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A federal apostille certifies a document issued by a U.S. federal agency for legal use in another country. This is different from a Texas apostille — the Texas Secretary of State only certifies documents issued or notarized within Texas. If your document comes from a federal agency or a federal court, it has to go through the U.S. Department of State's Office of Authentications
What qualifies as a federal document
FBI Identity History Summary (background check / "rap sheet") — the most common federal apostille request, typically needed for work visas, residency applications, or international adoption
Federal court records — federal civil judgments, federal criminal records, bankruptcy court documents
IRS and U.S. Treasury documents
USPTO documents — patents, trademarks
USDA/FDA export certificates — common for businesses shipping products internationally
Documents issued by any other U.S. federal agency
A note on FBI background checks specifically
The Department of State only accepts an original or certified copy of your FBI Identity History Summary with the official FBI seal — a photocopy, scan, or notarized copy will be rejected outright. If you don't have your FBI report yet, you'll need to request it directly from the FBI (12–14 weeks by mail) or through an FBI-approved channeler (as fast as 24 hours to a few business days) before we can apostille it. We apostille the report you already have — we don't process the FBI request itself.
How it works
Mail your original federal document to us using a trackable, insured shipping method
We submit it to the U.S. Department of State on your behalf
Your apostilled document is mailed back to you
A federal apostille certifies a document issued by a U.S. federal agency for legal use in another country. This is different from a Texas apostille — the Texas Secretary of State only certifies documents issued or notarized within Texas. If your document comes from a federal agency or a federal court, it has to go through the U.S. Department of State's Office of Authentications
What qualifies as a federal document
FBI Identity History Summary (background check / "rap sheet") — the most common federal apostille request, typically needed for work visas, residency applications, or international adoption
Federal court records — federal civil judgments, federal criminal records, bankruptcy court documents
IRS and U.S. Treasury documents
USPTO documents — patents, trademarks
USDA/FDA export certificates — common for businesses shipping products internationally
Documents issued by any other U.S. federal agency
A note on FBI background checks specifically
The Department of State only accepts an original or certified copy of your FBI Identity History Summary with the official FBI seal — a photocopy, scan, or notarized copy will be rejected outright. If you don't have your FBI report yet, you'll need to request it directly from the FBI (12–14 weeks by mail) or through an FBI-approved channeler (as fast as 24 hours to a few business days) before we can apostille it. We apostille the report you already have — we don't process the FBI request itself.
How it works
Mail your original federal document to us using a trackable, insured shipping method
We submit it to the U.S. Department of State on your behalf
Your apostilled document is mailed back to you