FBI Background Check Apostille

Issuing agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation (CJIS Division)

We can obtain it?

Yes — we retrieve this for you

Certification first?

No prior certification needed

Also known as

FBI clearance, criminal record check, Identity History Summary

An FBI background check — officially the FBI Identity History Summary — is the single most-requested document for use abroad. Foreign governments, employers, immigration authorities and adoption agencies ask for it constantly, because it is the one criminal-history record recognized nationwide rather than state by state. When a foreign authority wants proof of your U.S. criminal history, this is almost always the document they mean.

Using it overseas takes one more step than obtaining it: the report has to be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State, and for some countries, legalized at an embassy on top. This page explains how that works for the FBI check specifically, what makes it different from other federal documents, and how to get it done.

What an FBI background check is

The FBI Identity History Summary is a record of any information the FBI holds tied to your fingerprints — arrests, federal charges, and their dispositions — compiled by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. A "no record" result is just as valid and just as common; most people apostille one to prove they have a clean nationwide record. Because it is fingerprint-based and nationwide, foreign authorities trust it in a way they don't trust a single state or county check.

Why it needs an apostille abroad

An FBI Identity History Summary issued in Washington means nothing to a foreign government on its own — they have no way to verify that the document is genuine and not forged. The apostille solves exactly that. It is an internationally recognized certificate, issued by the U.S. Department of State, confirming that the FBI document is authentic and that the official who signed it had the authority to do so.

Once apostilled, the report is accepted in any of the 120-plus Hague Convention member countries without further steps. For countries outside the Convention, the report needs the Department of State authentication followed by legalization at that country’s embassy or consulate — a longer path, but the same underlying document.

A state or local check cannot be apostilled federally

This is the single most expensive mistake people make with this document, so it is worth being exact. A background check from a state police agency, a county sheriff, or a private screening company is a state-level document. It can only be apostilled by that state's Secretary of State — and many foreign authorities will reject it outright, because it isn't the nationwide FBI record they asked for.

How to get an apostilled FBI check — two paths

There are two ways people arrive at an apostilled FBI check, and which one applies to you changes the timeline.

If you already have your FBI report

If you have obtained your Identity History Summary yourself — through the FBI or an approved channeler — we take it straight to the Department of State for apostille. Send us the report and we handle the authentication and return. This is priced as the $299 federal apostille.

If you still need the report

If you have not obtained it yet, we can get it for you. This is one of the few federal documents we retrieve directly: we guide you through fingerprinting and the FD-258 card, submit through an FBI-approved channel, and then apostille the completed report in the same order — no second wait, no second shipment. This combined route is our FBI check + apostille bundle at $399, all in.

The fingerprinting step

An FBI background check requires fingerprints, submitted either electronically through an approved channeler or on a physical FD-258 card. This is the step people most often get wrong — smudged prints or the wrong card format cause rejections and delays. If we obtain the report for you, we walk you through it so the submission is accepted the first time. Palm Beach County clients can have prints captured in person at our West Palm Beach office.

The step-by-step process

1. Get fingerprinted

   Fingerprints are captured electronically through an FBI-approved channeler or on a physical FD-258 card. If we obtain the report for you, we walk you through this so the submission is accepted the first time.

2. Obtain the FBI Identity History Summary

   Your prints are submitted to the FBI's CJIS Division and the Identity History Summary is issued — directly by the FBI or, faster, through an approved channeler. We can retrieve this for you in the same order.

3. We authenticate it in Washington, D.C.

   We hand-deliver the completed report to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, with the federal authentication request and fee.

4. Apostille or authentication issued

   You receive an apostille (Hague countries) or an authentication certificate (non-Hague), affixed to your FBI report.

5. Embassy legalization, if required

   For non-Hague destinations we forward the authenticated report to the country's embassy or consulate for final legalization.

6. Certified translation, if required

   If your destination needs the report in another language, we arrange a certified translation so it arrives ready to file.

How recent does the report need to be?

Many countries will only accept an FBI check issued within the last three to six months, and some require it to be apostilled within a set window of issuance. Because the report can age out mid-process, timing matters: we confirm your destination's recency rule before you order, so you never authenticate a report that's already too old to use.

Common reasons people apostille an FBI check

• Work visas — most countries require a criminal background check as part of a work permit or employment visa application.
• Residency and immigration — permanent residency and long-stay visa applications routinely require an apostilled FBI check.
• Foreign adoption — adoption authorities almost always require it, often with strict recency requirements.
• Professional licensing abroad — teaching, nursing, and other regulated professions frequently require it to practice in another country.
• Citizenship by descent — some countries request it as part of establishing eligibility.

Common rejection reasons — and how to avoid them

Hague vs. non-Hague countries

Pick your destination below, or see all countries we serve.

Official references: FBI — Identity History Summary Checks · U.S. Department of State — Authenticate Your Document. Government fees are set by these agencies and are separate from our service fee.