerprints are back and fine is set. It's obviously past 10 days, more like 1 1/2 months and still no word from the cops/court. Any idea how long it should take to get fingerprints back? Thanks for the answer.