How a Florida fdle background check is used in Italy
Citizenship by marriage under Article 5 of Law 91/1992 asks for criminal-record certificates from the state of birth and every state or country where you lived, plus a fingerprint-based FBI check. Each must be apostilled and translated into Italian, and they're valid for six months from issue, so time them close to filing on the Ministry of the Interior's online portal. The FDLE check is your Florida record: request it notarized at issuance so it can be apostilled. The FBI check is federal and is apostilled by the U.S. Department of State, not by us.
Translation for Italy
Italian offices need an official Italian translation of English records, and the Miami consulate states that it does not translate documents. Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a separate Florida notary and apostilled; ask the consulate whether it accepts that format or certifies translations itself. Courts and some comuni in Italy may instead require a translation sworn before an Italian court (asseverata). Translate after the apostille, including the apostille page.
What your FDLE criminal history check must look like
Order the certified, notarized criminal history from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement — the version FDLE notarizes at issuance. An online instant check or a printout without FDLE's notarial certificate cannot be apostilled. The notarized FDLE result is a Florida document, so it receives a Florida apostille; an FBI identity history summary is a federal document that goes to the U.S. Department of State instead and is not something we handle. If the receiving office asks for a "state police certificate", the notarized FDLE check is what they mean.
Step by step: FDLE background check apostille for Italy
- Order online — pick "FDLE background check" and "Italy" on the order form; $220 per document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more.
- Send a photo — reply to the confirmation email with a picture of the document. We check the certification before anything ships, so a defect is caught before it costs you a round trip.
- Drop it at FedEx — after approval, FedEx emails you a prepaid QR code; show it at any FedEx Office or Ship Center, no printer or label needed.
- Filed in person in Tallahassee — we walk the document into the Florida Department of State and ship the apostilled original back by FedEx within 5–7 business days of receipt — to your U.S. address, or to Italy with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Italy. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.