■ You can only choose ONE foreign (non-USA) country per document. The U.S Department of State will only issue ONE apostille certificate for ONE document and ONE foreign (non-USA) country. This means the U.S Department of State will not issue multiple apostille certificates or issue apostilles for multiple countries on one document.
■ All U.S Department of State government document filing fees are included in our flat-fee rush FBI apostille service pricing.
■ An FBI criminal background check report cannot be notarized under federal law and does not require notarization, as it is an official federal government record. You may NOT attach any additional documents, including notarised documents, to your FBI report.
■ Because we will be expediting your documents at the U.S. Department of State on your behalf, you should NOT complete or send us the Federal Apostille Form DS-4194. A different federal apostille order form is used for walk-ins that we will complete and submit to the U.S. Department of State along with your FBI background check.
■ You may upload multiple FBI background check report PDFs above; however, only one document (PDF) can be uploaded at a time. If you have multiple background checks (e.g., for yourself, your spouse, or your children) or need apostille certificates for use in multiple countries, simply upload each document individually. Only ONE prepaid return shipping label is required, regardless of how many FBI background check reports or apostilles you are submitting.
■ You may place an online order with us only if you have ordered and downloaded the digital/electronic (PDF) version of your FBI background check report. To order, click the email button below and upload your original FBI background check PDF along with one prepaid return shipping label. If you were mailed a physical copy of your FBI background check and did NOT request or download the digital (PDF) version, you CANNOT place an online order with us.
In this case, you must mail or drop off your original FBI background check report to us (click the print button below) along with a prepaid return FedEx or UPS shipping label and a printed copy of this federal apostille order form page. You may NOT make photocopies or scan the FBI background check report that was physically mailed to you and email those scans to us as a PDF for apostille processing.
The U.S. Department of State will only accept the original digital (PDF) version of your FBI background check report obtained through an FBI-approved channeler (the website where you ordered your report). This is why scanned copies or photocopies cannot be accepted or processed. The original FBI background check PDF contains embedded security watermark features that are not visible, which verify its authenticity.
■ When creating and buying a FedEx, UPS, or DHL prepaid return shipping label, they will ask you for a sender’s address (from address), which means that if your documents get lost in the mail, the sender’s address is the return address to which the undelivered documents will be sent back to you by FedEx, UPS, or DHL.
You must put your name and address or your company’s name and address as the sender (from address) on the prepaid shipping label and/or on the customs invoice if shipping internationally. Depending on what foreign country you live in outside the U.S, the FedEx, UPS, or DHL online system may detect your foreign IP address and not allow you to use your foreign address as the sender (from address). If this happens, you will need to list a friend’s, relative’s, or company office address within the U.S. as the sender (from address).
You CANNOT put our company name (Apostille Texas), address, or phone number as the sender or importer because we are not the sender or importer. The sender/importer is you because you created and paid for the prepaid return shipping label, not us, and you are 100% responsible for paying all current shipping and any future customs charges when shipping internationally.
We will not mail your documents back to you if you mail, email, or drop off to us a prepaid return shipping label or a customs invoice that incorrectly lists our company name, phone number, or address anywhere on it. FedEx, UPS, and DHL attempt to collect unpaid shipping bills from our company because people and companies do not pay their full shipping charges and customs fees when shipping internationally.
You or your representative must not require a photo ID for delivery when shipping your documents to us via FedEx, UPS, or DHL. If a shipment requires photo ID verification for delivery, our front desk staff will not accept the package, and it will be returned to you by the courier as undeliverable.
■ The U.S. Department of State does NOT provide status or order updates to us or to customers. As a result, we are unable to provide any status updates once your order has been submitted. The only notification we receive is on the day the U.S. Department of State issues the federal apostille or authentication certificate for your documents. Please do NOT contact us for status updates on your FBI apostille order, as we are unable to provide any additional information during processing.
■ The United States Department of State has announced that, beginning October 1, 2024, it will reopen for rush walk-in services after being closed to the public for over 4½ years.
Effective October 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of State has implemented the following three new rules:
- Submission Limit: Each apostille service company or agent can only submit a maximum of 15 documents per day.
- Business Days: The U.S. Department of State is only open for walk-ins Monday through Thursday (closed on Fridays), 8am-9am (yes, they are only open 4 hours per week or 16 hours per month!), excluding all federal holidays.
- Processing Time: Federally apostilled or authenticated documents will be available for pickup approximately 7–9 business days (excluding Fridays) after they are hand-submitted to the U.S. Department of State.