An FBI Identity History Summary, what most people call an FBI background check, is the FBI's federal criminal record report about you. El Paso residents need it apostilled when a foreign government wants proof of a clean record: a UTEP graduate leaving to teach English in Spain or South Korea, a retiree applying for a residency visa in Portugal, a Fort Bliss spouse taking a job abroad, or a family assembling an international adoption dossier. The same is true of other federal papers, such as a certified federal court record or an IRS Form 6166 tax residency certificate. Being federal, they follow a different path than a Texas birth certificate or a notarized power of attorney.
The rule is simple but often missed: the Texas Secretary of State apostilles only documents signed by a Texas notary or a Texas public official, so it cannot apostille anything issued by the federal government. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications with request form DS-4194 and the Department's per-document fee. The FBI issues the Identity History Summary under 28 CFR 16.30–16.34, and most results now arrive electronically; the Office of Authentications has its own rules about which version it accepts, so we confirm your copy qualifies before anything ships. No notary seal goes on the FBI report. Our role is facilitation — we never issue the apostille; the Department of State does.
Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the document and the receiving country. We confirm the document is eligible, quote the itemized total, service fee plus federal fee, and pick it up anywhere in El Paso County, from a Westside home to an office near Fort Bliss, or meet you by appointment at 11860 Vista Del Sol #220. We complete the request form, mail the package with a prepaid return envelope, track it and hand the authenticated document back to you. Plan for several weeks of federal processing. We are not attorneys and cannot advise on visa requirements or what a foreign agency will accept; you request the FBI report from the FBI directly, not through us.
Documents we notarize
- FBI Identity History Summary (FBI background check)
- Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship — federal Office of Authentications only; often not eligible, we confirm
- Federal court documents (certified copies from a U.S. District or Bankruptcy Court clerk)
- Social Security Administration letters (benefit verification letters)
- IRS Form 6166, Certification of U.S. Tax Residency
- Other federally issued documents (FDA, USDA, USPTO and similar agency certificates)
- Texas DPS criminal history record — a Texas document, apostilled by the Texas Secretary of State
- Sworn statement about a document, signed before our notary, when the recipient accepts one (Texas path)
- Department of State authentication certificates for non-Hague countries (before embassy legalization)
Federal document or Texas document? Which office handles it
Who issued or signed the document decides the route. An FBI Identity History Summary, a certified record from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in downtown El Paso, an IRS Form 6166 or a Social Security Administration letter is federal and goes to the Department of State. A Texas DPS criminal history record, a certified copy from an El Paso County district court or any affidavit sworn before a Texas notary is a Texas document and goes to the Texas Secretary of State for a $15 apostille. We sort this out on the first call.
Two more distinctions matter. Certificates of Naturalization and Citizenship are federal documents that a notary may never copy-certify; they are handled through the Office of Authentications and are often not eligible at all, so we confirm before you pay for anything. And if the receiving country is not a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, the Department of State issues an authentication certificate instead of an apostille, and the document then needs legalization by that country's embassy — we handle the federal step and tell you plainly what the embassy step involves, without giving legal advice.
Common mistakes that delay a federal authentication
The most expensive mistake is sending an FBI result to Austin. The Texas Secretary of State returns federal documents unprocessed, and the weeks you waited are gone. The second is ordering the wrong version of the report: results obtained through a third-party FBI-approved channeler may not be accepted the same way as results issued by the FBI itself, and a plain printout that cannot be checked against the FBI's electronic record can be questioned. Order directly from the FBI, keep the original PDF unaltered, and tell us exactly how you received it.
Timing is the third. Many consulates and foreign employers want the background check dated within a few months of the application, and the Department of State takes several weeks on top of the FBI's own processing. Count backward from your visa appointment or contract date and start early. Finally, do not staple, hole-punch or write on the document; the Office of Authentications wants it clean, and so does the embassy or registry that reads it afterward in Madrid, Seoul or Mexico City.
What to bring
- The FBI Identity History Summary exactly as you received it — the original PDF or the sealed mailed result
- Unexpired government photo ID (Texas driver license, passport or Mexican consular ID) for anything we notarize
- The name of the receiving country and the recipient's checklist or instructions
- Your mailing address and phone number for the return of the document
- Payment for the itemized quote: service fee plus the federal fee per document
How a mobile appointment works
Text or call to book
Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the document type, the receiving country and your deadline. We confirm the federal route applies, tell you whether the document is likely eligible, and quote the itemized total before you commit to anything.
We come to you
We pick up the document anywhere in El Paso County, at home, at work or a coffee shop near you, check it page by page and complete Department of State form DS-4194 with you. Anything needing a Texas notarization is done on the spot.
Authenticated and returned
We mail the package with tracking and a prepaid return envelope, follow it through the Office of Authentications, and hand the authenticated document back to you in El Paso. If your country needs embassy legalization next, we explain that step plainly.