Apostille Criminal Record Check

Start with the foreign recipient, not the apostille vendor

For an apostille criminal record check, first ask the overseas authority exactly which record it accepts: an FBI Identity History Summary, a state criminal-history report, a local police clearance, or another named document. Also confirm the destination country and whether the recipient asks for an apostille, authentication, translation, or additional embassy/consular step. An apostille on the wrong record does not make that record acceptable.

Identify whether the record is federal or state/local

The State Department’s criminal-record guidance explains that FBI results and local police records follow different preparation chains. Keep the issuer visible on every copy so you do not send a state/local document through a federal-only route by mistake.

Obtain the record before you authenticate it

Authentication is the second stage. First complete the criminal-history request using the issuer’s official process. For an FBI summary, follow the FBI fingerprint and Identity History Summary instructions. For a state or local record, follow that repository or police agency’s request rules. Confirm whether the foreign recipient needs a recent issue date or certified original before ordering, because replacing the record later can force you to repeat authentication.

Protect the document form required by the authentication office

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  Original or certified copy

  Use the document form required by the applicable authentication guidance.

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  Do not improvise notarization

  Do not notarize or alter an original federal document when the federal instructions say not to.

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  Country of use

  Put the destination country on the authentication request exactly as instructed.

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  Signatures and seals

  Confirm that the issuing signature/seal is one the authentication authority can recognize.

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  Copies

  Keep a scan of the record and the submitted packet before mailing originals.

Choose apostille versus non-apostille authentication by destination

The destination country controls the authentication chain. For a country using the Hague Apostille Convention, the appropriate competent authority issues the apostille for the document type. For a non-apostille destination, additional authentication—potentially including the foreign embassy—may be required after U.S. authentication. Use the State Department and the destination authority’s current instructions rather than assuming every foreign use needs the same certificate.

Understand what the apostille does not prove

An apostille or authentication certificate addresses the official origin of the attached public document through the applicable process. It does not perform a new criminal-history search, add states that were not covered, change an arrest into a conviction, or certify that the person has “no record” outside the issuer’s scope. Keep the criminal-record scope and the authentication certificate as two separate facts when presenting the packet.