Apostille for an FBI Background Check

An apostille authenticates the signature of the official who signed the document. An FBI identity history summary is signed by a federal official, so only the US Department of State's Office of Authentications in Washington can issue the apostille. The Florida Department of State has no authority over federal signatures and will return the request.

The same rule applies to other federal documents people bring us: IRS certifications, Social Security records, naturalization documents, USDA and FDA certificates. If a federal agency signed it, the apostille comes from Washington.

The summary must come from the FBI, either directly or through an FBI-approved channeler, and it must be the version bearing the official signature Washington can verify. Requirements around electronic versus paper copies have changed over the years and continue to change, so confirm the current format with the Office of Authentications before submitting rather than relying on advice written three years ago.

A state-level background check from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a different document with a different route. FDLE is a Florida agency, so an FDLE criminal history record can be apostilled by the Florida Department of State. Some countries accept it and some specifically demand the FBI version — read the request carefully, because the two are not interchangeable.

Almost always immigration or employment. Residency applications, work permits, teaching contracts, adoption files, dual citizenship applications and professional licensing abroad routinely require a criminal history check authenticated for use in the destination country.

Most of these come with a validity window — commonly three or six months from issue — which means the sequence matters. Requesting the check too early means it expires while the apostille is in process. Requesting it too late means missing a filing deadline.

We do not apostille the federal document and we will not pretend otherwise. What we do is handle everything around it: notarizing the power of attorney or authorization letter if a third party is submitting on your behalf, notarizing translation affidavits when the destination requires the check in another language, and notarizing the supporting declarations that often accompany an immigration or adoption file.

We also make sure the rest of your package goes to the right place. Adoption and residency files typically mix federal documents bound for Washington with state documents bound for Tallahassee, and splitting them correctly at the start is what keeps a filing on schedule.

The check itself starts with fingerprints, submitted to the FBI directly or through an approved channeler. A notary is not a fingerprint technician and Florida notaries have no special role in that step. If someone offers a bundled service that includes the notary somehow authenticating your prints, be skeptical.

Once the summary is issued, the authentication path is fixed and public. Our job is to keep the notarial pieces clean and to tell you honestly which envelope goes to which capital.