The Department of Public Safety may provide to the North Carolina Substance Abuse Professional Practice Board from the State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories the criminal history of any applicant for registration, certification, or licensure pursuant to Article 5C of Chapter 90 of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. Along with the request, the Board shall provide to the Department of Public Safety the fingerprints of the applicant, a form signed by the applicant consenting to the criminal record check and use of fingerprints and other identifying information required by the State and National Repositories, and any additional information required by the Department of Public Safety. The applicant’s fingerprints shall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of the State’s criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigation shall forward a set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. The Board shall keep all information obtained pursuant to this section confidential. The Department of Public Safety may charge a fee to offset the cost incurred by it to conduct a criminal record check under this section. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of locating, editing, researching, and retrieving the information. ?(2005-431, s. 2; 2014-100, ss. 17.1(m), (o).)