FBI Background Check Apostille

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By the notaries at Mar Vista Cheap Mobile Notary, commissioned by the California Secretary of State · Updated October 26, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Department of State: Authenticate Your Document

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Who needs one

• Work and residency visas (common for Spain, Mexico, China, South Korea, Italy, Portugal and many others)
• Teaching English abroad
• Adoptions and marriages abroad
• Foreign citizenship and long-stay visas
• Professional licensing outside the U.S.

Requirements vary by country and by consulate, including how recent the check must be (often within 3 to 6 months). Confirm with the consulate or employer before you start.

The process

1. Request your Identity History Summary from the FBI. This requires fingerprints, either electronically through an FBI-approved channeler or on a fingerprint card. (We don’t take fingerprints.)
2. Keep the results exactly as issued. Don’t sign, staple, unstaple or alter them. Follow the State Department’s current instructions for electronically issued results.
3. Submit for a federal apostille with form DS-4194 and the fee to the Office of Authentications. For non-Hague countries, request an authentication certificate.
4. Legalize at the embassy if the destination isn’t a Hague member.
5. Translate if the destination requires it. See certified translation.

The notarized shortcut, and why it can fail

Some services have the applicant sign a statement about the FBI check before a notary and then get a California apostille on the notarization, because it’s faster. That apostille only authenticates the notary’s signature, not the FBI’s, and many consulates (and the countries that matter most for visas) won’t accept it. Unless the receiving authority has told you in writing that a state apostille on a notarized copy is acceptable, use the federal route.

How we help

We check your FBI results, prepare the federal submission, track it, and coordinate any embassy legalization and translation so you get one finished package. Call (424) 484-9268.

Common questions

Who apostilles an FBI background check?

The U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. State Secretaries of State can’t apostille federal documents.

Can I get my FBI background check notarized?

You can sign a statement about it before a notary, but that produces a state apostille on the notary’s signature, which many countries reject. The federal apostille is the reliable route.

How recent does my FBI background check need to be?

It depends on the destination; many require it to be issued within 3 to 6 months of your application. Check with the consulate.

Do you do fingerprints for the FBI check?

No. You’ll need to get fingerprinted through an FBI-approved channeler or another fingerprinting service; we take it from there.