Your next step
Office fingerprinting appointment. The available FBI report route depends on the applicant and purpose; confirm eligibility if unsure.
Why might a foreign authority ask for an FBI report?
A visa, residency, work-abroad, study, adoption or other application may ask for a U.S. criminal-record document. The receiving authority decides which record it accepts. Not every country or application asks for the same report, age of report, translation or authentication.
Tell the fingerprinting team the country and the recipient’s wording. A federal FBI report and a state or local police record are different documents. Buying the best-known document is not enough if the recipient asked for another one.
Is taking fingerprints the same as receiving the report?
No. Capture produces the identifying impressions; an accepted request and FBI processing produce the result. A cards-only appointment does not automatically include submission, government fees, report delivery or an apostille.
Ask whether your service is capture only, completed cards or assistance with a report request. Clarify the deliverable before comparing prices. An electronic scanner may produce a physical card, so “digital capture” does not always mean “electronic FBI submission”.
What if the request comes from a Florida employer or licensing board?
Follow that organization’s authorized screening program. A personal FBI Identity History Summary is not a substitute for a required employment or licensing check. Florida Level 2 screening can include FBI records while remaining a different agency process.
Bring the agency instructions rather than ordering a personal report because it sounds quicker. The employer or licensing body determines its requirements; the fingerprint technician does not issue a hiring or licensing approval.
Can you start from outside the United States?
Yes, the FBI describes a direct request using a physical fingerprint card from abroad. That differs from the Departmental Order channeler route, whose applicant and physical-location restrictions must be checked. Read the overseas guide before assuming that every fast electronic offer applies.
Start with Oraz Fingerprinting for the capture or service-selection step. If you later need authentication of an appropriate issued report, the separate OrazAva document service can review that next stage.
Questions about this topic
Does everyone applying for a foreign visa need FBI fingerprints?
No. The destination authority determines whether it requires an FBI report or another record.
Is the report guaranteed to show no record?
No. Fingerprinting identifies the applicant; the FBI issues the response based on its records.
Does an apostille include a new FBI report?
No. Authentication is a later step for an appropriate issued report, not a replacement for obtaining it.
Official sources
Requirements vary by program and may change. Match the guidance to your recipient’s current instructions.
Your next step
Office fingerprinting appointment. The available FBI report route depends on the applicant and purpose; confirm eligibility if unsure.