If we fingerprint you here in Los Angeles, plan on about three weeks from your appointment to having your apostilled FBI background check in hand. If you’re outside the U.S., it takes longer. Your fingerprint cards and finished documents travel by mail, and ink cards have to be physically submitted to the FBI rather than sent electronically, which adds days to the FBI part.
Where you are when the fingerprints are taken makes the biggest difference. Here’s how each route works and where the time goes.
If You’re in Los Angeles: About 3 Weeks
- Fingerprints. We take your fingerprints electronically at our Los Angeles office, or we come to your home or workplace. Because it’s an electronic submission, you need to be there in person.
- FBI results: usually the same day. The FBI says it can take up to 48 hours, but in our experience almost every result comes back the same day, usually within hours. The FBI emails you the details to log in and download your report.
- Federal apostille: about 9 business days. An FBI background check is a federal document, so the apostille comes from the U.S. Department of State, not the California Secretary of State. We prepare the application and handle the whole submission.
- Shipping. We send the apostilled report back to you. Return shipping within the U.S. is included.
Adding it up, we tell clients to allow about three weeks in total.
Cost: $300, which covers the FBI background check and the federal apostille, including return shipping within the U.S. Shipping outside the U.S. is extra.
If You’re Outside the U.S.: It Takes Longer
Two things add time from abroad: the mail each way, and the FBI part itself. Ink cards can’t be sent electronically. They have to be physically submitted to the FBI, which takes longer than the electronic submission we do here in Los Angeles.
- Fingerprints at your local police. You get fingerprinted on FD-258 ink cards where you live. You don’t need to go to a U.S. embassy or consulate.
- Mail your cards to us. You send us the cards, a copy of your passport and your signed FBI application form. How long this takes depends on where you’re mailing from.
- We check everything and submit it. We review the cards and the whole application before anything goes to the FBI.
- FBI results: a few business days, not hours. When your cards reach us, we physically submit them to the FBI with your application. Once they’re submitted, the FBI usually emails you access to your report within two to three business days. You forward the emails to us and we take it from there.
- Federal apostille: about 9 business days. Same as above.
- Shipping to you. We send the apostilled report to wherever you are. Delivery time depends on your country.
Cost: $400 plus shipping to your country.
What Adds Time
- Starting late. The Department of State part is what most people don’t plan for. Many clients come to us only a few weeks before a visa or residency appointment.
- Counting calendar days. The apostille takes about 9 business days. Weekends and federal holidays don’t count.
- Fridays. The U.S. Department of State doesn’t take submissions or pickups on Fridays, for anybody.
- Mistakes on ink cards. A card that isn’t filled out, signed and dated correctly gets rejected, and you start over. That’s why we check every card before it goes to the FBI.
- Applying from abroad. The mail each way, plus the ink-card submission to the FBI, makes this route slower than coming in to our Los Angeles office.
If you’re working toward a deadline, talk to us early and we’ll tell you whether your timing works.
Questions We Get
Do I have to be in Los Angeles?
No. If you’re in Los Angeles, we fingerprint you electronically, which is the fastest route. If you’re abroad, you can do the whole thing by mail.
Can you send the apostilled report to me abroad?
Yes. We ship it to wherever you are. Shipping outside the U.S. is extra.
I’ll be in Los Angeles for a short visit. Can I start while I’m here?
Yes. We take your fingerprints while you’re here, and if you’ve already left by the time the apostille is ready, we ship it to you.
Get Started
Call or text us at 310-526-0200, and we’ll tell you which route fits your timeline. For more on the service itself, see our FBI apostille page.
