How a Florida fdle background check is used in South Africa
Home Affairs' work-visa checklists ask for a police clearance from every country where you lived for more than 12 months in the past five years, no older than six months when submitted. That six-month clock is the trap: order the record, then apostille it right away. For the United States, ask Home Affairs or your immigration practitioner whether they want a federal FBI record, which we don't handle, or a Florida state record from FDLE. If FDLE's record is accepted, it must be the version notarized when issued; the online printout can't be apostilled.
Translation for South Africa
English is one of South Africa's official languages and Florida documents are issued in English, so they usually go without a translation. Home Affairs' sworn-translator requirement covers documents that aren't in an official South African language. If a Florida document is in another language, our standard applies: translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille, and ask whether Home Affairs instead wants a sworn translator.
What your FDLE criminal history check must look like
Order the certified, notarized criminal history from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement — the version FDLE notarizes at issuance. An online instant check or a printout without FDLE's notarial certificate cannot be apostilled. The notarized FDLE result is a Florida document, so it receives a Florida apostille; an FBI identity history summary is a federal document that goes to the U.S. Department of State instead and is not something we handle. If the receiving office asks for a "state police certificate", the notarized FDLE check is what they mean.
Step by step: FDLE background check apostille for South Africa
- Order online — pick "FDLE background check" and "South Africa" on the order form; $220 per document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more.
- Send a photo — reply to the confirmation email with a picture of the document. We check the certification before anything ships, so a defect is caught before it costs you a round trip.
- Drop it at FedEx — after approval, FedEx emails you a prepaid QR code; show it at any FedEx Office or Ship Center, no printer or label needed.
- Filed in person in Tallahassee — we walk the document into the Florida Department of State and ship the apostilled original back by FedEx within 5–7 business days of receipt — to your U.S. address, or to South Africa with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for South Africa. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.