Quick answer
Some Qatari employers, especially schools and hospitals, ask for police clearance from where you lived before. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Qatar, 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 → Qatar embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the State of Qatar, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- We found no single published Qatari rule on translating English documents.
How a Florida fdle background check is used in Qatar
Some Qatari employers, especially schools and hospitals, ask for police clearance from where you lived before. Many want an FBI record; some accept a state record. If your employer accepts an FDLE check, request the notarized version from FDLE when you order it, since a plain online printout can't be authenticated. Confirm which record is required in writing before you start.
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 — Qatar
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, then to the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C. for attestation. The last step is official approval by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar; the Ministry also runs a Complete Attestation Outside Qatar service that forwards a foreign document to the Qatari mission in the issuing country and back. 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 Qatar — and translation
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives the final approval to foreign documents for use in Qatar. The documents are then used by the Ministry of Interior for residence permits, the Ministry of Labour and employers for work permits, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for degree recognition, the Ministry of Public Health for healthcare licensing, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for companies, and the courts. In the U.S., attestation is done by the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C.
We found no single published Qatari rule on translating English documents. Qatari employers often process English documents as they are, while courts and some ministries ask for an Arabic translation. Ask the receiving office before you translate. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it's authenticated in Florida along with the original.
We found no published Qatari rule on document age. Employers and the Ministry of Interior may want recent vital records and police checks, so ask your sponsor how recent each document must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the State of Qatar, Washington, D.C.
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 Qatar
$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 Qatar 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).