Quick answer
Some Lebanese employers, schools and authorities ask for a police record from where you lived abroad, for employment or residence. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Lebanon, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), as a certified Florida criminal history record check that is notarized when issued.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Lebanon embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S.
How a Florida fdle background check is used in Lebanon
Some Lebanese employers, schools and authorities ask for a police record from where you lived abroad, for employment or residence. Many prefer an FBI check; some accept a state record. If an FDLE check works, request the notarized version from FDLE at issuance, since a plain printout can't be authenticated. We handle Florida records only, not FBI checks. Ask the Lebanese office in writing which record it wants before you order anything.
Getting a fdle background check Florida will authenticate
The certified result of FDLE's Certified/Non-Certified Search, notarized at issuance with a complete Florida notarial certificate and kept in its original, unaltered form. Instant Search results, screenshots, PDFs and printouts notarized later by another notary cannot be apostilled.
Request it yourself online at fdle.state.fl.us (FDLE stopped accepting mailed forms on July 1, 2020): choose the Certified/Non-Certified Search ($24 from FDLE), select certified results and ask for the notarized version. FDLE asks you to allow 5–7 business days for processing plus USPS mail. FDLE's fee is not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the fdle background check page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Lebanon
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, which Lebanon's embassy requires for documents such as powers of attorney and life certificates. Next, the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., whose jurisdiction includes Florida, legalizes it. Ask the office in Lebanon whether the document also needs to be certified by Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for these steps.
We don't handle or arrange the U.S. Department of State or embassy steps. See how non-Hague authentication works.
Who receives it in Lebanon — and translation
Florida falls under the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., according to its published jurisdiction list; there is also an Honorary Consulate of Lebanon in Tampa. The embassy legalizes documents and registers births, marriages, divorces and deaths of Lebanese citizens. In Lebanon, documents go to the personal status registry, religious and civil courts, the land registry, notaries, banks and pension funds.
Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S. documents into Arabic. Lebanese courts, registries and notaries generally work in Arabic and may require a translation, often made in Lebanon. Ask the receiving office. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it is authenticated in Florida with the original.
The embassy's published pages don't set a document-age rule for most documents. Lebanese registries and courts may want recent certified copies, so order fresh Florida records and ask the receiving office how recent they must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C. (its jurisdiction includes Florida).
Four steps, one week
Order online
Pick the document and destination country on the order form and pay by card. After we review your documents, FedEx emails you a prepaid label.
Send your document
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location.
We file in person
We review it, then walk it to the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee for the authentication certificate.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why fdle background checks get rejected
- Instant Search result, which FDLE states is not certified
- Certified result that wasn't notarized when issued
- Printout notarized afterwards by an unrelated notary
- Older than the receiving authority's age limit
What it costs for Lebanon
$220 per document, $380 for two and $160 each for three or more — the state fee, request form, in-person filing in Tallahassee and FedEx shipping inside the U.S. are included. Shipping the finished authentication to Lebanon is a flat $100 per order.
Not included: whatever the issuing office charges for the certified copy or certificate, and notarization (online notarization is $40 for the first document — $10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee — and $20 for each additional one).