What is an FBI background check apostille?

An FBI background check apostille is a certificate the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications attaches to your FBI Identity History Summary so the report is accepted in Hague Convention countries. Because the report carries a federal signature, only that one office can issue it — no state can. We complete the process in 10 business days, guaranteed.

The apostille verifies the signature and seal on the document. It says nothing about the content of your record, and it does not make a clean report “cleaner” or an adverse one disappear. The Department of State lists FBI background checks issued by the U.S. Department of Justice among the federal documents it apostilles on its apostille certificate requirements page.

Who needs one?

People who have moved overseas or are about to. The most common cases we process:

• Residence, work, or retirement visa applications — Colombia, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, the Gulf states and much of Latin America routinely ask for a police clearance with an apostille attached.
• Teaching and healthcare licensure abroad, where the regulator will not open a file without it.
• Marital and family-reunification files, including spousal residency and adoption dossiers.
• Citizenship by descent or naturalisation applications.
• Company formation, director registration, and professional registration in a foreign jurisdiction.

The foreign authority sets the requirement, and it has the final say on what it will accept. Ask them in writing whether they want an apostille, a translation, or both before you order anything.

Why is there no FBI apostille office near me?

Because there is exactly one. An apostille follows the official who signed the document, and an FBI Identity History Summary is signed by a federal official — so the request goes to the Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. A county clerk, a notary, a UPS Store, or your state Secretary of State cannot perform this step, no matter how close they are to you. Every FBI report in the country funnels into the same building.

The reverse trap catches people too: state-issued records such as birth certificates and marriage licences are certified by the issuing state, not by the federal office. Sending one to Washington gets it returned unprocessed.

What do you need before you order? A quick checklist

Do not notarise, sign, stamp, hole-punch, or write on your FBI report. It already carries the federal signature the Department of State verifies. Anything you add to the page can make the document unrecognisable to the reviewing officer and force you to order a new report from scratch.

Apostille or authentication — which route applies?

How does our 10-business-day service work?

1. Start your order online. A few clicks on the site: tell us the destination country and how you obtained the report. One flat rate, $120 per apostille, all-inclusive — no separate government-fee surcharge and no per-page add-ons.
2. Send us the document. Ship the original or certified copy to us. Do not fold it into a windowed envelope or clip anything to the signature page.
3. We review it for accuracy. We check the signature, the seal, the issuing route, the report date, and whether your destination calls for an apostille or an authentication certificate. If something will fail, you hear about it before it is submitted, not weeks later.
4. We hand-deliver it in Washington. Your file is walked to the Office of Authentications in person rather than mailed into a queue and hoped for.
5. We pick up, scan, and ship the same day. You get a full colour scan of the apostilled document the day it is collected, so you can send it to your attorney or consulate immediately while the physical copy is in transit.
6. Tracked return. The original is returned to you or shipped directly to a third party you nominate.

The 10-business-day figure is our service commitment, backed by our money-back guarantee. It covers the work we control end to end.

How does this compare to doing it by mail yourself?

Common reasons an FBI apostille request is rejected

• Sent to a state office. A Secretary of State cannot certify a federally signed document. It comes back unprocessed and you have lost the mailing time.
• Not an original or certified copy. The federal office requires an original or certified copy; a scanned-and-reprinted page is a frequent failure point.
• Wrong certificate requested. Asking for an apostille when the destination is outside the Hague Convention, or the reverse. The certificate type cannot be swapped after issuance.
• No destination country given. Without it, the reviewing officer cannot determine which certificate applies.
• Altered document. Notary stamps added by a well-meaning local notary, staples through the seal, handwriting, or highlighting.
• Stale report. The apostille may issue fine, then the consulate refuses the file because the underlying report is months old. This is the most expensive mistake because you have to repeat both steps.
• Name mismatch. The name on the report does not match the passport or visa application — common after marriage or where a middle name is dropped.
• Missing translation. Some countries want a certified translation of the report, the apostille, or both. Ask the receiving authority first.

Don’t have your FBI background check yet?

You have two routes. You can apply directly to the FBI, submitting fingerprints under the process described on the FBI’s Identity History Summary Checks page. Or you can use an FBI-approved Channeler, which is generally faster than going direct and is why most people abroad choose it — you can be fingerprinted in person at a participating location or submit a card by mail, and results are returned through the Channeler.

Different Channelers deliver results in slightly different formats, which affects what you send us. Start with the complete directory of FBI-approved Channelers, then read the guidance for yours: apostille an FBI report from First Advantage Biometrics (PrintScan), apostille a Telos ID / IDVetting report, apostille a National Credit Reporting / National Background Information report, or apostille a VetConnex report.

What is your next step?

Email or call the authority that asked for the document and get two things in writing: whether they want an apostille or a legalised authentication, and how recent the FBI report must be. With those two answers, open an order, tell us the destination country, and ship the report. We review it before it goes anywhere near the federal counter — and if it will not pass, you will know while you can still do something about it.