If you’re like me, and are applying for long term visas or residencies abroad, you will need an FBI criminal background check. Furthermore, that background check will need to be apostilled to be accepted by foreign countries immigration departments.
Attaining the FBI Background check, via any of the 4 processes here, is quick, easy, and only costs $18.
Unfortunately, a quick Google search on having the FBI Background Check Apostille done may fool you into thinking you need to hire an apostille agency for $100+ to do the process for you. This is completely unnecessary
If you have already attained a digital or paper copy of your FBI background check, you can quickly and easily print 2 forms, mail 2 envelopes, and pay $20 to have the US State Department complete the apostille on your FBI Criminal Background check, just like I did.
Within one week of sending the required documents and a mere $20, the US State Department sent me a signed, sealed copy of the documents I need for my temporary residency application.
In this quick guide, I’ll share everything you need to do your FBI Background Check Apostille on your own, cheaply, and easily.
Essential Documents Up Front
Apostilling is a process similar to notarizing, wherein a government official confirms the authenticity of a document and certifies that is a true original in accordance with the Hague Convention. Any documents that you present to a government of a country that is not the country of origin for the documents will need to be apostiled. All documents submitted for visa applications and residency applications will need to be apostilled.
For documents from the United States, the US State Department and a handful of organizations from each state are the only organization authorized to apostille documents. However, only the Office of Authentications of the State Department in Washington DC apostilles FBI Background Checks.
To have your documents apostilled by the State Department you will need to fill out the respective apostille request form (Form DS-4194) and mail this with the document to be apostilled (such as a printed copy of the FBI Background check) with an additional envelope with prepaid return postage and already addressed.
Simply send these three items to the state department Office of Authentications in Washington DC and within 11 weeks you will recieve your apostilled documents back
3. Include payment of $20 per document via money order, personal check, cashiers check, or certified check payable to the “US Department of State”. Do not send cash.
4. Print a high quality color copy of your FBI background check or the original background you received from the FBI
5. Attain two envelopes for shipping, with one being large enough to hold the other envelope (which will be the return envelope)
6. Address the first envelope to the State department Office of Authentications and pay for shipping. This envelope will be used to mail everything to the US State Department Office of Authentications
Address this envelope to:
7. Address the second envelope to the address you want to receive the apostilled documents. Pay for postage from the State Department Office of Authentications to your chosen address detailed on the request form
8. Package all of these items in the first envelope, addressed to the US State Department, and mail
Though the third party apostille service sites told of horror stories in the apostille process, long waits of 6 months or more, and documents lost in the mail, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I requested my FBI Background Check on my own, and submitted the background check to the State Department’s Office of Authentications with no issues.
After submitting the FBI Background check for apostille on my own, for only $20, I received my apsotilled background check in just under 10 days.
Bottom line: Commercial apostilling services are expensive and unnecessary. DIY apostille will do. Print the forms and do the apostille process yourself, and let your government do some efficient work for you.
Note that most documents do need to be notarized first before the State Department will apostile the documents. However, FBI Background Checks do not need to be notarized and should simply be printed and sent to the US State Department according to the process above.
The reason most documents must be notarized is to have a notary public make the document legal and official by notarized it. FBI Criminal Background Checks are signed by the signed by the section chief of the FBI Biometrics services section, making them legal and official documents as is, thus, notarizing the document to make it legal and official is unnecessary.
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Carlos is a nomad, slow traveler, and writer dedicated to helping others live abroad and travel better by using his 7+ years of experience living abroad and background as a management consultant and financial advisor to help other nomad and expats plot better paths for an international lifestyle. Click here to learn more about Carlos's story.
Posted on Last updated: March 17, 2024
