Criminal Clearance Letter: FBI and State Requests, Authentication

A criminal clearance letter is an official document from a law enforcement agency stating what criminal record, if any, they have on file for you. The FBI issues the federal version, called an Identity History Summary, for $18 and searches its national fingerprint-based database.¹ State and local agencies issue their own versions at their own fees. Picking the right level of check for your situation is the first decision, because the wrong one wastes weeks.

Which Level of Check You Need

The FBI’s Identity History Summary lists information drawn from fingerprint submissions the bureau has received over time: arrests, the submitting agency, arrest dates, charges, and the outcome of those charges if it was reported back to the FBI. It can also reflect federal employment, naturalization, or military service records tied to your fingerprints.² A clean summary confirms the FBI has no criminal history information linked to your prints.

The FBI database only contains records that were actually submitted to it. Many arrests handled entirely at the local or state level never make it into federal files. A local police clearance covers a single city or county. A state-level check covers the entire state’s criminal records database.

Who is asking determines what you need. Immigration agencies, federal employers, and foreign governments almost always want the FBI check. Landlords, professional licensing boards, and some local employers may accept a city, county, or state letter. Ask the requesting party in writing before you pay for anything.

What You Need to Apply

Regardless of level, you generally need:

A current, unexpired government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport, with your name matching the application.
Personal identifying information: full legal name, any former names or aliases, date of birth, and Social Security number. Complete details reduce the chance of your results being confused with someone else’s.
A current set of fingerprints. The FBI requires them for every Identity History Summary request. You can submit prints electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office or through an FBI-approved channeler, or mail a physical FD-258 fingerprint card. Local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and private fingerprinting services can roll your prints onto that card.¹³
Payment. The FBI charges $18 and does not accept personal checks, business checks, or cash. State and local fees vary widely, from under $10 at some local agencies to $50 or more for state searches with a federal component.¹

If you cannot afford the FBI’s $18 fee, request a fee waiver by contacting the FBI at (304) 625-5590 or identity@fbi.gov before submitting.¹

How to Request the FBI Identity History Summary

You have two paths: electronic or mail.

Electronic is faster. Start the request on the FBI’s website, then visit a participating U.S. Post Office to submit your prints digitally. Some FBI-approved channelers also handle electronic submissions. Channelers are private companies authorized by the FBI to collect your fingerprints, forward them to the bureau, and return the results.⁴ They may charge their own service fee on top of the FBI’s $18, but the whole chain being digital means faster delivery.

By mail, have your prints taken on an FD-258 card at a local law enforcement office or fingerprinting service, then mail the completed card with payment to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia.⁵ The FBI processes mail requests in the order received and does not offer expedited service.¹

State and Local Requests

State-level checks typically go through a state’s department of justice, bureau of investigation, or state police agency. Many states use an electronic fingerprinting system called Live Scan, where a technician captures your prints digitally and sends them straight to the state database. Forms, fees, and procedures differ by state, so contact the specific agency before you show up.

Local clearance letters come from a city police department or county sheriff’s office and cover records within that jurisdiction only. Call ahead to confirm hours, ID requirements, and whether they accept walk-ins.

Requesting a Check From Outside the United States

The FBI Identity History Summary is available if you are living abroad, but fingerprinting is harder to arrange. U.S. embassies and consulates do not provide fingerprinting services.² You will typically need local police to take your prints, roll them onto an FD-258 card, and then mail the card to the FBI yourself.

Between international mail times and the FBI’s processing queue, this can take considerably longer than a domestic request. Start early if a foreign government has set a deadline.

Processing Times

The FBI does not publish a specific turnaround time. Electronic submissions are processed faster than mailed cards, and all requests are handled in the order received.¹ In practice, electronic requests through channelers often return results within a few days; mailed requests can take several weeks.

State and local agencies generally process requests within one to three weeks, though backlogs happen. Some deliver results by secure electronic download; others mail a paper original with a seal. Confirm the delivery method before you submit, especially if the requesting party needs an original.

If your application is incomplete or contains errors, the processing agency will send a deficiency notice. Respond quickly. Ignoring it can result in your request being closed.

Getting the Letter Authenticated for International Use

A clearance letter going to a foreign government usually needs additional authentication before that government will accept it. The type depends on whether the destination country belongs to the 1961 Hague Convention.

Countries in the Hague Convention accept a simplified certification called an apostille. For FBI documents, the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. is the only authority that can issue it. State-level offices cannot apostille federal documents.⁶ The fee is $20 per document. Mail-in processing takes up to five weeks; walk-in service at the D.C. office takes about seven business days.

For countries that are not in the Hague Convention, you first obtain authentication from the Department of State, then take the authenticated document to the foreign country’s embassy or consulate for legalization.⁷ Each embassy sets its own fees and processing times.

State or local police clearance letters follow a different path. They must be authenticated by the issuing state’s Secretary of State before receiving a federal apostille or going to a foreign embassy.²

If the destination country uses a language other than English, you may also need a certified translation. Confirm the exact requirements with that country’s embassy before paying for translation services.

How Long the Letter Stays Valid

No federal law sets a universal expiration date, so validity depends on who is asking.

For U.S. immigration, USCIS treats FBI fingerprint results as valid for 15 months from the date the FBI processed them.⁸ Police certificates submitted with an immigrant visa application expire after two years, unless the certificate came from a country you have not returned to since it was issued.⁹

Foreign governments often set their own windows, commonly three to six months from issue. Employers and licensing boards tend to want recent results too, with most treating anything older than six months as stale. Confirm the accepted validity period with the requesting party before you start, so you do not pay for a check that expires before you can use it.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

If your Identity History Summary contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you have the right to challenge it at no cost. The FBI’s average response time for a challenge is about 45 days.¹

Send your challenge to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Identify the entry you believe is wrong and include copies of supporting documentation such as court disposition records or dismissal orders. The FBI forwards the challenge to the agency that originally submitted the record and asks that agency to verify or correct it, then updates its files based on that response.¹⁰

Expungement is a separate matter. Questions about sealing or expunging state arrest records must go to the state identification bureau in the state where the offense occurred, because expungement laws vary dramatically by state. Federal arrest data can only be removed from FBI files at the request of the submitting agency or by a federal court order specifically directing expungement.¹ If your record shows an arrest but no disposition, the usual fix is to obtain a certified copy of the court docket showing the outcome and submit it to the FBI so they can update the entry.

1
FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
2
U.S. Department of State — Bureau of Consular Affairs. Criminal Records Checks
3
FBI. Applicant Fingerprint Card FD-258
4
FBI. List of FBI-Approved Channelers for Departmental Order Submissions
5
FBI. Criminal Justice Information Services
6
U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services
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U.S. Department of State Archive. Apostille Requirements
8
USCIS. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part B Chapter 2 – Background and Security Checks
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U.S. Department of State. Civil Documents – Immigrant Visa Process
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eCFR. Title 28 CFR 16.34