Guide · Federal apostille
I sent my FBI check to my state Secretary of State
It will come back unprocessed. That is normal, it is recoverable, and the clock you actually need to worry about is probably not the one you think.
Verified 4 August 2026
What went wrong
An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document. It is issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so only the federal government can authenticate it. That is the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, in Washington.
Your state Secretary of State authenticates documents that your state issued: birth certificates, marriage certificates, court records, and documents signed in front of a notary in that state. They have no authority over an FBI report, so they cannot apostille it even if they wanted to.
This is by far the most common mistake in the process, and it is an easy one to make. Almost every search result about apostilles is about state documents, because state documents are the overwhelming majority.
What happens to your envelope
Most state offices return the document unprocessed with a short note, and most do not cash your fee. Some hold it for a few weeks before returning it. None of them forward it to the State Department for you.
The thing most people miss
The delay is annoying. The real problem is usually the issue date on your report.
Most countries will not accept a background check older than three or six months at the time you submit your application, and the window is set by your consulate rather than nationally. All four Spanish consulates we read say six months. Italy’s San Francisco post says six months, while Miami and Chicago do not list the check at all. That window runs from the date the FBI issued the report, not from the date it was apostilled. What each consulate publishes →
So before you do anything else, find the issue date on your report and count forward. If your consulate appointment falls outside that window, an apostille will not save the document. You need a new FBI report, and then an apostille on the new one.
Check this first
Report issued more than about two months ago, and a consulate appointment more than a few weeks out? Order a fresh FBI report now, in parallel. It is cheaper than discovering the problem at the counter.
How much time you have lost
Only the round trip to your state office. Your FBI report itself is unaffected, and you do not need to redo your fingerprints unless the report has aged out of your destination's window.
What matters now is which route you take to the State Department, because the two options are very far apart.
| Route | Time | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By mail, direct | 5 to 6 weeks | $20 | Form DS‑4194. The State Department states five weeks from receipt. Applicants commonly report longer. |
| In person, by appointment | Same day | $20 | Processed on the day of the appointment. Walk‑in availability is now very limited. |
Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, and Requesting Authentication Services. Both checked 4 August 2026.
What to do now
- Find the issue date on your FBI report and check it against your destination's window. This decides everything else.
- Call your state office if the envelope has not come back yet. Some can return it faster if you ask.
- Pick your route to Washington. If your consulate appointment is more than two months away, mail is fine and costs $20. If it is sooner than that, you need the in‑person route.
- Order a replacement report if the date will not hold. Do this in parallel, not after.
The address, so you have it
U.S. Department of State
Office of Authentications
600 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Confirm the current mailing instructions and the DS‑4194 form on the State Department page before you send anything. Details change, and this is the second most common way people lose a month.
If the timing no longer works
We pull a fresh FBI report through an approved channeler and hand carry it to the Office of Authentications, which takes about ten days instead of six weeks. From $199, with the $18 FBI fee and $20 State Department fee included and itemised.
ExpatPapers is a courier and agent service. We are not affiliated with any government agency and we do not give legal or immigration advice. Recency requirements are set by the receiving country and you should confirm yours with the consulate handling your application.