The check foreign governments actually ask for — FDLE-certified, state-apostilled. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving Lantana from our West Palm Beach office, by appointment.
Lantana sits squarely in our service area — we work with clients from the city constantly, and FDLE background check requests are among the most common reasons why. Somewhere in nearly every work visa, residency permit, teaching contract, or citizenship application sits the line that stops applicants cold: 'criminal background check, apostilled.' For Florida residents, the state-level solution is the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) criminal history check — once FDLE certifies it, the Florida Department of State can apostille it.
Here's the detail that trips people up: only the certified version counts. That instant $24 online search you can print at home can't be apostilled. What you need is FDLE's certified criminal history record — and once it's in hand (or once we've walked you through ordering it), we file in person and hand back the apostilled check in 5 business days. For Lantana residents, that means one handoff — at your door or at our office — and the apostilled original back in your hands on a defined timeline.
Foreign adoption authorities want apostilled background checks on every adult in the home.
Character requirements at medical, legal, and financial licensing bodies abroad include apostilled clearances.
Work-visa programs in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Korea, Singapore, and most of Europe make the apostilled criminal check a requirement.
Korea, Japan, China, Spain, the UAE — every major teach-abroad destination makes an apostilled background check a visa condition.
Lantana is home to roughly 12,000 residents. Lantana is the county's Finnish town: the American-Finnish Club on Lantana Road has anchored the community since the 1940s, and dual-nationality files for Finland remain a recurring request, alongside estate documents for property in Uusimaa and Ostrobothnia. Guatemalan and Haitian families along the Dixie Highway corridor account for most of the rest, usually civil records for consular registration.
We serve clients throughout Lantana's neighborhoods including downtown Lantana, Hypoluxo Island, the Sportsman's Park area, and the Dixie Highway corridor, as well as nearby communities such as Hypoluxo, Lake Worth Beach, and South Palm Beach. Landmarks like the Lantana Nature Preserve, Sportsman's Park, and the Ocean Avenue bridge put us on familiar ground — this is home-turf service, not a mail-order processor.
From Lantana, our West Palm Beach office is about 15 minutes away — and appointments are usually available same day or next day. We also handle FDLE background check apostilles for clients in nearby Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, and Riviera Beach.
The rules are specific, and they are where Lantana filings most often go wrong: There are two distinct background checks for two distinct jobs, and requesting the wrong one costs you weeks. The FDLE check reports Florida criminal history, comes from the state, and is apostilled by the Florida Department of State — that's our lane, and it satisfies many countries' rules, particularly where the requirement reads 'police clearance from your state of residence.' The certified version comes straight from FDLE.
An FBI Identity History Summary reflects federal/national records and is outside the Florida apostille system — it needs federal authentication via the U.S. Department of State in Washington, or an apostille arranged through an FBI-approved channeler. If your destination insists on the FBI report specifically, we'll say so plainly and route you correctly; if the wording is flexible, the FDLE path is far quicker for anyone living in Florida. When your FDLE background check is ready, bring it to our office — about 15 minutes from Lantana — appointments usually available same day or next day.
Book an appointment at our West Palm Beach office — we confirm your time within one business hour, with same-day and next-day slots usually available.
Before anything is filed, we vet the document itself — the certification, the notarization, and what your destination country expects — so rejections don't happen.
We hand-carry your paperwork to the Florida Department of State counter ourselves. No mail-in pile, no batch processing, nothing left to chance.
Your apostilled originals come back in 5 business days, ready for office pickup or local return delivery — and you get a call the minute they arrive.
One flat number, nothing bolted on afterward. What we quote is what you pay, and the Florida Department of State's filing fee is already inside it.
Every price covers the $10-per-document Florida Department of State filing fee, in-person submission at the state counter, and complete document handling. If your paperwork needs notarization first, we offer that as a separate add-on service.
Grab the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form from the Florida Department of State here. There's no need to fill it out ahead of time — we'll complete it with you at your appointment.
Because Lantana is a small coastal town with Haitian and Guatemalan communities and a long-standing Finnish connection, the FDLE background checks we apostille here are most often bound for Haiti, Guatemala, and Finland. That matters practically: each destination has its own quirks — whether a certified translation is required, whether the receiving registry wants a recently issued copy, and whether the apostille needs to be translated along with the document.
We handle those details as part of the job rather than leaving you to discover them at a consulate window. Tell us the destination country when you call and we’ll confirm exactly what your FDLE background check needs before anything is filed — including whether a translation should be ordered before or after the apostille, which is the sequencing mistake that costs Lantana clients the most time.
Yes — we serve every city in Palm Beach County, Lantana included. Service is by appointment at our West Palm Beach office at 500 S Australian Ave, Suite 600; requests before 2 PM are routinely scheduled the same day, and every request gets a confirmed time within one business hour.
We're at 500 S Australian Ave, Suite 600 in West Palm Beach — about 15 minutes from Lantana. Office visits are by appointment, and same-day slots are usually available.
Drop-off to return runs 5 business days anywhere in the county — the identical in-person filing schedule for every city we serve. Facing a tighter deadline? Call and we'll give you a straight answer about what rush handling can realistically deliver.
No — that $24 instant printout has no certifying signature and will be refused. Only FDLE's certified criminal history record works. It's the number-one mistake we stop before it happens.
Read the exact wording from your destination: 'state police clearance' or 'certificate from your state of residence' means the FDLE check does the job. 'FBI background check' or 'federal criminal record' points you to the federal route. Read the requirement to us over the phone — interpreting these lines is daily work here.
Most destinations want the check issued within 3–6 months of your application date. Time your FDLE order to your actual timeline rather than requesting it months early.
A name-based FDLE search can surface possible matches when a name is common; the fingerprint-based certified check settles it conclusively. If your name is a common one, we'll point you to the fingerprint route from the start.
Order it through FDLE's certified criminal history request process — not the instant online lookup. What arrives is a certified letter bearing FDLE's seal and an authorized signature, which is precisely what the Department of State authenticates. Call us and we'll walk you through placing the order.
Order the certified criminal history record.
U.S. Department of State — Office of AuthenticationsThe federal route required for FBI checks.
Florida Department of StateThe office that apostilles certified FDLE reports.
One flat rate, volume bundles, and the few things that add cost.
Processing timeThe 5-day timeline vs the mail-in queue.
Same-day & rush serviceA straight answer on what a tight deadline allows.
Book an appointmentBy appointment at 500 S Australian Ave, Suite 600.
Same-day appointments available for Lantana — call and we'll confirm your window within one business hour.
