Quick Summary: How to get an FBI background check from Colombia, in short: four things, in this order — fingerprints taken on a digital scanner or an FD-258 card, a submission to the FBI, a federal apostille from the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., and a certified Spanish translation — all completed inside the 3-month validity window Colombian authorities apply to the report.
- You do not have to fly to the United States and you do not need an embassy appointment. Every step can be done from Colombia.
- The FBI accepts requests three ways: through an FBI-approved Channeler (result in days), through the FBI's own eDO online portal, or by mail on a physical FD-258 card (result in weeks). Our VIP service uses the Channeler route.
- Only the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. can apostille an FBI report. A state Secretary of State apostille gets rejected.
- Apostille first, translate second — the translation has to cover the report and the apostille as one packet.
- The 3-month clock runs from the FBI's issue date, not the apostille date. Self-managed, the full sequence commonly takes 3–4 months, which is why so many applicants run out of time on the calendar rather than on the paperwork.
That is the sequence. The rest of this guide is the detail inside each step — what it costs, how long it actually takes, and the specific places people lose weeks.
How to Get an FBI Background Check From Colombia: The Six Steps
The document Colombia asks for is officially called an FBI Identity History Summary — the FBI's own record of any criminal history filed under your fingerprints. Cancillería and most Colombian entities call it the certificado de antecedentes judiciales emitido por la autoridad federal (FBI). It is the same document.
Here is the whole path, start to finish.
Step 1 — Choose your submission route
The FBI accepts requests three ways. Everything downstream depends on this one decision, so make it first.
1. Through an FBI-approved Channeler — the fast route. A Channeler is a private company the FBI has authorized to receive fingerprints and return results on its behalf. Because the submission is digital, the report typically comes back in a few business days rather than weeks. This is the route our own VIP service uses, and it is what makes a Colombian visa deadline survivable. Two things to know: the Channeler charges its own fee on top of the FBI's, and the FBI restricts Departmental Order submissions through Channelers to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — if you are neither, you must apply to the FBI directly. Confirm your eligibility before you pay anyone.
2. The FBI's own online system (eDO) — the middle route. You register on the FBI's electronic Departmental Order portal, complete the request, and pay the fee by card. Fingerprints are handled separately: inside the United States you can have them captured electronically at a participating Post Office, but from Colombia that is not an option, so you still mail a physical FD-258 card. In practice this route saves you the paperwork and the money order, not the shipping time.
3. By mail, directly to the FBI — the slow route. You send the signed request form, a physical FD-258 fingerprint card, and the processing fee to the FBI's CJIS Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. There is nothing wrong with this route except the calendar: international mail in each direction, plus FBI queue time, plus the risk that a package sits in customs or disappears.
The result is identical in all three cases. You are buying time, not a better document.
Step 2 — Get your fingerprints taken in Colombia
Two formats, and they are not interchangeable.
Digital (live scan). Prints are captured on a scanner as an electronic file. Cleaner ridges, immediate quality feedback, far fewer rejections — and it is the only format a Channeler can submit electronically.
Ink on an FD-258 card. The traditional card: ink pad, rolled prints, hand-completed biographical fields. It works, but a smudged or over-inked card is the single most common reason the FBI rejects a submission — and a rejection means starting the whole sequence again, weeks later.
Whoever takes your prints, make sure the biographical fields match your passport exactly. A middle name that appears on the passport but not the card is enough to cause a problem.
Step 3 — Submit to the FBI and get the report
Through a Channeler with digital prints, results commonly come back within a few business days; on our own electronic route the FBI report typically returns in 24–48 hours. By mail with an FD-258 card, plan on several weeks once you count shipping both ways.
The report arrives as a PDF or a printed document, usually two pages, showing either your criminal history or a statement that no record exists. Note the issue date printed on it. That date, not today's date, is where your 3-month window starts.
Step 4 — Get the federal apostille in Washington, D.C.
This is where most self-managed applications die, and always for the same reason: people send the FBI report to a state Secretary of State.
An FBI report is a federal document. Only the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, in Washington, D.C. has authority to apostille it. A state office will not — and cannot — apostille it, so the packet comes back unapostilled with weeks gone.
You have two ways in. Mail it in and wait — typically several weeks of processing, plus international shipping in both directions, which is how six-to-eight-week totals happen. Or have someone hand-deliver it in Washington, which is how our own D.C. team runs it: the apostille comes back in about 10 business days.
If the state-versus-federal distinction is new to you, our guide to what it means to apostille a document breaks down which documents go to which authority.
Step 5 — Get a certified Spanish translation
Order matters here, and it is not obvious.
Apostille first, translate second. The apostille is a physical certificate attached to your FBI report, and it is covered in English text. Colombian authorities expect the translation to cover the full packet — report and apostille. Translate before the apostille exists and you will be paying for a second translation later.
Two further requirements catch people out. The translation must be done by an official sworn translator, not a bilingual friend or a machine. And the entire document must be translated by a single translator — a packet stitched together from two translators, or only partly translated, gets rejected.
Step 6 — File it before the 3-month clock runs out
Colombian requerimientos typically demand a certificate con vigencia no mayor a 3 meses — no more than three months old, counted from the FBI's issue date. Not the apostille date. Not the translation date. Not the day you upload it. (That window comes from the letter Cancillería sends you rather than from the visa resolution itself — more on why that distinction matters below.)
Add it up on the slow route: several weeks for a mailed FBI submission, several more for a mailed apostille, then translation and shipping. Self-managed, the full sequence commonly runs 3–4 months — which means the report can expire while the apostille is still in transit. This is the trap, and it is a calendar trap, not a paperwork one.
Two Routes, Two Timelines
| Step | Fast route | Traditional route |
|---|---|---|
| Fingerprints | Digital scan, taken where you are | Ink on an FD-258 card |
| FBI submission | Electronic via a Channeler | Physical card mailed to the FBI |
| FBI report | 24–48 hours | 3–5 weeks, plus shipping |
| Federal apostille | ~10 business days, hand-delivered in D.C. | Several weeks by mail, plus international shipping |
| Translation | Sworn translator, 24–48 hours | Varies |
| Realistic total | 10–15 business days | 3–4 months |
The two routes produce the exact same document. What you are choosing between is a deadline you can meet and a deadline you cannot.
What Colombian Law Actually Requires
Colombian visas are governed by Resolución 5477 de 2022 of the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, in force since 21 October 2022 and still the operative rule today. Three articles decide everything above.
Article 26 is why you are asked for the FBI report at all. It gives the visa authority two options: check your record itself, or make you produce one.
La Autoridad de Visas e Inmigración podrá verificar en línea los antecedentes judiciales del solicitante de visa en la base de datos de la Policía Nacional colombiana y de otras bases de datos a las que llegue a tener acceso, o requerir al solicitante la presentación de antecedentes de su país de nacionalidad o residencia.
For an American, the Colombian police database says nothing useful — so the second option is the one that applies, and antecedentes de su país de nacionalidad is the FBI report.
Article 21 is why it needs an apostille and a translation. It applies to every foreign document in a visa file, not just criminal records:
Salvo las excepciones expresamente contempladas en la presente resolución, todo documento creado o emitido en el exterior, deberá contar con apostilla o legalización, según la autoridad que emita o certifique, y traducción oficial al castellano cuando no se encuentre en este idioma.
Apostille and official Spanish translation. Both, not either. That single sentence is the legal basis for steps 4 and 5.
Article 19 is why you get more than one chance. The authority can ask for additional documents at its discretion — and it caps itself:
Este requerimiento se hará hasta por tres veces.
Up to three requerimientos. If you have received one asking for an FBI report, that is a normal step in the process rather than a rejection. We break down what that letter is demanding, clause by clause, in our guide to answering a Colombian visa requerimiento.
Where the 3-month rule actually comes from
Here is the part almost every guide gets wrong. Resolución 5477 does not set a validity period, in months or days, for a foreign criminal-record certificate. Read the whole resolution and you will not find one.
The three-month window comes from the requerimiento itself — the individual letter Cancillería sends you, which typically specifies a certificate con vigencia no mayor a 3 meses. It is an instruction from your case officer, not a clause in the norm.
Practically, that changes nothing about what you should do: treat three months from the FBI's issue date as your hard deadline. But it does mean the number can vary, and it means the exact wording of your requerimiento outranks anything you read online, including this page. Read the letter you were sent.
Doing It Yourself From Colombia
It is entirely possible to run this alone, and if your deadline is far away it can be the cheaper option. Here is the honest version of what that involves.
- Start the request on fbi.gov — either by completing the FBI's paper application form for an Identity History Summary, or by registering on the FBI's eDO online portal and paying there. Complete it exactly as your passport reads.
- Get an FD-258 card and have your prints rolled. In Colombia this usually means finding a private fingerprinting provider — most local police stations take prints for Colombian purposes, not on U.S. federal cards. The Post Office electronic-fingerprinting option the eDO portal offers only exists inside the United States, so from Colombia you are mailing a card either way.
- Pay the FBI's processing fee (an $18 fee per person at the time of writing — confirm the current amount on fbi.gov before you send anything) using the payment method the FBI's instructions specify. A Channeler's own fee, if you use one, is charged on top of this.
- Ship the packet to the FBI's CJIS Division with a trackable international courier. Ordinary post is a genuine risk here; a lost card means starting over.
- When the report arrives, send it to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. with their apostille request form and fee (currently $20 per document — again, confirm before sending). Include a prepaid return method.
- Once the apostilled packet is back, commission a sworn translation of the full document into Spanish from a single official translator.
Three things to be realistic about. You are shipping an irreplaceable original document across an international border twice. Every fee and form has to be right the first time, because a rejection restarts the clock rather than pausing it. And nobody in that chain is tracking your visa deadline for you.
The Five Mistakes That Restart the Process
- Sending the FBI report to a state Secretary of State. The most expensive error on this list. Only Washington, D.C. can apostille a federal document.
- Translating before apostilling. You end up with a translation that does not cover the apostille, and pay twice.
- Using a non-sworn translator, or two translators. Colombia requires one official sworn translator for the entire document.
- Smudged ink prints. An FD-258 rejection costs weeks, not days — and you will not find out for weeks either.
- Counting the 3 months from the wrong date. The clock starts at the FBI's issue date. Everything after that is spending it.
If you are reading this because Cancillería already replied asking for a certificado de antecedentes judiciales emitido por la autoridad federal (FBI), apostillado en Washington DC Distrito de Columbia y traducido, read our clause-by-clause breakdown of that requerimiento next — it covers how many requerimientos you get and how the validity window is actually counted.
What It Costs
Running it yourself, the government fees are small — the FBI's processing fee and the Department of State's apostille fee together come to well under $50 per document. What you actually pay for is everything around them: international couriers in both directions, a fingerprinting provider, and a sworn translator, on top of the time you spend managing it.
Our FBI background check packages, for comparison:
| Package | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| FBI Report Only | $199 | Mobile fingerprinting + electronic FBI submission, result in 24–48h |
| Full Service — Standard | $400 | Check + federal apostille + certified translation, est. 22–36 business days |
| Full Service VIP | $550 | Everything, as fast as 10–15 business days |
Mobile fingerprinting is available in Medellín, Bogotá, Cali, Pereira, Santa Marta, and Cartagena — a technician comes to your home, hotel, or office. If you need only the apostille because you already hold a valid FBI report, that is a standalone federal apostille service.
If you are weighing providers rather than deciding between DIY and delegating, we have compared every provider that ranks for FBI background checks in Colombia on the three things that actually set the timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an FBI background check outside of the US?
You do not need to travel to the United States or visit a U.S. embassy. The FBI accepts fingerprint submissions from anywhere in the world: your prints are taken locally — in Colombia, at your home, hotel, or office — then submitted to the FBI either electronically through an approved Channeler or by mailing a physical FD-258 card. The report comes back to you abroad, and the apostille and translation are handled in Washington, D.C. on your behalf. The whole sequence can be completed without leaving the country you are in.
Do I need an FBI background check for a Colombia visa application?
Often, yes — but not automatically. Under Article 26 of Resolución 5477 de 2022, the Colombian visa authority may either check your record itself in the National Police database or require you to produce criminal records from your country of nationality or residence. For a U.S. citizen the Colombian database holds nothing useful, so the second option is the one that applies, and the document it means is the FBI Identity History Summary. In practice most applicants find out through a requerimiento asking for exactly that — apostilled and translated.
Can a non-US citizen get an FBI background check?
Yes. The FBI issues an Identity History Summary to anyone who submits their own fingerprints, regardless of citizenship — it is a record about you, not a benefit reserved for citizens. What does change with citizenship is the route: the FBI restricts Departmental Order submissions through approved Channelers to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, so an applicant who is neither generally has to apply to the FBI directly rather than use the fast electronic lane. If you are not a U.S. citizen or green-card holder, message us before ordering and we will confirm which route applies to you.
What is the fastest way to get an FBI background check?
Digital fingerprints submitted electronically through an FBI-approved Channeler — that returns the report in roughly 24–48 hours, against several weeks for a mailed FD-258 card. For a Colombian visa the report alone is not the finish line, though: the fastest realistic path to a usable document is digital prints, Channeler submission, a hand-delivered federal apostille in Washington, D.C., and a sworn translation, which lands the complete packet in as little as 10–15 business days.
How long does it take to get an FBI background check from Colombia?
It depends entirely on the route. With digital fingerprints and electronic submission, the FBI report comes back in 24–48 hours and the full visa-ready packet — report, federal apostille, and certified translation — takes as little as 10–15 business days. Running it yourself with ink prints and international mail, the same sequence commonly takes 3–4 months.
Do I need an apostille on my FBI background check for a Colombian visa?
Yes. Colombian authorities require the FBI report to carry a federal apostille issued by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., plus an official Spanish translation. An FBI report without the apostille will not be accepted.
Can a state Secretary of State apostille my FBI background check?
No. An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document, and only the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. has authority to apostille it. State offices cannot legalize federal documents, so a state apostille request comes back rejected.
Should I translate the FBI report before or after the apostille?
After. The apostille is a certificate attached to the report and it is in English, so the translation must cover the report and the apostille together as one packet. Translating first means paying for a second translation once the apostille is added.
How long is an FBI background check valid for a Colombian visa?
In practice, three months, counted from the issue date printed on the FBI report itself — not from the apostille date or the translation date. Worth knowing: Resolución 5477 de 2022 does not actually set a validity period for a foreign criminal-record certificate. The three-month figure comes from the requerimiento Cancillería sends you, which typically asks for one con vigencia no mayor a 3 meses. Follow the wording of your own letter.
Which Colombian law requires an apostilled FBI background check?
Resolución 5477 de 2022 of the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, in force since 21 October 2022. Article 26 lets the visa authority require criminal records from your country of nationality or residence — for an American, that is the FBI report. Article 21 requires every document issued abroad to carry an apostille or legalization and an official Spanish translation. Article 19 lets the authority request additional documents up to three times.
What is an FBI Channeler, and does OnCallColombia use one?
A Channeler is a private company the FBI has authorized to submit fingerprints and return Identity History Summary results on its behalf. Because the submission is electronic, results come back in days instead of weeks. Yes — our VIP service runs through the Channeler route, which is what makes the 10–15 business day turnaround possible. Note that the FBI restricts Channeler submissions to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents; if you are neither, message us before ordering and we will tell you which route applies to you.
How much does an FBI background check from Colombia cost?
The government fees are modest: the FBI's processing fee plus the Department of State's apostille fee come to well under $50 per document. The real cost is the surrounding logistics — fingerprinting, international couriers both ways, and a sworn translation. Our all-in packages run $199 for the FBI report alone, $400 for the full visa-ready packet on the traditional route, and $550 for the fastest route.
What if I am not in one of the covered cities?
Many of our technicians travel outside the six covered cities. Message us on WhatsApp with your location and we will quote the trip — and if there are several of you in the same place, that quote is usually shared.