FBI Criminal Background Check Apostille is needed for anyone who has stayed in the US and is moving to India or any Other Hague Country for work, education, Marriage etc. Since the FBI Criminal Background Certificate is issued by the federal government, the Apostille needs to be done by the Federal Government or USDOS ( US department of state ).
Apostille is an international certification issued by the state or the federal government depending on the document. This Apostille Certificate signifies that the document is verified and it is a legal document issued by the rightful authority and the details in the documents are correct as per the record.
Any document with Apostille certification is accepted in all 117 Hague Nation countries,India is a part of Hague Nation. If you are trying to move to countries outside the Hague nation then your documents need to be attested by the travelling country Embassy in the US after the apostille process is done.
4 Easy steps to get US Apostille on the documents
FBI Criminal verification proves that you don’t have any criminal records under your name, and you are safe to travel to any country.
If you are travelling Outside US, this is one document that is required for getting a Visa under Work, Student, Dependent, Business, Tourist.
The embassies will ask apostille for FBI document mainly to ensure that the FBI document that you are submitting to them is genuine and the information provided in the document is verified by the rightful authority
Below are the steps to get Apostille for FBI Criminal Background verification certificate.
Step 1 – Get the FBI document issued
First and foremost thing is to apply for an FBI document through the FBI website.
You can request for a Criminal Background check or Identification record.
Step 2 – Submitting the Document for Apostille
There are 2 ways you can get apostille for FBI document
Since the FBI document is issued under the federal government, Apostille should be done by the USDOS for Original document.
You need to submit the original document to USDOS, Either you can submit the document personally or you can ask us to submit on your behalf.
If you are not able to present yourself to USDOS you can mail your documents to us we will get the apostille.
Even though the original document is issued by the federal government you can get an apostille by the State government though Notary Attested FBI document.
If you are unable to send the original document or you need apostille quickly then you can get apostille on Notarized copy.
Notary will be done by the competent notary authority in the state. After varying the details of the original document Notary Public will do copy certification by document custodian certification.
Based on the Notary Verification, the photocopy will finally be apostilled by the State Government.
Note – India and Most of the Hague nations accept Apostille done on photocopy but some authorities will insist on getting apostille on original document only, so check with the authorities to whom you are submitting apostilled document, whether they accept the apostille done on photocopies or not.
The duration for obtaining an apostille on a FBI varies based on whether an Apostille is needed for the original or photocopy . USDOS offers expedited processes, Apostille by USDOS will be done in 3-4 working days.
If you need apostille on Original FBI document you need to send original document to US office
So timeline will be like this
If you need an apostille on Photocopy Step 1 can be removed this saves cost and time.
If you want an apostille on Photocopy through notary attestation you can get an apostille on the same day. To know if your document qualifies for an expedited process, reach out to the Apostille experts for guidance.
Like time, the cost also depends on whether you need Apostille on original document or photocopy and whether you need expedited service or not. Check here for the cost details for each state.
Like time, the cost also depends on the state in which the document is issued. And whether you need expedited service or not. Check here for the cost details for each state.
If You are using FBI document in Non Hague countries you need embassy attestation along with the apostille on the document.
Below are the processes required to get embassy attestation for FBI criminal background certificate
Step 1 – Notary attestation ( for photocopy documents only, original documents no need to go through this Attestation)
Step 2 – Apostille by state (Required for Apostille of Notary Attested FBI document )
Step 3 – Authentication by the USDOS ( US department of state or federal government) also called as federal attestation
Step 4 – Embassy attestation – After all the above attestations are done, the document is submitted to the embassy of the target country and embassy attestation is obtained.
Note – In case of the Photocopy attestation Notary public attestation is mandatory for the photocopy. In Photocopy legalization the document must go through all the 4 steps. Some countries accept photocopies for embassy attestation check with the expert for the information.
If you are submitting an original FBI document you don’t need a State Apostille as the FBI document belongs to the Federal Government so you can skip Step 1 & Step 2.
Suggestion – Some countries’ embassies accept direct submission after state apostille( Step 2) for state issued documents such as US Marriage certificates.in this case you can skip the Step 3 USDOS Federal authentication this will save valuable time and cost.
This complete process of 4 steps is called as full legalization process. This will take 8-12 weeks and the cost verified depending on the document, state attestation, federal attestation and embassy time. Please check with Apostille experts for suggestions.
Apostille is a little complicated process and requires thorough knowledge about the complete process in order to suggest the best route to get apostille quickly.Speak to us or start the application form we will guide you throughout the apostille process.
You can apply for FBI Background check through FBI Website . In order to use FBI document in india or in any other country you must obtain apostille on it. Apply for US apostille here
India is a member of the Hague Convention. Any document bearing an apostille from its country of origin will be recognized as a valid document in India.
Apostille proves that the document is genuine original and issued by the rightful authority. It prevents fraudulent documents being used in foreign country. Apostille is provided only after thorough verification. Hence any document with apostille is accepted internationally.
You have to have original document to get apostille.
or
you can get apostille on photocopy through notary attestation
Below are the steps in Getting the apostille for US birth certificate
To get apostille on any US document you must submit the original document along with any Government ID scan copy as a suppoting document
Yes, if you are using US birth certificate for any official purpose outside United states of America then you need to get apostille to US birth certificate.