Expedited Louisiana FBI Apostille Services
If a consulate or foreign immigration office wants your FBI background check with an apostille, Louisiana’s own offices are not where that happens. Apostille Authentications receives your FBI result by email, has it walked into the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, and returns the apostilled document to your Louisiana address by FedEx in 10 business days.
Call (971) 514-3743 or request a quote.
- Ensure your documents are processed without delay
- Speak with our experts for personalized assistance
- Discover how we can expedite your apostille process
Why Baton Rouge cannot apostille your FBI background check
In Louisiana, apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State’s Commissions Division in Baton Rouge. That office authenticates the signatures of Louisiana officials: notaries public, clerks of court and their deputies, sheriffs, judges, justices of the peace and the registrar of vital records. It also certifies official transcripts and diplomas from Louisiana state-accredited universities.
An FBI Identity History Summary carries the signature of a federal official, not a Louisiana one. The office that can apostille it is the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, DC.
Two points that trip up Louisiana clients:
- A Louisiana State Police report is a state record. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information in Baton Rouge keeps the Louisiana Computerized Criminal History system, which holds arrests, dispositions, probation and parole bookings and incarceration information for people arrested in Louisiana. You can obtain your own record through the bureau’s Right to Review process, which is booked online by appointment because walk-ins are no longer taken. It is a useful document when a foreign authority asks for a state check, but it is not what is meant by an FBI, federal or national check.
- A notary stamp does not turn the FBI report into a Louisiana document. A Louisiana notary can certify a copy, and Baton Rouge can authenticate that notary’s signature. What you end up with is a state apostille attached to a federal record, and foreign authorities commonly refuse it.
For a parish clerk of court record, a Louisiana birth certificate or a diploma, see state apostille services.
How it works from Louisiana
- Get fingerprinted near home. Use an ink FD-1164 card taken by a police department, a parish sheriff’s office or a fingerprinting vendor, or register on the FBI’s eDO site and have prints captured electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office. Either way you are requesting the FBI Identity History Summary, and the FBI fee is $18.
- Receive the FBI result. It arrives as a PDF bearing the FBI watermark and the signature of a division official.
- Email us the PDF. We check the name and date of birth against your passport before anything is filed, so send the passport photo page too.
- Hand delivery in Washington. We prepare Form DS-4194 and our Herndon, Virginia office carries the request to the Office of Authentications. There is no DOJ certification step for an FBI result. It goes directly to the Department of State.
- Return shipping. FedEx to your Louisiana address, or FedEx or DHL to wherever you are moving.
We do not have a Louisiana office and we do not fingerprint anyone in the state. Our work starts once you have the FBI PDF.
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Translations/ Intl. Shipping
Certified translation and discounted shipping.
Louisiana pricing and turnaround
| Service | Price | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Expedited FBI apostille (you already have the FBI result) | $390 | 10 business days |
| Standard FBI apostille | $195 | 7–8 weeks |
The 10 business days run from the day your FBI PDF reaches us. The expedited price pays for hand delivery to the Department of State instead of the mail queue.
Where we serve Louisiana clients
Every parish, by email and FedEx. We work with clients in New Orleans, Metairie and Kenner, in Baton Rouge, in Lafayette and Lake Charles across Acadiana and the southwest, and in Shreveport, Bossier City, Monroe and Alexandria further north. A client in Houma follows the same five steps as one in Orleans Parish, and neither has to travel anywhere.
Why Louisianans need an apostilled FBI check
Common destinations for our Louisiana clients include Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica for residency and retirement, and Spain and France for study, work and long-stay visas. South Korea and Japan ask for an apostilled FBI check with teaching visas. Brazil, Colombia and Australia come up for work assignments and family residency, and Italy for citizenship and residency files.
Most of these countries will want the document translated. Certified translation into Spanish, French, Portuguese or another language can be added to the order. Many authorities only accept an FBI check issued within the last 3 to 6 months, so plan fingerprinting around your filing date.
Our FBI apostille services page explains the federal process in more detail.
FAQ
Can the Louisiana Secretary of State apostille an FBI background check?
No. The Commissions Division in Baton Rouge authenticates signatures of Louisiana officials such as notaries, clerks of court and the registrar of vital records. An FBI background check is signed by a federal official and is apostilled by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.
How long does an expedited FBI apostille take in Louisiana?
10 business days, counted from when we receive your FBI result. The standard service takes 7–8 weeks.
Is a Louisiana State Police Right to Review report the same as an FBI check?
No. It comes from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information and reflects the Louisiana criminal history system. If the request says FBI, federal or national, you need the FBI Identity History Summary.
I live in Shreveport or Lake Charles. Do I have to go to Baton Rouge or New Orleans?
No. Nothing in this process happens in person in Louisiana, and we have no office in the state. You send the FBI PDF by email and the apostille comes back by FedEx.
Can you ship the apostille overseas if I have already left Louisiana?
Yes. We send completed apostilles abroad by FedEx or DHL.
Start your Louisiana FBI apostille
Call (971) 514-3743, write to us on WhatsApp, or request a quote and tell us your destination country and deadline.
