The check foreign governments actually ask for — FDLE-certified, state-apostilled. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving West Palm Beach from our West Palm Beach office, by appointment.
West Palm Beach 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 West Palm Beach 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 naturalization files require apostilled criminal history spanning your years in the U.S.
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.
West Palm Beach is home to roughly 120,000 residents. West Palm Beach is our home base — our office sits at 500 S Australian Ave, Suite 600, just off Okeechobee Boulevard at the edge of downtown. Residents book a time and hand off their documents at the office — same-day and next-day appointments are usually available.
We serve clients throughout West Palm Beach's neighborhoods including Downtown, Northwood Village, El Cid, Flamingo Park, Grandview Heights, and SoSo (South of Southern), as well as nearby communities such as Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, and Lake Clarke Shores. Landmarks like Clematis Street, Rosemary Square, and the Norton Museum of Art put us on familiar ground — this is home-turf service, not a mail-order processor.
Our office is right here on Australian Avenue — book an appointment and hand the documents off in minutes. We also handle FDLE background check apostilles for clients in nearby Boca Raton, and Boynton Beach.
This is the section that saves West Palm Beach clients the most time: 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 0 minutes — our office is on Australian Avenue from West Palm Beach — 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 West Palm Beach is the county seat and its largest city, with the courthouse, the consular traffic, and the highest concentration of immigration attorneys in the county, the FDLE background checks we apostille here are most often bound for Haiti, Cuba, Colombia, and Brazil. 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 West Palm Beach clients the most time.
Yes — we serve every city in Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach 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.
Right in the neighborhood — 500 S Australian Ave, Suite 600, on Australian Avenue itself. Visits are by appointment; call and we will usually have a same-day slot.
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.
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.
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.
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 West Palm Beach — call and we'll confirm your window within one business hour.
