Every Appointment
$149
Individual
- Direct electronic submission
- Identity History Summary
- Federal fee handled for you
- Days, not weeks
- Quality verified at capture
- Apostille guidance included
Your FBI Identity History Summary, captured and submitted electronically as an approved channeler. By appointment.
An FBI Identity History Summary — the document most people mean by “FBI background check” — is your national criminal history record, or confirmation that no record exists. Visa applications, foreign residency, teaching abroad, international adoption, immigration filings, and some professional licences all ask for it, and nearly all of them want it recent.
Because we submit electronically as an approved channeler, the request goes straight to the FBI from our office rather than travelling by post and joining a queue. The result is the same federal document with the same authority behind it; what changes is the waiting. Electronic submissions typically return in a handful of business days rather than the weeks a mailed request takes.
The Gulf states, Korea, Singapore, and much of Europe require a national criminal record check.
Residency and golden visa programmes in Portugal, Spain, and Panama ask for federal clearance.
Korea, Japan, China, Spain, and the UAE condition a teaching visa on an FBI check.
Foreign naturalisation files require a summary covering your years in the United States.
Foreign adoption authorities require federal checks on every adult in the household.
You're entitled to see your own record — worth doing before a consulate or employer does.
These are two different documents and requesting the wrong one costs weeks. A Florida check reports state criminal history through FDLE. An FBI Identity History Summary reports national records held federally. If the wording says “police clearance from your state of residence,” the Florida route does the job. If it says “FBI background check,” “federal criminal record,” or names the Identity History Summary, only the federal document will be accepted.
The other thing to check before booking is whether your destination also wants the document apostilled. An FBI summary is federal, so it isn't apostilled by Florida — it goes through the U.S. Department of State. We handle both halves: the fingerprinting here, then the federal authentication through Federal Apostille USA, our sister service. Mention it when you call, because sequencing the two correctly saves a repeat.
A Florida check reports state records only. If the requirement says FBI, only the federal summary counts.
Consulates usually want a summary issued within the last three to six months.
Federal documents are authenticated in Washington, not Tallahassee, and that is a separate service. Sequence matters.
The summary covers US federal records. Time lived overseas may need separate clearances.
Visa, residency, adoption, or personal review — the purpose determines the route, so we confirm it first.
Rolled and flat impressions on a certified scanner, with image quality verified at capture.
Your request goes directly to the FBI from our office as an approved channeler.
Your Identity History Summary typically returns within a few business days.
One flat fee, all-in — the state fee, the federal fee, and the AHCA retention fee are already inside it. Nothing is added at your appointment, and we don't charge a separate rolling fee on top.
Need fingerprinting at your office or facility? We bring the equipment to you anywhere in Palm Beach County, Clearinghouse photo included. Call for a quote.
Two routes exist. You can submit a request to the FBI yourself by post and wait, or you can be fingerprinted by an approved channeler who transmits the request electronically. We are set up for the second route: your prints are captured here, the request goes straight to the FBI, and your Identity History Summary typically returns within a few business days rather than weeks.
Electronic submission through an approved channeler. The postal route adds transit in both directions plus a queue on arrival, and a submission with poor impressions is rejected and starts the clock over. Electronic capture verifies image quality before anything is sent, which removes the most common cause of delay. Book an appointment and it is usually a few business days end to end.
Through an approved channeler, typically a few business days from your appointment. Submitting by post yourself generally takes several weeks. Neither we nor any provider controls FBI processing time itself — what we control is that the submission leaves the same day and is not rejected for image quality.
You can start the request online, but not the whole thing. Your fingerprints have to be captured in person somewhere, because the FBI matches against prints rather than entered details. What an approved channeler does is make everything after the capture electronic, which is where the time saving comes from.
You are entitled to request your own Identity History Summary, and it is worth doing before an employer or consulate reads it. The process is the same as any other request — fingerprints captured and submitted — and the summary comes back to you. If it shows something you dispute, the FBI has a formal challenge process.
Often, yes — most consulates and foreign authorities want the document authenticated before they will accept it. An FBI summary is a federal document, so it is apostilled by the U.S. Department of State rather than by Florida. Our sister service Federal Apostille USA handles that step. Tell us the destination country when you book so the two are sequenced correctly.
It depends which one you mean, and the two get confused constantly. An Identity History Summary — the document we help you obtain — is a report of your national criminal history, or confirmation that no record exists. That is different from the in-depth suitability investigation the FBI conducts on its own applicants and clearance holders, which involves interviews and financial review. If a consulate or employer asked for an "FBI background check," they almost certainly mean the first one.
A mailed request has to travel, be processed on arrival, and join a queue — and poor impressions mean starting over. Electronic submission from an approved channeler skips the postal leg entirely and verifies image quality before anything is sent.
The federal programme and how requests are processed.
FBI Approved ChannelersHow electronic submission through a channeler works.
U.S. Department of State — Office of AuthenticationsWhere federal documents are apostilled.
Federal Apostille USAOur sister service for apostilling an FBI check and other federal documents.
Florida Apostille & FDLE Check ApostilleOur sister service for Florida-issued documents and FDLE check apostilles.
One flat fee, all-in, for every Florida route.
What to bringThe checklist that prevents a wasted trip.
ORI number guideWhat an ORI is and where to find yours.
Fingerprinting near meEvery city we cover in the county.
Same or next-day slots at our downtown West Palm Beach office, Monday to Saturday. Call and we'll verify your ORI before you come in.