For work visas, teaching placements, residency and citizenship applications. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving Lakeland by appointment.
Almost every country that issues a long-stay visa wants a police clearance from where you've been living. For Florida residents that's the FDLE criminal history record — and it has to carry an apostille before a foreign consulate will accept it.
The critical detail: only the certified FDLE record qualifies. The instant online search printout that anyone can generate has no seal and no signature, so the Department of State will reject it. You need the certified version FDLE issues on request, which arrives with an official seal. We review what you've received before filing, carry it to Tallahassee in person, and return it apostilled in 5 business days — which matters, because these documents expire.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Korea, Singapore and most of the EU require an apostilled police clearance in the work permit packet.
TEFL and international school placements pair the apostilled background check with an apostilled degree — the two travel together.
Residency-by-investment and long-stay visa programs in Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy all require apostilled criminal record checks.
Naturalisation files abroad routinely include a police clearance from every country of residence in the applicant's recent history.
Foreign adoption authorities require apostilled background checks for every adult in the household, often with a short validity window.
Healthcare, education and financial licensing boards abroad require a criminal record check authenticated for use in their jurisdiction.
Lakeland counts roughly 120,000 people and stands the largest city in Polk County. Polk County residents click through to us at nearly twice the rate of the Tampa Bay average — there is real unmet demand between Tampa and Orlando, and Lakeland sits at the centre of it. A large agricultural and logistics workforce with strong Mexican and Central American ties drives Spanish-language vital records work, while Florida Southern College and the corporate presence in town generate diploma and corporate apostille requests.
We serve clients throughout Lakeland's neighborhoods including Lake Morton, Dixieland, Grasslands, South Lakeland and Highland City. We know the ground around Lake Mirror, Florida Southern College and the Publix corporate campus. That matters more than it sounds: this is a local service, not a mail-in processor.
From Lakeland, our Tampa Westshore office is about 45 minutes away — book a time and the slot is held for you when you arrive. The same service runs to Plant City, Brandon and Tampa just up the road.
Documents leaving Lakeland most often head to Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Agricultural and logistics households drive Spanish-language vital records and powers of attorney, while Florida Southern College and the corporate presence in town generate diploma and corporate authentications.
Polk clients come across I-4. Given the distance, book ahead and let us confirm the document qualifies by phone first. Whichever route you take, the document is filed in person at the Florida Department of State rather than mailed, which is what holds the return to 5 business days.
The Department of State will only apostille the certified FDLE criminal history record — the version FDLE issues with an official seal and an authorised signature. Request the certified copy specifically when you order; the free instant search result and the standard online printout are not certified and cannot be authenticated no matter how official they look.
Some destinations want an FBI Identity History Summary rather than a state check, and that's a federal document — it goes to the U.S. Department of State in Washington for authentication, not to Tallahassee. A few countries want both. If you're not sure which your consulate expects, tell us the country and the visa type and we'll tell you which route to take before you order anything. Bring the certified record to our Westshore office — about 45 minutes from Lakeland — or book a booked appointment.
You come to West Kennedy Boulevard at a time we've reserved for you. One exchange, and the document is in our hands.
Every document is examined before filing — issuing seal, signature, notarial certificate, and the specific requirements of the country it's headed to.
We present the document at the Florida Department of State in person. Nothing sits in a mailroom, and nothing waits behind a batch of other people's paperwork.
The apostilled original is back and ready to collect at the office. You'll hear from us the moment it's in.
You are told the number before we take the document, and it does not move. The state's per-document filing fee is already counted inside it.
The $10 Florida Department of State fee is built into every price, along with in-person filing and end-to-end handling of the document. Documents that require notarization first can have that added on.
Grab the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form from the Florida Department of State here. There's no need to fill it out ahead of time — we'll complete it with you at your appointment.
Usually the same day or the next. Tell us when suits and we'll hold the slot; confirmation comes back within one business hour of the request, not the following morning.
about 45 minutes away — on West Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa's Westshore district, at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K. Call ahead and your slot is reserved before you set off.
Five business days after handoff. The clock is set by the Department of State counter, not by the drive, so Lakeland is on the same schedule as the rest of our area. Tight deadline? Ring us and we'll be straight with you about what's possible.
Request it directly from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and specify that you need the certified copy for apostille purposes. It arrives with FDLE's seal and an authorised signature. Turnaround is typically a few business days, and we can walk you through the request if it's your first time.
No. That printout carries no seal and no signature, so there's nothing for the Department of State to authenticate. It gets rejected at the counter. Only the certified record works — this is the single most common mistake we see on background check requests.
It depends on the country. Many accept a state-level FDLE check; others specifically require the FBI Identity History Summary, which is federal and authenticated in Washington rather than Tallahassee. Some want both. Tell us the destination and visa type and we'll confirm.
Most consulates treat a police clearance as valid for three to six months from issue, and some count from the apostille date instead. Don't order it too far ahead of your filing date — that's the most common reason people end up doing this twice.
It can slow the FDLE search, and a fingerprint-based request usually resolves it cleanly. It has no effect on the apostille step itself — once the certified record is issued, authentication proceeds exactly the same way.
Order the certified criminal history record.
FBI Identity History SummaryThe federal alternative, authenticated in Washington.
Florida Department of StateThe office that issues the apostille itself.
One flat rate, volume bundles, and the few things that add cost.
Processing timeThe 5-day timeline vs the mail-in queue.
Same-day & rush serviceA straight answer on what a tight deadline allows.
Booking an appointmentHow office visits work, and what to bring.
Background checks expire — call and we'll confirm a Lakeland appointment within one business hour.
