Answers
Straight answers, with the source attached
Most apostille content on the internet repeats the same few errors. These pages state what is actually true, cite where it comes from, and carry the date we last checked it.
Last sweep 2026-08-04
Sequence Order your FBI report before you leave the US Federal rules bar viewing it from abroad, and it can only be released to you or your attorney. Nobody can pull it for you. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Timing How recent must your FBI check actually be? Your consulate decides, not your country, and they disagree. Every source we read, in a table, with dates. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Translation Does the apostille itself need translating? For Spain the consulate says no, in one sentence. Plenty of services will bill you for it anyway. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Spain Is the FBI check valid 90 days or six months for Spain? Six months. Four Spanish consulates say so in their own words; the 90-day figure the whole category repeats is published by none of them. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Germany Germany: FBI check, or a Fuehrungszeugnis? Usually a Fuehrungszeugnis. Thirteen euros, no apostille, already in German, and you can order it having never lived there. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Timing Is there same-day federal apostille service? No. There are no appointments and no expedited route at the Office of Authentications, whatever some services advertise. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Timing How long does a federal apostille really take? Five weeks by mail per the State Department, six or more in practice. About two weeks on a pick-up slip in person. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Limits How many documents can be apostilled per day? Fifteen, per customer or company, federally. It caps every courier at roughly 315 a month and explains the whole market structure. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Documents Is a printed electronic FBI report accepted? Yes. No mailed hard copy needed, which removes weeks from the chain. Almost nobody states this plainly. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read → Routing Federal or state? Which office handles your document Whoever issued it, authenticates it. The full list of which documents go where, and the traps in both directions. Verified 2026-08-04 · Read →
We will tell you when your consulate changes the rules
Consulates revise their instructions without announcing it. When one of the posts we track changes a window, a fee, or what it asks for, we send a short note saying what changed and what it means. No more than that, and nothing else.
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