How it works. Pick the state and the type of document. You get the steps in order (the right copy or notarization, any county step, the office's form, where to send it and the fee, and the stated processing time), each marked from the office's own page or as not confirmed.
Build an apostille request checklist
California: fbi background check
No county step first
- Office
- U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications
- Fee
- $20 per document, nonrefundable. By mail: check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State. In person: credit or debit card or contactless payment.
- Do thisGet the FBI results as issuedFBI results are authenticated by the FBI with its watermark and a division official's signature; send them as issued and name the country of use. Don't copy or notarize them.
- Do thisFill in the federal request formForm DS-4194, Request for Authentications Service (with the country of use), naming the country where the document will be used.
- Do thisSend it to the Department of StateMail with USPS tracking, or drop off in Washington, DC (7:30 to 9:00 a.m., Monday to Thursday). Emergency appointments, for travel within 2 weeks, are made by email with proof of travel. Online, you can only check status through the contact form. Fee: $20 per document, nonrefundable. By mail: check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State. In person: credit or debit card or contactless payment. Address: Mail: Office of Authentications, U.S. Department of State, 44132 Mercure Circle, PO Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206. Walk-in: 600 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
- Good to knowAllow for processingMailed requests within 5 weeks of receipt; walk-in drop-off within 7 business days; emergency appointments the same day.
- Good to knowThe state office isn't involvedThe California Secretary of State, Notary Public Section handles documents issued or notarized in the state, not FBI records.
Official sources: Request authentication services, U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov) · Criminal Records Checks, U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov) · Preparing your Document for an Apostille Certificate, U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov) · Authenticate Your Document, U.S. Department of State (travel.state.gov) · More on this state
More on this route: Apostille for an FBI background check.
After the apostille: if the destination isn't in the Hague Convention, the document still needs embassy legalization.
Getting the document ready
Most rejections come from the starting paper: a photocopy instead of a certified copy, a record from another state, or a notarization with a missing seal or commission date. Our guide to why apostille requests get rejected walks through them, and apostille vs notarization explains what each one proves. For every state on one page, see how to get an apostille in each state.
MCC Solutions handles New Jersey apostilles, and our guide explains how to get an apostille in New Jersey. For other states, this page lists the office's own process.
General information, not legal advice. Checked November 2026 against the official pages linked in each checklist. Fees, forms and processing times change; the issuing office's own page is the final word. An apostille confirms the signature and seal on a document, not what the document says, and the office abroad decides what it accepts.
Questions about the checklist
Which state do I pick?
The state where the document was issued or notarized, not where you live. A birth certificate from one state and a power of attorney notarized in another go to two different offices. FBI checks and other federal records go to the U.S. Department of State whichever state you pick.
What does 'County step' mean?
In some states a county or court clerk must first certify the notary's commission or the clerk's signature before the state office will attach the apostille. The checklist says yes, no, or not confirmed for the state and document you picked.
What do the labels mean?
Do this is a step the office's own page sets out. Good to know is timing or background. Not confirmed means no official page we opened said, so nothing is guessed: ask the office before you send the document.
Is a diploma a school record or a notarized document?
Pick school record. Many offices apostille a school record only as a notarized copy or a notarized statement from the registrar, so the checklist also shows the state's notarized-document rule when the office's page has no separate school rule.
Does the checklist save what I choose?
No. The page reads your choices from the address bar and builds the list on the server. Nothing is stored, and it works without JavaScript.