TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
Background Checks (Local, State, FBI)
A criminal Background Check is a legal investigation into a person's past that may search national, federal, state, county, and local databases to provide information about an individual's criminal history. Complete, accurate, and immediately accessible records enable employers and governments to:
- Identify individuals with prior criminal records
- Identify individuals resposible for child, elder, and disabled care
- Identify individuals who have a history of domestic violence or stalking
- Make decisions relating to pretrial release and detention of offenders
- Identify the prosecutions of career criminals and appropriate correctional confinement to protect public safety and national security
You may need to present an Apostilled Background Check in a foreign country for a variety of reasons including:
- Adoption
- Education
- Employment
We can Apostille your Background Check issued by any of the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) when you mail us the original certified copy to our office. Background Checks can be obtained from either the City, County, State or Federal levels. The Country of Destination (COD) will often inform you as to which level of Background Check they are requesting. For most countries, it will be an FBI Background Check. But always check with the COD, many countries still request Background Checks from local Police Departments, County Sheriff Departments, and State Departments of Justice.
Most law enforcement agencies will require fingerprints for obtaining Background Checks. Fingerprints are required for FBI Background Checks. Some agencies and States have an exception where they will allow a search to be made with a name, date of birth, and/or social security number. Some law enforcement agencies may not be familiar with this procedure since it is not commonly requested in the United States.
Please Note - The FBI Backround Check can take 8-12 weeks to be completed.
Local Police Department - If the COD is requesting a local Police Department's Background Check, then all you will need is to:
- Contact the local Police Department to have them draft a letter and have it notarized.
- Once the Background Check is ready to be picked up - if the Police Department does not have a Notary Public, contact an experience mobile Notary Public to meet with the Police Officer to have his/her signature notarized on the document.* *
- Once completed mail the completed notarized Background Check to our office for Apostille processing.
County Sheriff Department - If the COD is requesting a County Sheriff Department's Background Check, then all you will need is to:
- Contact the County Sheriff Department to have them draft a letter and have it notarized.
- Once the Background Check is ready to be picked up - if the Sheriff Department does not have a Notary Public, contact an experience mobile Notary Public to meet with the Sheriff Deputy to have his/her signature notarized on the document.**
- Once completed mail the completed notarized Background Check to our office for Apostille processing.
State's Department of Justice / Office of the Attorney General - If the COD is requesting a State Department of Justice Background Check, it can be a little more complex.
- Contact the Office of the Attorney General in the State who will provide step-by-step instructions.
- Once you receive your Background Check you can mail the Background Check to our office for Apostille processing.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - If the COD is requesting a FBI's Background Check, then you will need to:
- Contact a FBI Approved Channeler* who will provide step-by-step instructions including sending you a fingerprint card.
- If you are outside of the United States, the approved FBI Channeler* will provide you necessary instructions.
- If you receive a digital copy of your FBI Background Check, once received you can email it to our office along with all of your Apostille Forms.
- Once you receceive your Background Check you can mail the Background Check to our office for Apostille processing.
*We recommend the following FBI Channelers:
- National Credit Reporting - (800) 441-1661
- Accurate Biometrics - (773) 685-5699
**Please Note - Many law enforcement Officers/Deputies are prophibited by state and local statues to reveal their personal address information to on-law-enforcement agencies or persons. An experienced Notary should know how to obtain the required notarial information within the laws of his/her State. One simple method is to have the Officer/Deputy cover his/her address on his/her Driver's License with black/dark tape.
Please Note - Most countries will only accept Background Checks that have been issued within the past 90 days, always check with the COD.
Once we receive your documents, in order to minimize errors and processing time, we verify all documents received from notaries before submitting them to be Apostilled. We will contact you as soon as possible if any errors are encountered and we will instruct you on how they need to be corrected.
Obtaining an Apostille can be a complicated process and should not be left to someone who does not understand all of the steps involved. Untrained persons that do not understand all of the requirements for legalization in each country are more likely to make errors, which will severely delay the Apostille process and cost you more money.
Once the completed English Background Check is properly prepared you can mail them to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation.
Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille,