FDLE, FBI or sheriff: which check do you need?
"Background check" means three different documents, and foreign authorities are specific about which one they want. Read the requirement word for word before you pay for anything.
| What the foreign office asks for | What it is | Who apostilles it |
|---|---|---|
| Florida or state criminal record, FDLE check | A name-based search of Florida's statewide criminal history repository, run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement | Florida Department of State. We handle this. |
| Local police clearance, sheriff's letter | A letter from the sheriff's office or police department where you live, covering its own records | Florida Department of State, when notarized at issuance. See sheriff clearance letter. |
| FBI check, federal or national record, Identity History Summary | A fingerprint-based nationwide record from the FBI | The U.S. Department of State, not Florida. We don't handle federal documents. |
Many visa offices ask for the FBI record and a state record from each place you've lived. If they want both, they're separate documents with separate authentication routes.
Certified and notarized when FDLE issues it
The Florida Department of State apostilles a signature. A background check is only apostille-ready if it carries an FDLE official's signature that a notary notarized at the time FDLE issued it. Our rule is firm: the FDLE record must be certified and notarized at issuance. A printout you take to a notary later can't be fixed that way, because the notary would only be notarizing your signature, not FDLE's record.
FDLE's Florida criminal history checks page says its Certified/Non-Certified search results "can be notarized," and that Instant Search results will not be certified. That points you to one option.
| FDLE option | Fee | Can it be apostilled? |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Search | $24 + $1 card fee | No. Results are not certified. |
| Certified/Non-Certified Search, certified selected | $24 per name search | Yes, when the result is notarized |
| ORI Search (fingerprint-based, for employers and licensing) | Varies | No. Results go to the authorized agency, not to you. |
Fees as FDLE lists them in October 2026.
Ordering the certified FDLE check online
FDLE stopped accepting mailed request forms on July 1, 2020. Every request now goes through its online form and is paid by debit or credit card.
Open the right form
Use FDLE's Certified/Non-Certified request form, not the Instant Search. The form walks you through numbered steps, starting with the mailing address where your results will be sent.
Enter your details exactly as on your passport
This is a name-based search, and FDLE says the accuracy of the results depends on what you enter. Use your full legal name, date of birth, sex and race as the form asks. You can add up to ten aliases per person, such as a maiden name or a name with and without a second surname. Foreign offices compare the name on the record with your passport, so match it.
Select certified results
In the options step, choose certified. FDLE offers a Spanish translation only on certified results it describes as "non-idented" (searches that don't identify a record); rap sheets can't be translated. If you want the notarized version, confirm it with FDLE's Applicant Services Unit at (850) 410-8161 or [email protected] before you pay. Their hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
Pay and save the receipt
The charge is $24 per name search, whatever the result. Your receipt shows an FDLE control number. Keep it; you'll need it to follow up or to send a shipping label.
Speed up delivery if you need to
Results go by USPS standard mail. To get them faster, buy a prepaid USPS or FedEx label (FDLE doesn't allow overnight services) and email a PDF of it with your control number to [email protected] the same day you submit. Labels sent later aren't accepted.
Wait for processing
FDLE asks you to allow 5 to 7 business days for processing, plus mail time. Its checks page lists six to seven business days for certified results.
Ordering from outside the U.S.
The online form and card payment work from anywhere. Delivery is the catch. FDLE mails results by USPS to the address you enter, and its request page doesn't describe international delivery. The practical approach is to have the result mailed to a relative or friend in the U.S., who then ships it to us on the prepaid FedEx label sent after we review your documents. We send the apostilled record to you abroad for a flat $100 per order. See Florida apostille from outside the U.S..
Ordering for a spouse or the whole family
Visa and residency files often need a record for every adult in the household. FDLE's form lets you enter several search subjects in one request, each with its own aliases, at $24 per name search. Enter each person's details from their own passport, and have all results mailed to one address.
Each person's certified record is a separate document for the apostille. With us that's $380 for two records and $160 each for three or more, so a family of three pays $480 for the apostilles, plus FDLE's search fees. Order them on the same day so the records share an issue date and age out together.
Order it last, not first
The apostille itself doesn't expire, but foreign authorities often accept a criminal record only if it was issued recently, commonly within 90 days or six months. The receiving office sets the window and decides whether it counts from the record date or the apostille date.
Work backward from your appointment or filing date: about a week of FDLE processing, mail time, our 5–7 business days, international shipping, and any translation. For most people that means ordering the FDLE check four to six weeks before it's due, after your other documents are ready.
When the record arrives
Open the envelope and check these before you send it on. If any item fails, contact FDLE before ordering anything else.
- Issued by FDLE through the Certified/Non-Certified search, not an Instant Search printout
- Marked certified and signed by an FDLE official
- Notarized by a Florida notary with a complete notarial certificate in English
- Notary's seal legible, with commission number and expiration date
- Your name and date of birth match your passport
- All pages present, original staple intact, nothing written on it
- Issue date inside the receiving country's age limit
Mistakes that cost people a second order
- Buying the Instant Search. It's the same $24 and arrives in seconds, which is why people pick it. FDLE says those results are not certified, and they can't be apostilled.
- Getting a fingerprint check instead. A Livescan or ORI fingerprint check for an employer or license goes to that agency. It isn't a document you receive and apostille.
- Leaving out a name. If you've used a married name or a second surname, a check under only one name may not satisfy the foreign office.
- Ordering too early. A record that ages out before your appointment means ordering, and apostilling, twice.
- Sending a photocopy. The state needs the original notarized record.
More detail on clearance letters and record age is in FDLE and sheriff letters for apostille.
Apostilling the FDLE record
Once you have the certified, notarized record, order online and ship it to our Tallahassee processing office, or bring it to an in-person appointment in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Clearwater. We file it in person and return it in 5–7 business days. The price is $220 for one document, $380 for two (FDLE record plus a sheriff's letter is a common pair) and $160 each for three or more. That includes the state fee, the request form and FedEx inside the U.S., but not FDLE's $24 search fee. Filing yourself? The state's process is on its apostille page.
Going to a non-Hague country? The Florida authentication is the same price and turnaround; the federal and embassy steps afterward are yours to arrange. See non-Hague authentication and our FDLE background check apostille page.