How to Get a US Police Clearance Certificate: FBI and Apostille

A US police clearance certificate almost always means the FBI Identity History Summary, a federal criminal history check the FBI issues for $18 based on your fingerprints. Foreign governments, US immigration authorities, and international adoption agencies ask for this version because it pulls records from across the country rather than a single state or city. To get one, you submit fingerprints, a request form, and payment to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia, either directly or through an FBI-approved channeler. If a foreign government will use the certificate, you will usually also need it apostilled or authenticated by the US Department of State before it will be accepted abroad.

Which Check Foreign Governments Actually Want

The United States does not issue a single national “police clearance certificate.” Criminal history checks come from three levels of government, and only one of them satisfies most foreign requests.

The FBI Identity History Summary is the national check, sometimes called a rap sheet. It draws from fingerprint submissions across the country, including arrests, federal employment records, and military service. This is what foreign governments, US immigration authorities, and international adoption agencies almost always require.¹
A state criminal history check, issued by a state police agency or bureau of investigation, only covers offenses reported within that state. These come up for professional licensing or state employment.
A local police clearance, issued by a city police department or county sheriff, only covers that jurisdiction. A clean local check does not mean you have no record elsewhere.

If the entity requesting your check has not specified the level, ask before you pay. State and local checks are cheaper but rarely what a consulate or immigration office wants. The rest of this article covers the FBI Identity History Summary.

What You Need to Send the FBI

The FBI identifies you by fingerprints, not by name, so every request requires a fingerprint submission. For mailed requests, that means a completed FD-258 fingerprint card, the standard format the FBI accepts.² You can be fingerprinted at a local law enforcement agency, many UPS stores, or a private fingerprinting company. The technician should use the FD-258 card or the card provided by the printing agency.

You also need a completed Identity History Summary Request Form, which asks for your full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship, the last four digits of your Social Security number, race, sex, and mailing address. Every required field must be filled in, and you must sign the form.

The processing fee is $18. Payment is by credit card, money order, or certified check made payable to the Treasury of the United States. Personal checks, business checks, and cash are not accepted, and a personal check sent by mistake will be destroyed rather than returned.³ Each additional sealed copy sent to a separate address requires its own request and its own $18.

Three Ways to Submit

By Mail Directly to the FBI

Send your completed request form, fingerprint card, and payment to:

FBI CJIS Division – Record Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306

Mail is the standard route for people abroad, but processing takes considerably longer than electronic submission. Allow several weeks at minimum, and build in buffer time if you have a deadline.

Electronically

The FBI accepts electronic submissions through its secure portal at edo.cjis.gov. You start by entering your email address and then follow the instructions sent to your inbox. Fingerprints for this option must be taken at a participating US Post Office, not submitted on a physical card you send yourself. Electronic requests are typically processed within three to five business days.³

Through an FBI-Approved Channeler

FBI-approved channelers are private companies authorized to collect your fingerprints and submit them to the FBI on your behalf. Most return results within two days to three weeks. Fees generally run $40 to $100, compared with the $18 you pay going directly. The FBI publishes its official list of approved channelers, which currently includes Accurate Biometrics, Fieldprint, Idemia, and National Background Check, Inc., among others.⁴ Plenty of third-party services advertise FBI background checks without being actual approved channelers, so confirm the company appears on that list before paying.

The FBI does not accept self-addressed stamped envelopes because of its automated mailing processes. Results from electronic submissions may be available through a secure online portal; mailed requests come back by US First-Class Mail.³

Requesting From Outside the United States

If you live abroad, the practical hurdle is fingerprinting. US embassies and consulates do not provide fingerprinting services for FBI Identity History Summary requests. You need a local police agency or private fingerprinting service in your country of residence to take your prints on an FD-258 card, and you mail that card with your request form and payment to the Clarksburg address.

Before visiting a local police station abroad, print a blank FD-258 from the FBI’s website and bring it with you. Many foreign police agencies are not familiar with the specific card format, and showing up with the blank form avoids confusion. The electronic option through edo.cjis.gov is generally not available outside the United States because it requires fingerprinting at a participating US Post Office.

The FBI returns all results, including those going to international addresses, by US First-Class Mail. There is no express shipping option for results, so add international mail delivery time on top of the FBI’s processing window.³

Getting an Apostille or Authentication for Foreign Use

Many foreign governments will not accept a raw FBI Identity History Summary. They require the document to be authenticated by the US Department of State’s Office of Authentications, and the form that authentication takes depends on the destination country.⁵

An apostille is required for countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention, which covers most of Europe, Latin America, and many countries in Asia and Africa.
An authentication certificate is required for countries that are not Hague Convention members. After State Department authentication, the document typically also needs certification from the embassy or consulate of the destination country.

To request either, complete Form DS-4194 (Request for Authentication Service) and submit it with your FBI Identity History Summary and a $20 fee per document.⁶ You can submit by mail or in person in Washington, D.C. Mail-in requests are processed within five weeks of receipt; walk-in requests take about seven business days. The mailing address is:

Department of State
Office of Authentications
44132 Mercure Circle
P.O. Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206

Payment rules differ by route and trip people up constantly. Mail-in payment must be by check or money order payable to the US Department of State; no cash or credit cards. In person, payment is by credit card, debit card, or contactless payment only; no cash, check, or money order.⁶

Between FBI processing, mail delivery, and State Department processing, the total time from fingerprinting to an apostilled certificate can easily stretch to two or three months if you go entirely by mail.

How Long the Certificate Stays Valid

The FBI Identity History Summary carries no official expiration date. Most foreign governments and immigration agencies, however, treat it as valid for only six months from the date of issuance, and some countries require a certificate issued within the last three months. Check the specific requirements of the country or agency asking for it before you request yours. Requesting too early is a common and expensive mistake, especially once you factor in apostille time.

If the Results Are Wrong or Incomplete

Your Identity History Summary will either state that no record exists or list your criminal history. Where a record appears, the summary shows the arresting agency, date of arrest, charges, and the outcome of each case where that information is available. The most common problem is a missing disposition: an old arrest shows up without any indication that the charges were dismissed, because the court or agency never reported the outcome to the FBI. This can look worse than it is to an immigration officer or foreign consulate reading the document at face value.

State-level expungements and record sealings do not automatically update the FBI’s database. If a state court sealed or expunged your record, it may still appear on your FBI summary until the state agency that submitted the original notifies the FBI. For federal arrests, the record is removed only when the submitting agency requests it or the FBI receives a federal court order directing expungement. If an expungement is not reflected on your results, contact the state identification bureau in the state where the offense occurred to have the FBI record updated.³

To challenge inaccurate or incomplete information, start with the agency that originally submitted the record, usually a local police department or state bureau. That agency corrects the information at its source, which then flows through to the FBI. You can also write directly to the FBI CJIS Division with supporting documentation such as court records showing a dismissal.

1
U.S. Department of State. Criminal Records Checks
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Applicant Fingerprint Form FD-258
3
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
4
Federal Bureau of Investigation. List of FBI-Approved Channelers for Departmental Order Submissions
5
Travel.State.Gov. Office of Authentications
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Travel.State.Gov. Requesting Authentication Services