How to Apostille an FBI Background Check

Educational information, not legal advice. Federal fees, addresses and processing times reflect the U.S. Department of State and can change. Confirm current details on the official travel.state.gov authentications page before you mail anything.

Estimate your cost and time ↓

FBI apostille cost and time calculator

Enter how many FBI reports you have and your service level; the tool estimates the federal fee and the realistic timeline for that route.

Who apostilles an FBI background check?

An FBI background check is apostilled by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C., because the FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document and only the federal government can authenticate the signature of the FBI official who issued it. This is the single most common mistake people make: they take the report to their state Secretary of State, which can only apostille state documents such as birth certificates or notarized powers of attorney, and the report comes back unprocessed weeks later. The Department of State authenticates the signature of the FBI Section Chief and attaches the apostille, either on the document itself or on a separate attached page called an allonge. Wherever you live in the United States, a federal FBI report follows this one federal path.

How long does an FBI apostille take?

An FBI apostille takes about 6 to 8 weeks by standard mail from the day the Department of State receives your package, and during busy periods in 2026 some requests have run to 10 to 12 weeks, so treat the shorter figure as a floor rather than a guarantee. There is no ordinary paid expedite for mail-in requests. The practical way to go faster is an expedited hand-carry service, where a registered company in Washington, D.C. drops your document off and picks it up in person, which typically brings the Department of State step down to about 7 to 10 business days. A genuine same-day emergency option exists only for documented life-or-death situations approved in advance, and visa or job deadlines do not qualify. Because the wait is long, start early and time your FBI report so it is still recent when your consulate reviews it.

How much does an FBI apostille cost?

The federal apostille fee is $20 per document, paid by check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State, and that is the only charge the government itself collects. Everything around it is separate: the FBI Identity History Summary and fingerprinting have their own costs, a Channeler charges its own fee for a faster report, and an expedited hand-carry service in D.C. adds a service charge that is usually the largest single line item. This is why the flat rates advertised by private services, often well over one hundred dollars per document, are mostly service fees stacked on top of the same $20 federal fee. If you handle the mailing yourself, your out-of-pocket to the government stays at $20 per report plus return postage.

How do you get and submit the FBI report?

Getting an apostilled FBI background check has two phases, and understanding the split keeps your timeline realistic. First you obtain the report itself: you are fingerprinted on an FD-258 card or by an approved live-scan provider, then you request your FBI Identity History Summary either directly from the FBI or, more quickly, through an FBI-approved Channeler that can return a result in days rather than weeks. Second you authenticate it: you complete Form DS-4194, enclose the original report, a $20 check or money order, and a prepaid FedEx Express or UPS return label, and mail everything to the Office of Authentications in Sterling, Virginia. If you used a Channeler, you can often have the report shipped straight to your D.C. service to remove a mailing step. One current note worth knowing: China joined the Hague Convention in late 2023, so a federal apostille now works there and embassy legalization is no longer needed.

Can you take an FBI background check to your state?

No, you cannot apostille an FBI background check at your state Secretary of State, and this holds in every state without exception. A state office authenticates the signatures of its own notaries and officials on its own documents, so it has no authority over a federal FBI report. The same rule applies in reverse: the Department of State does not apostille state birth certificates or notarized documents. If your document was issued by a Washington State agency, note that Washington State is not Washington, D.C., and those are handled by different offices. When you have a mix of federal and state documents for the same trip, each one goes to its own authority, and you plan the slowest one, usually the FBI report, first.

By the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications; FBI Identity History Summary Checks program. Confirm current fees and times before relying on this.