The criminal history check foreign governments actually require — certified by FDLE, apostilled by the state. $250 per document, 5 business days. Serving Tamarac from our Fort Lauderdale office, by appointment.
For the 71,000 people who call Tamarac home, getting a FDLE background check accepted abroad comes down to one certification: the Florida apostille. Work visas, foreign residency permits, teaching contracts, and citizenship applications almost always include one line that stops people cold: 'criminal background check, apostilled.' For Florida residents, the state-level answer is the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) criminal history check — and when it's certified by FDLE, it can be apostilled by the Florida Department of State.
The critical detail: only the certified version qualifies. The instant $24 online search result you can print at home cannot be apostilled. You need FDLE's certified criminal history record, and once you have it — or once we've walked you through ordering it — we file it in person and return the apostilled check in 5 business days. For Tamarac residents, that means one handoff — at your door or at our office — and the apostilled original back in your hands on a defined timeline.
Naturalization processes abroad require apostilled criminal history covering years of U.S. residence.
Foreign adoption authorities require apostilled background checks for every adult in the household.
Medical, legal, and financial licensing bodies abroad include apostilled clearances in their character requirements.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Korea, Singapore, and most European work-visa programs require an apostilled criminal background check.
Tamarac is home to roughly 71,000 residents. Tamarac's mix of long-time retirees and growing Caribbean families means our requests from the city split between estate documents — powers of attorney and affidavits for property abroad — and vital records for citizenship and family petitions.
We serve clients throughout Tamarac's neighborhoods including Woodlands, Mainlands, Kings Point, Westwood, and Heathgate-Sunflower, as well as nearby communities such as Coral Springs, Lauderhill, Sunrise, and North Lauderdale. Landmarks like the Tamarac Sports Complex, Colony West Golf Club, and Caporella Park put us on familiar ground — this is home-turf service, not a mail-order processor.
From Tamarac, our Fort Lauderdale office is about 15 minutes away — visits by appointment — and appointments are usually available same day or next day. Also serving FDLE background check apostille clients in nearby Coral Springs, Sunrise, and Lauderhill.
Before we schedule anything for Tamarac, this is the part worth reading: Two different background checks serve two different purposes, and ordering the wrong one wastes weeks. The FDLE check covers Florida criminal history, is issued at the state level, and is apostilled by the Florida Department of State — that's the one we handle, and it satisfies many countries' requirements, especially when the requirement says 'state of residence police clearance.' The certified version is ordered directly from FDLE.
The FBI Identity History Summary covers federal/national history and cannot receive a Florida apostille — it requires federal authentication through the U.S. Department of State in Washington, or an apostille through an FBI-approved channeler workflow. If your destination country explicitly demands the FBI check, we'll tell you honestly and point you to the right path; if the requirement is flexible, the FDLE route is dramatically faster for Florida residents. When your FDLE background check is ready, bring it to our office — about 25 minutes from Tamarac — appointments usually available same day or next day.
Reserve a time that works — a scheduled office visit at 6750 N Andrews Ave, Ste 288E. Confirmed inside one business hour.
Nothing gets filed unchecked. We confirm certification, notarization, and country-specific requirements up front so your filing is not the one that bounces.
Your documents go to Tallahassee with a person, not a postmark, and are filed at the Department of State counter the same trip.
Five business days from handoff, the apostilled originals are ready. Collect at the office or take local delivery; we call as soon as they land.
No hourly rates, no hidden charges, no surprise add-ons. The price you see is the price you pay — including the Florida Department of State filing fee.
All prices include the Florida Department of State filing fee ($10 per document), in-person filing at the Department of State, and full document handling. Notarization available as a separate service when your documents require it.
Download the Florida Department of State Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form. We can fill it out for you at your appointment — no need to complete it in advance.
Because Tamarac is a mix of long-time retirees handling estates abroad and growing Caribbean families, the FDLE background checks we apostille here are most often bound for Jamaica, Israel, Canada, and Haiti. 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 Tamarac clients the most time.
Yes — we serve every city in Broward County, Tamarac included. Service is by appointment at our Fort Lauderdale office at 6750 N Andrews Ave, Ste 288E; requests before 2 PM are routinely scheduled the same day, and every request gets a confirmed time within one business hour.
We're at 6750 N Andrews Ave, Ste 288E in Fort Lauderdale — about 15 minutes from Tamarac. Office visits are by appointment, and same-day slots are usually available.
5 business days, drop-off to return — the same in-person filing timeline countywide. Rush handling is available when your deadline is tighter; call us and we'll tell you honestly what's achievable.
Name-based FDLE checks can return possible matches for common names; the fingerprint-based certified check resolves it definitively. If your name is common, we'll recommend the fingerprint route up front.
Through FDLE's certified criminal history request process — not the instant online search. The certified letter arrives with FDLE's seal and authorized signature, which is what the Department of State authenticates. We'll walk you through the order when you call.
No — the $24 instant search printout carries no certifying signature and will be rejected. Only FDLE's certified criminal history record qualifies. It's the single most common mistake we prevent.
Read your destination's wording: 'state police clearance' or 'certificate from your state of residence' means FDLE works. 'FBI background check' or 'federal criminal record' means the federal route. Read us the requirement and we'll interpret it — we do this daily.
Most countries require the check be issued within 3–6 months of your application. Order the FDLE check when your timeline is real, not months in advance.
