FBI background check for Russia: apostille and translation

How to get an FBI Identity History Summary accepted in Russia for a residence permit, work permit or marriage: ordering, the federal apostille, the notarized Russian translation and deadlines.

Russian migration offices ask most US citizens for a criminal record certificate when they apply for a temporary residence permit (RVP), a permanent residence permit (VNZh) or, in some cases, a work permit. For an American the document that works is the FBI Identity History Summary — often called the FBI background check or FBI rap sheet. A state police certificate is usually not enough, because it covers only one state.

The certificate goes through three steps before a Russian officer will take it:

1. you order it from the FBI;
2. the US Department of State puts an apostille on it;
3. the certificate and the apostille are translated into Russian and the translation is certified by a Russian notary.

Skip any step and the document is returned. Below is what each step involves and where people usually lose time.

Step 1. Order the FBI Identity History Summary

You can request the summary yourself directly from the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division or through an FBI-approved channeler. Either way the FBI needs your fingerprints.

• Directly from the FBI. You submit the request online through the FBI's electronic departmental order and send fingerprints on a standard fingerprint card (FD-1164) or give them at a participating post office in the US. The result arrives electronically; a paper copy can be mailed.
• Through an approved channeler. Private companies listed on the FBI website handle the request for you, usually faster, for an extra fee.

If you live in Russia, fingerprints can be taken at a local police station or by a private service and sent on a fingerprint card. Ask for the card to be filled in and signed by the officer who takes the prints.

Step 2. Get the apostille from the US Department of State

Russia and the United States are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so no consular legalization is needed — an apostille is enough.

The FBI is a federal agency, so its certificates are apostilled by the US Department of State, Office of Authentications, in Washington, D.C. — not by the Secretary of State of your home state. This is the most common mistake: a state apostille on an FBI document is not valid, and the Russian notary will refuse to work with it.

You apply with form DS-4194, the original certificate and the fee. Processing takes several weeks by mail, so plan for it; courier companies in Washington can file the request in person for you.

Step 3. Translate into Russian and certify with a notary

In Russia a foreign document is accepted in a notarized translation: a translator makes the Russian version, a Russian notary certifies the translator's signature, and the translation is bound to a copy of the original.

What has to be translated:

• the certificate itself — every line, including the header, the result ("No arrest record" or the list of entries), the date and the reference numbers;
• the apostille — it is part of the document, and an untranslated apostille is a typical reason for refusal;
• any stamps and seals on the pages.

Your name in the translation must be spelled exactly the same way as in the notarized translation of your passport, which the migration office has from you as well. If the spellings differ, the officer may treat them as two different people. That is why we keep the spelling from your passport translation and use it in every other document we translate for you.

What we need from you

• a scan or a clear photo of the apostilled certificate — all pages, including the apostille page;
• a copy of your passport translation if it was done elsewhere, so the spelling matches.

The translation is ready in 1 business day, and the price includes the notary's fee. You can pick it up in Moscow or have it delivered across Russia.

How long the certificate stays valid

Russian law does not print an expiry date on the certificate, but migration offices check how old it is. As a rule the certificate must be issued no more than three months before you file your application. The apostille and the translation do not extend that period — count from the date the FBI issued the summary.

Because the FBI and the State Department together can take more than a month, order the certificate close to your filing date, but not so close that you miss it.

Timeline at a glance

Common reasons a certificate is rejected

• the apostille was issued by a state, not by the US Department of State;
• the apostille page was not translated;
• the certificate is older than three months on the day of filing;
• the name spelling differs from the passport translation;
• only the first page was translated, while the summary has several.

Quick answers

Can I apostille the FBI certificate in Russia? No. An apostille is issued only in the country that issued the document — for the FBI summary, that is the US Department of State.

Can the US Embassy in Moscow help? The embassy does not issue apostilles on FBI certificates. You still need the State Department's Office of Authentications.

Do I need a certified translation from the US? No. For Russian authorities the translation must be certified by a Russian notary, so it is done in Russia.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; check the current list with your migration office before filing.