TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
FBI Background Checks
A criminal FBI 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 FBI Background Check in a foreign country for a variety of reasons including:
- Adoption
- Education
- Employment
We can Apostille your FBI Background Check when you mail us the original certified copy to our office. Fingerprints are required for FBI Background Checks. FBI Backround Check can take 8-12 weeks to be completed.
Please Note - 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.
If the COD is requesting a FBI Background Check, then you will need to:
- Contact a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Approved Channeler* who will provide step-by-step instructions including sending you a fingerprint card.
- Once you receceive your FBI Background Check you can mail the FBI Background Check to our office for Apostille processing.
- 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.
*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.
FBI Background Checks are United States Federal Government Documents that are issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that can only be Apostilled through the United States Department of State (USDOS) in Washington D.C. These documents cannot be notarized, copy certified, and no State Office can process these documents. All United States Federal Documents are processed through the United States Secretary of State or the United States Department of State.
In order for us to process your FBI Background Checks, you must mail in the original color copy to our office. ONLY THE ORIGINAL COLOR COPY WILL BE ACCEPTED. A Photocopy is not acceptable. Once we receive your documents, in order to minimize errors and processing time, we will verify that all documents received 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 FBI 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,