How to Get an FBI Background Check

Whichever route you choose, you are asking the FBI for a copy of the record it holds about you, indexed by your fingerprints. [2] The right to request your own copy is set out in federal regulation, in the subpart of 28 CFR that governs production of FBI identification records to the person they describe. [4]

Every route needs the same three things. Gathering them first is the difference between one attempt and three.

1. Your fingerprints. Either captured electronically at a participating location, or rolled in ink onto a standard FD-258 fingerprint card. [5] The card is a specific federal form — a photocopy or a home scan is not a substitute.
2. Identification and personal details matching what you will put on the request: full name, date of birth, place of birth, and mailing address.
3. A way to pay the $18. [1] A mailed request must be accompanied by a certified check or money order payable to the Treasury of the United States, or by the FBI's credit card payment form. [1] [7] The online portal takes payment as part of the application.

1. 1

   Step 1: 1. Decide your route

   Direct to the FBI, or through an approved Channeler. If you are not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, the choice is already made — Channelers cannot serve you. [3] See Direct to the FBI or an Approved Channeler?.

   Minutes

2. 2

   Step 2: 2. Get fingerprinted

   Electronically at a participating location, or on an FD-258 card. [5] Keep the card flat and unfolded; do not laminate it.

   One appointment

3. 3

   Step 3: 3. Submit the request and pay

   Online through the FBI's eDO portal, or by mail with the $18 payment attached. [1] [6] A Channeler collects both from you and forwards the submission.

   $18 to the FBI

4. 4

   Step 4: 4. Wait for processing

   For requests started online with the card mailed in, the FBI estimates up to 10 days from when the card reaches it. [6] Nothing in that figure covers the post getting there.

   See the timing guide

5. 5

   Step 5: 5. Receive the summary

   You get a summary either listing the record the FBI holds, or stating that no record exists. A no-record result is a document, not an empty response — it is the clearance most immigration authorities are asking for. [2]

   The deliverable

6. 6

   Step 6: 6. Authenticate it, if a foreign authority asked you to

   Many governments want the summary apostilled by the U.S. Department of State before they will accept it. [8] This is a separate process with its own queue, and it is nobody's default — only do it if your destination asks.

   Only if required

The honest version is that two facts decide it for most people, and neither is about price.

• Are you a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident? If not, Channelers are closed to you and you submit directly. [3] Everything else is detail.
• Where will your fingerprints be taken? If you can reach a location that captures and transmits them electronically, you avoid the mail leg entirely — and the mail leg is usually the longest part of the whole thing.

Cost is the tiebreak, not the decision. The FBI's fee is $18 either way. [1] A Channeler's fee is on top of it and is set by that company, so the gap between routes is whatever that company charges for the convenience. We do not publish a comparison of Channeler prices, because we would be ranking vendors — see Direct to the FBI or an Approved Channeler? for how to compare them yourself against the FBI's own list.