When a person is interested in applying for a position with the government, they must first pass a government criminal background check to ensure that they will not be a security threat.  It does not matter which part of the government you would like to enter because all of the governmental agencies require a background check to be passed.  Any criminal convictions found on your background check could be means for disqualification for the job that you are applying for.

Having a criminal conviction on your government criminal background check will not always disqualify you during the application process.  Many of the entry level positions and some of the managerial positions only require that the person not have been convicted of certain serious crimes within a certain time frame before applying for the position.  The only positions where any convictions are a reason for disqualification are high-level security positions where the person has to be extremely trustworthy and will have access to highly sensitive information.

In some cases, the government agency that is conducting the government criminal background check will require the applicant to obtain their criminal file from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Criminal files from the FBI can only by requested by the person the files are regarding and will require the individual to obtain a certified set of their fingerprints to send in to the FBI to prove their identity.  Once these files are received, they should be delivered, unopened, to the agency official conducting the interview.