How to Get an Apostille for an FBI Background Check

To get an apostille for an FBI background check, mail the original FBI Identity History Summary to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications in Sterling, Virginia, along with a completed Form DS-4194 and a $20 fee per document. The office issues the apostille itself; no other federal agency is involved. From the moment you request the FBI report to the day the apostilled document lands back in your hands, plan on at least six to eight weeks by mail. The apostille satisfies the more than 125 countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention, so no further embassy legalization is needed for those destinations.¹

Step 1: Get the FBI Identity History Summary

You can’t apostille a document you don’t have yet. The Identity History Summary is the only nationally comprehensive criminal background check the U.S. government issues, which is why foreign governments and employers ask for it instead of a state or local police record.

The FBI charges $18 per request. Personal checks, business checks, and cash are not accepted. The fastest way to get the report is to submit the request electronically through the FBI’s online portal and then visit a participating U.S. Post Office to have your fingerprints captured digitally. Electronic fingerprints typically produce results within about 48 hours.²

If you can’t submit electronically, you can mail a completed fingerprint card (FD-1164) directly to the FBI. Local law enforcement agencies and some private fingerprinting companies will roll your prints for a small fee. Mailed requests take considerably longer than the electronic route. Either way, the FBI returns a sealed hard copy or an electronic PDF, and both are acceptable for the apostille process.²

Step 2: Assemble the Apostille Packet

Once the FBI Summary is in hand, you’ll build a single packet for the Office of Authentications. Any missing or incorrect piece gets the whole thing returned, so check everything twice before you seal the envelope.

Form DS-4194

The required form is DS-4194, “Request for Authentications Service.” This is the only form the office accepts. It asks for your contact information, the destination country, the type of document, the number of documents, and your preferred return shipping method.³

The $20 Fee

The authentication fee is $20 per document, regardless of page count. The fee applies whether the office ends up issuing an apostille or a correspondence letter explaining that it couldn’t process your request. There are no refunds.⁴

For mailed requests, pay by check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State. The check must have your name and address preprinted on it, and the check number must be over 100, so starter checks from a new account won’t be accepted. Never put credit card information or cash in a mailed packet. Cards are only accepted for in-person requests.⁴

Return Shipping

Include a way for the office to send the finished documents back. On Form DS-4194 you can select a self-addressed stamped envelope, a prepaid UPS or DHL airbill, or another carrier. A prepaid commercial airbill with a tracking number gives you the best visibility into the return trip. A self-addressed stamped envelope works but leaves you guessing.³

Do Not Notarize the FBI Report

This one catches people. Do not have the FBI background check itself notarized. The State Department warns that notarizing the original federal document invalidates it for authentication. The apostille verifies the federal official’s signature and seal, and a notary layer added on top breaks that chain.⁵

Step 3: Send It to the Office of Authentications

All federal apostille requests go to the same address:

U.S. Department of State
Office of Authentications
44132 Mercure Cir.
PO Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206⁶

By Mail

Use a trackable shipping method so you can confirm delivery. USPS Priority Mail, FedEx, and UPS all work. Once your packet arrives, the office processes mailed requests within about five weeks.⁶

Walk-In

You can drop off your request in person at the Sterling, Virginia, office. Walk-in submissions are limited to one request per day, with a maximum of 15 documents per customer or company. Processing takes about seven business days, and you return to pick up the completed documents. In-person payments must be by credit card, debit card, or contactless payment such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. No checks, money orders, or cash at the counter.⁴

Emergency Appointments

Same-day processing is available by appointment, but the criteria are narrow. You must need to travel to a foreign country within two weeks because an immediate family member abroad has died, is dying, or has a life-threatening illness or injury. If you qualify, the office processes your request the same day as your appointment.⁶

How Long the Whole Process Takes

Starting from scratch with no FBI report in hand, here is a realistic timeline:

FBI check with electronic fingerprints: about 48 hours after the FBI receives the submission, plus a few days to get a Post Office appointment.
FBI check by mailed fingerprint card: several weeks, depending on volume at the FBI.
State Department apostille by mail: five or more weeks from the date the office receives your packet.
State Department apostille as walk-in: about seven business days.

Work backward from your foreign deadline and add a buffer. The most common reason people scramble for expedited services is that they didn’t account for the FBI check timeline sitting on top of the apostille timeline.

Watch the Destination Country’s Recency Window

The FBI doesn’t put an expiration date on the Identity History Summary, but the country or organization requesting it almost always does. Many foreign immigration agencies require the FBI check to be dated within the last three to six months, with 90 days a common cutoff. That window usually runs from the date the FBI issued the report, not the date you received the apostille.

Timing matters because of this. Request the FBI check too early and the five-plus weeks of apostille processing can push you past the recency window before the document even reaches the foreign authority. Confirm your destination’s rule before you start, and sequence the FBI request and the apostille request so the finished document arrives well within the accepted range.

If Your Destination Isn’t a Hague Convention Country

If the country where you’ll use the document has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention, you don’t need an apostille. You need an authentication certificate. The same Office of Authentications handles both, using the same form, fee, and process. The difference is what the office issues at the end: an apostille for Hague members and an authentication certificate for non-members.⁶

With an authentication certificate, you’ll usually take an extra step that apostille holders skip: legalizing the document at the embassy or consulate of the destination country in the United States. That adds time and may involve separate fees set by the foreign mission. Check with the relevant embassy before submitting your request so you know what legalization it will require.

If You Also Need a Translation

Many countries require the apostilled FBI check to be translated into the local language before they’ll accept it. The State Department advises using a professional translation and having the translation notarized. Notarize only the translation, never the original FBI document.⁵

Some destination countries also require an apostille on the translation itself. Because a notarized translation is a state-level document, the apostille for the translation comes from the secretary of state in the state where the notarization took place, not from the federal Office of Authentications. This is a separate step from the federal apostille on the FBI report. Certified translation of criminal record documents typically runs $25 to $50 per page. Sequence matters: translate first, notarize the translation, then get the state apostille if it’s required.

Are Expediting Services Worth It?

Private companies will handle the apostille process for you, typically charging $75 to $120 on top of the government fees. They can be useful if you want to use the walk-in option but don’t live near Sterling, Virginia; they’ll physically drop off and pick up the documents for you.

They can’t shorten the government’s processing time. Whether you submit the packet yourself or a courier does it, the office still takes the same number of weeks. The real value of an expediting service is convenience and access to the walk-in path by proxy, which brings the timeline down from five-plus weeks to roughly seven business days. If you’re comfortable mailing the packet yourself and can wait, paying an intermediary doesn’t change the outcome.

1
USAGov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S.
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
3
U.S. Department of State. DS-4194 – Request for Authentications Service
4
U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services
5
U.S. Department of State. Preparing a Document for an Apostille Certificate
6
U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications