How To Get And Apostille Your FBI Clearance?
Warning/Reminder:
Your FBI Clearances have to be LESS than 12 months old at the time you submit your completed dossier to Bulgaria.
This means that the FBI clearances shouldn’t be the first thing that you do because it is “time stamped” and has to be less than 12 months old when submitted to Bulgaria with the dossier. If you have questions about this timing, give us a call.
Get FBI Clearances
First thing is – get the clearance
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The first step is to get the actual FBI Clearance.
This often times gets confusing because your local home study agency (if you live outside of NC), says that the local police clearance they are running on you (to meet state requirements) includes the FBI database.
True as that may be, we don’t question it, but the reality is that Bulgaria wants a document issued on the FBI’s letterhead. They won’t accept a state document for this purpose.
So, this likely means that you will get fingerprinted twice. Once for local police clearance. Once for FBI Clearance.
Your local social worker may (or may not) have good instructions about how to get fingerprinted.
We recommend that you use an EXPEDITOR for the FBI Clearance. Read more in the next step.
Get an Expeditor for your FBI
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This is a service that you can do through the FBI directly, but they don’t promise to be very quick.
We strongly suggest that you get an expeditor. Linked below are some options.
Also, if your social worker isn’t able to tell you how to get fingerprinted locally, for the FBI, the expeditor will surely tell you.
Send FBI Clearance for Apostille
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Once you have been fingerprinted, likely with the help of your expeditor, and the expeditor has sent you your FBI Clearance, printed on the FBI’s letterhead, you will send this document for Apostille.
However, this is a federally issued document. So, it needs to go the the Federal Government, as opposed to your State’s Secretary of State.
NO NOTARY NEEDED.
So it is going to VA.
Make sure to use their cover letter, linked below and also here.
Send yout FBI Clearances to:
Office of Authentications
U.S. Department of State
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206
The Fee is $20 Per Apostille.
Please check their site here before you mail to make sure no chagnes have taken place, like change in fees, or address.
Their phone number is 202 485 8000. Perhaps you can call them before you send it in.
FedEx not acceptable as of 02/01/2017
When you mail them your clearance, please include a pre-paid envelope, with a tracking number, for them to mail it back.
Include pre-paid envelope
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Make sure to include a pre-paid envelope for the FBI to send you the apostilled clearance back in a timely fashion, and also so that you can track it.
Mail to our office with completed dossier
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Mail to our office with completed dossier.
What Else?
Below is a screenshot of the FBI’s Cover Letter (linked above) with their instrucitons about how to mail to them your clearances. They are the same as ours, but we though we’d include this screenshot.
Please make sure to use their cover letter when you request the apostille.
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