Even if you’re abroad, it’s still possible to retrieve your FBI report without having to return to the United States to be fingerprinted or pay for an expensive third-party service to retrieve it. You will need:
- Your fingerprints taken on the official FD-258 Card (2 sets if possible)
- Completed FBI order form/FBI Channelor’s form
- Payment
- Mailing address where FBI Check will be sent (must be C/O of you or your attorney if using a Channelor)
Step One: Obtaining the fingerprints
Having your fingerprints taken overseas isn’t as easy as it is in the States, especially because you need them taken on the FD-258 card. While this card is commonly found at most U.S. law enforcement offices, it’s much rarer abroad. If you are overseas, you’ll most likely have to print out the pdf of the card yourself and take it with you to the office to be fingerprinted.
You will want to print the FB-258 card on the heaviest (thickest), most cardboard-like paper possible. Printing it on standard printing paper will not work because it does not capture fingerprints very well, and if the fingerprints cannot be read you will not be issued the FBI report. That is also why you should send two sets of fingerprints just in case.
Fingerprints can be taken at any major law enforcement agency in the country where you are located. If you don’t know of one where you are, the closest American Consulate is a good place to begin your inquiry. You can check the website of the Consulate or contact them and ask if they provide fingerprinting services. Even if they do not, they should be able to point you in the direction.
Step Two: Completing the FBI or FBI Channelor’s form
You have the option of requesting the report directly from the FBI or using a FBI-approved Channeling Service. The Channeling Service is a private company that can issue the report faster for an additional fee. Although there are currently 13 FBI-Channelors listed on the FBI website, only the Channelors National Background Check, Inc. in Ohio and My FBI Report in California offer a mail-in service to retrieve the type of FBI report that can be issued an Apostille or legalized by a Consulate.
There is a significant advantage to using a FBI Channeling service if you’re overseas and need your FBI Check fast. However, you cannot use a FBI-Channelor and must go directly through the FBI if:
You are not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Channelor will deny your request for a FBI Check you check the box on the Channelor’s form that you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
You want the FBI Check sent to someone else (other than your attorney). For the Channelor to mail the document C/O your attorney you will need to submit a signed released form on the attorney’s letterhead with both of your signatures. Otherwise, your FBI Check must be mailed C/O you.
You want the FBI Check send to a foreign address. FBI Channelors cannot send Identity History Summary Checks to addresses outside the United States.
While The FBI only sends results via First-Class USPS mail, Channelors can send them through a faster, more secure shipping method for an additional fee. Keep in mind that if you are using a Channelor the mailing address doesn’t necessarily have to be your home address, but it must be C/O your name. If you want you can have the Channelor mail the results to your old address in the United States, provided you have someone there to receive it, or you can instruct them to send it to the address of a friend or relative C/O of your name as if it was your address.
If you write a mailing address other than your own on the Channelor’s form, this will also be the address printed under your name at the top left corner of the FBI report. You avoid this problem by requesting the FBI Check from the FBI directly.
Step Three: Mailing the documents to the FBI or Channelor
Before mailing your package to the FBI or Channelor, make sure you have completed the FBI request form correctly and have the correct payment prepared. You may want to write on the form that you need the document for a foreign country as an extra assurance that the correct report will be issued. I would recommend sending the document via a traceable courier method such as USPS Priority or Express mail or a private parcel company.
Step Four: Having the FBI report legalized and mailed to you
If you just need the FBI Report you can have your friend mail it back to your address overseas. Chances are, however, that you also need the FBI Report legalized and/or issued an Apostille in the United States.
The only entity that can issue an Apostille for FBI reports is the US Department of State authentication office in Washington DC. If you need the report legalized for a non-Hague Convention country, you will probably need to send the report to this office first before the Consulate will legalize it.
If your friend or relative owes you a favor in the States, now is the time to cash in. If your FBI Report will be used in a Hague Convention country and needs an Apostille, ask the person receiving your FBI report if they can mail it to the US Department of State along with the correct money order and prepaid return envelope addressed to you overseas. If your friend or relative lives near where the USODS office is DC, he or she could also take the document in person, pick it up after its been given an Apostille, and then mail it you overseas.
On the other hand, if your document will be used in a non-Hague Convention country, the Consular legalization will most likely be a two-step process. First the document will need to be authenticated at the US Department of State, then it will need to be stamped by the correct Consular Officer. In this case, your friend/relative will need to mail the document to USDOS with a prepaid envelope addressed to him or her. After the USDOS step is completed, the document will need to be mailed to the Consulate with a return label addressed to you. Or, your friend could again go to these offices in person.
Next steps
You may also need your FBI Check translated into another language.
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