Frequently Asked Questions: FBI Background Checks & Apostilles for Spain
This FAQ covers the most common questions about obtaining FBI background checks and apostilles for Spanish visa applications. Click on any question below to see the detailed answer.
FBI Background Checks 
Yes, you must submit the federal FBI Identity History Summary (background check). Spanish authorities reject state or county background checks.
The background check needs to have been issued within six months of submitting your visa application.
No. The report must be less than six months old.
Yes. Each person aged 18 or older must submit an individual report, apostille, and sworn translation. Minors under 18 are usually exempt.
Not necessarily. Spain focuses on offences carrying potential sentences over one year. Misdemeanors are often allowed, but each case is reviewed individually.
Using a Live Scan channeler is fastest: most email the digital copy of the background check within hours and almost always within 3 days. Mailing ink fingerprints generally takes three weeks, but can be delayed. Check our guide here.
Many Spanish police stations offer fingerprinting; you then mail those prints with your application to the FBI or use a channeler that accepts mailed cards. See our guide here.
You simply submit a new set. Live Scan centers usually re-scan at no extra charge.
No. Print the digital copy out yourself. This document is acceptable for apostille and translation.
Yes. Provide a background check from every country where you spent six months or more in the last five years, each legalized or apostilled and officially translated (if not already in Spanish).
Expect about $50 for Live Scan fingerprints and FBI background check channeler fee.
No. The apostille and the sworn translation are sufficient.
Apostille-Specific Questions
An apostille is a certificate issued under the Hague Convention that legalizes an official government document for international use. Apostilles are normally issued by the state and federal Departments of State.
Only the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. may apostille this federal document; state authorities cannot.
No. They will only apostille an original FBI report or a printed PDF that shows the FBI's digital signature. Photocopies are rejected.
The certificate never expires, but consulates require the background check to be issued less than 6 months before you submit your application.
Normal processing (mail-in) runs six to eight weeks. Using an expedited courier service usually cuts the wait to five to ten business days. Blueprint Spain offers an expedited apostille service. You can request an expedited FBI background check apostille by contacting us here.
Yes. You can mail the report from Spain to the Department of State yourself or hire a courier like Blueprint Spain to handle payment, delivery, and return shipping for you.
Translate after apostille. Sworn translators must translate the background check and the apostille.
No. Each document (for example, each family member's FBI report) requires its own separate apostille.