The criminal history check foreign governments actually require — certified by FDLE, apostilled by the state. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving Sunrise with mobile pickup and our nearby Wilton Manors office.
For the 97,000 people who call Sunrise 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 Sunrise residents, that means one handoff — at your door or at our office — and the apostilled original back in your hands on a defined timeline.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Korea, Singapore, and most European work-visa programs require an apostilled criminal background check.
Every major teach-abroad destination — Korea, Japan, China, Spain, the UAE — requires an apostilled background check as a condition of the visa.
Portugal, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, and other residency programs require apostilled police clearances covering your place of residence.
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.
Sunrise is home to roughly 97,000 residents. Sunrise's Caribbean and Latin American communities — and the international workforce around the Sawgrass corporate corridor — keep us busy with apostilles for foreign employment, family petitions, and dual citizenship applications.
We serve clients throughout Sunrise's neighborhoods including Sawgrass, Sunrise Lakes, Welleby, New River Estates, and Sunrise Golf Village, as well as nearby communities such as Plantation, Tamarac, Lauderhill, and Weston. Landmarks like Sawgrass Mills, Amerant Bank Arena, and Markham Park put us on familiar ground — this is home-turf service, not a mail-order processor.
From Sunrise, our Wilton Manors office is about 25 minutes away — or skip the drive entirely and book mobile pickup; we come to your home or office. Also serving FDLE background check apostille clients in nearby Plantation, Weston, Tamarac, and Lauderhill.
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 Sunrise — or book mobile pickup and we'll come to you.
Walk in to our Wilton Manors office or schedule mobile pickup anywhere in Broward County — confirmed within one business hour.
Every document is checked before filing — certification, notarization, destination-country requirements — so nothing gets rejected.
Your documents are walked into the Florida Department of State in person. No mail-in queue, no batching, no guesswork.
Apostilled originals ready in 5 business days — office pickup or local return delivery. We call the moment they’re back.
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 walk-in filing, 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 during pickup — no need to complete it in advance.
Yes — mobile pickup covers all of Sunrise and every Broward County city. Requests before 2 PM are routinely scheduled same-day, and every request gets a confirmed window within one business hour.
We're at 2312 Wilton Dr, Ste 420 in Wilton Manors — about 25 minutes from Sunrise. Walk-ins are welcome seven days a week, or book mobile pickup and skip the trip.
5 business days, pickup 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.
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.
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.
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 results.
Flat pricing, bundles, and what can add cost.
Processing timeThe 5-day timeline vs the mail-in queue.
Same-day & rush serviceWhat is honestly achievable on a tight deadline.
Mobile pickupWe come to you, anywhere in Broward County.
Same-day pickup available across Sunrise — call and we'll confirm your window within one business hour.
