FBI Apostille in Krakow: How to Get Your FBI Report Authenticated

Getting an FBI Apostille in Krakow can feel confusing if you don’t know where to start. Maybe you’re already living in Krakow and need your FBI report apostilled for a Polish residence card, work permit, or employer paperwork. Or maybe you’re still in the U.S., getting your documents ready before a move, a marriage, or a new job in Poland. Either way, the same Hague Apostille Convention rules apply to you; just the steps you take will look a little different depending on where you’re starting from.

This blog explains what an FBI apostille actually confirms, when you’re likely to need one, and the exact steps involved, whether you already have your FBI report or are starting from fingerprinting in Krakow.

An FBI apostille is a certificate issued by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications and attached to an eligible FBI Identity History Summary. It verifies the federal origin of the document so it can be presented in another country that is part of the Hague Apostille Convention.

It confirms:

• The authenticity of the signature on the FBI document.
• The official capacity of the person who signed it.
• The identity of the government seal or stamp, where applicable.

Note: An apostille does not confirm that the information written inside the FBI report is correct. It also does not approve your visa, residence, employment, adoption, or professional licence application.

For a broader explanation of the document, you can also read Globeia’s detailed guide to FBI background check apostilles.

Your FBI fingerprint background check result is authenticated with an FBI watermark and the signature of a division official. When you need an apostille, you can then submit that authenticated result to the U.S. Department of State. The FBI itself does not issue the apostille.

Applicants who want a wider overview of the FBI stage can refer to Globeia’s complete FBI background check FAQ guide.

The need for an FBI Apostille in Krakow usually arises when an authority in another country requires authenticated proof of your background history in the United States.

The requirement is decided by the organisation receiving the document. It is therefore useful to confirm whether it wants the standard FBI report, an apostilled report, a translation, or the complete document set.

Applicants who need the FBI report before the apostille can review Globeia’s guide to obtaining a U.S. background check from Poland.

Depending on where you are in the process, the steps ahead will look different. If you already have your FBI Identity History Summary, you can move straight to getting it apostilled and prepared for use in Krakow or any other country you are applying to.

If you haven’t started yet, you’ll need to start from the fingerprinting stage before requesting your FBI result.

Scenario I: You Have the FBI Report and Want to Apostille It

If you’re already holding a valid FBI Identity History Summary, whether digital or paper, and it still meets your requesting authority’s timeframe, you won’t need fingerprinting. You can prepare it for submission to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications.

Applicants looking for coordinated support can also review Globeia’s FBI background check apostille service.

Step 1: What Form Should I Get and How Do I Complete It for an FBI Apostille in Krakow?

The apostille request uses Form DS-4194. It is completely different from the FD-1164 and FD-258 fingerprint cards used during the FBI background check stage.

1. Customer Information

Enter your full name or company name, telephone number, email address, and mailing details clearly. Make sure the contact details belong to someone who can respond if the Office of Authentications identifies a problem.

2. Shipping Information

• For a mail-in request, provide:
• Your return-delivery method
• Tracking number, where available
• Your complete return address
• Any representative or company information required

DS-4194 states that all documents are returned to one location and that documents are not returned through FedEx. Always review the current instructions printed directly on the official form before mailing.

3. Country of Use

This is one of the most important fields. Write the country where you’ll actually present the FBI document.

Examples:

• Write Poland if you’re submitting it to a Polish authority.
• Write Spain if you’re using it for a Spanish residence.
• Write France if you’re presenting it to a French professional body.
• Write Portugal if you’re using it for a Portuguese application.

Don’t write Poland simply because your current address is in Krakow. The U.S. Department of State specifically asks applicants to list the country where the document will be used.

4. Document Information

• Identify your document clearly as an FBI Identity History Summary or a federal FBI background check document.
• Record the number of documents requiring certificates.
• The federal fee applies per document, not per page.

Step 2: How to Mail Your Apostille Request from Krakow

After completing Form DS-4194, your package must include the following before mailing.

Payment

Include a check or money order for USD 20 per document, made payable to the “U.S. Department of State.”

Do not include cash or credit card information in a mail-in request. The customer’s name and address must appear on the check or money order, and check numbers must be over 100. Federal authentication fees are non-refundable.

Return Envelope

Include one self-addressed, prepaid envelope for the return of your document. Put the postage or air bill on the envelope yourself.

The current authentication-service instructions require a self-addressed prepaid envelope. Check the latest official mailing and courier instructions immediately before dispatch.

Where to Mail?

Send your completed file to:

Office of Authentications

This is the current mailing address published by the U.S. Department of State. Applicants should verify it on the official website before sending time-sensitive documents.

Scenario II: You Don’t Have the FBI Report and Start From Fingerprinting

If you do not yet have an FBI Identity History Summary, the apostille stage cannot begin. You must first arrange fresh fingerprints, submit them for an FBI record search, and wait for the official result.

From Krakow, you can manage these steps yourself or use a company that coordinates the process for you.

Option 1: Manage the Application Yourself

The DIY route means handling each stage independently.

Start by downloading the FBI’s official FD-1164 fingerprint form or FD-258 fingerprint card.

The FBI confirms that the FD-1164 can be printed on standard white paper. However, a law-enforcement agency or private fingerprint provider may prefer card stock.

If you have trouble arranging the card yourself, a private fingerprinting provider can help with the correct card and fingerprint collection.

You will then need to:

• You can contact the official Komenda Miejska Policji w Krakowie or another local police unit and ask whether it can collect fingerprints on the required FBI card. Availability should be confirmed directly with the location before visiting.
• You may also arrange fingerprints through a private provider. The FBI recommends preparing multiple sets, preferably with the help of a fingerprinting technician, because unclear impressions may require another submission. Review the FBI’s official guidance on recording legible fingerprints.
• Complete your online request and payment through the FBI’s official electronic Departmental Order portal. Applicants outside the participating U.S. Postal Service fingerprint network must still mail their original fingerprint cards to the FBI. The cards cannot simply be uploaded as image files.
• If applying directly by mail, follow the latest FBI Identity History Summary instructions and send the completed fingerprint card, application information, and accepted payment to the address given by the FBI.
• Pay the current USD 18 FBI fee. The FBI charges the same government fee whether the request is submitted electronically or by mail.
• Review the issued result before arranging the federal apostille.

For a detailed explanation of this stage, read Globeia’s guide to FBI background checks from Poland.

Option 2: Use a Coordination Company

A professional service can bring all the separate stages together instead of leaving you to coordinate multiple providers on your own.

Depending on what you choose, support can include:

• Mobile fingerprinting in Krakow
• Fingerprint-card review
• Identity checks
• FBI submission coordination
• Document tracking
• Apostille handling
• Translation
• Final document delivery

Globeia’s FBI Identity History Summary Check service connects fingerprinting, application preparation, submission coordination, status tracking, and optional apostille or translation support through one platform.

Note: Whichever route you choose, the FBI independently conducts the record search and issues the Identity History Summary. A private company can coordinate the process, but it cannot create the FBI result or guarantee government processing times.

If you mail your request to the Office of Authentications, the current government estimate is approximately five weeks from the date the office receives the package.

A qualifying walk-in request submitted in Washington, D.C., is currently processed in approximately 7-10 business days. Walk-in eligibility, operating hours, document limits, and processing estimates may change.

Keep in mind these are estimates. The actual time can shift depending on how busy the Department of State is, so check the current Office of Authentications processing times.

If you’re mailing from Krakow, add international shipping time both on the way to the United States and on the return journey.

No, and here’s why.

Your FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document, not a state document. The HCCH’s official U.S. competent-authority listing confirms that the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications issues apostilles for documents issued by U.S. federal agencies.

A state Secretary of State normally handles documents connected to that individual state, such as:

• State birth certificates
• State marriage certificates
• State court records
• State business documents
• Documents notarised by a notary commissioned in that state

Your FBI result doesn’t come from New York, California, Florida, Texas, or any other state. It therefore follows the federal route through the U.S. Department of State rather than a state apostille office.

Sending it to a state office may result in rejection, wasted fees, and unnecessary delays.

The apostille process has several steps, and each one takes its own amount of time. Below is a breakdown of each stage, along with where delays typically happen.

Step 1: You Fill Out the SmartForm

You start by filling out Globeia’s SmartForm with your details and the service you need, whether that’s the FBI apostille alone, or both the FBI background check and the apostille together.

It collects the required information at the start, so you don’t need to go back and add missing details later.

Step 2: You Upload Your FBI Report

You upload your FBI Identity History Summary through the SmartPortal. It must be the official FBI-issued report.

If you don’t have it yet, Globeia can also arrange fingerprinting at your location in Krakow or nearby areas, subject to appointment availability.

Step 3: Globeia Reviews Your Document

Once uploaded, Globeia’s team checks the document to make sure the necessary information is present and to identify obvious issues before federal apostille submission.

This review can help detect missing pages, unclear copies, incomplete applicant information, or other problems that might interrupt the coordination process.

Step 4: The Document Is Submitted for Apostille

The document is prepared and submitted to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications through Globeia’s U.S.-based coordination process.

The apostille is issued independently by the U.S. Department of State, which is the competent authority for U.S. federal documents.

Note: Processing times are estimates and remain subject to the U.S. Department of State’s current workload, operating rules, and application volume.

Step 5: Get Your FBI Apostilled Document

Once the apostille is completed, the document is delivered using the method selected for the application. Available updates can be followed through the SmartPortal.

Note: Globeia does not directly issue apostilles and does not act as a government authority. Apostille and authentication requests are submitted to the designated competent government authority on the applicant’s behalf.

Why Choose Globeia for Your FBI Apostille in Krakow?

Krakow is divided into 18 official administrative districts. Wherever you live in Krakow, Globeia coordinates each selected stage of the process, from a mobile fingerprinting appointment at a suitable home, office, hotel, or other agreed location to submission coordination for the U.S. Department of State.

Globeia Coverage in Krakow

Without coordinated support, you may need to arrange fingerprinting, application preparation, U.S. mailing, federal apostille submission, translation, and final delivery separately.

With Globeia, these selected stages can be coordinated through one process from the initial appointment to the return of the completed document.

It depends on where you’re sending it.

Your FBI Identity History Summary and the U.S. apostille are both issued in English. Depending on where you’re submitting them, whether Poland, Spain, France, Portugal, or elsewhere, the receiving authority may ask for:

• No translation
• A normal professional translation
• A sworn or certified translation
• Translation of the FBI result only
• Translation of both the result and the apostille

Your best move is to ask the receiving authority directly what it will accept, since translation requirements vary by country, institution, and application type.

For more context, read Globeia’s guide on whether you need to apostille the translation of an FBI background check.

If the authority wants both the FBI result and the apostille translated, it’s usually easier to:

• Get your FBI result.
• Get the federal apostille.
• Translate the complete document set.
• Submit everything together.

This way, you avoid a situation where the apostille is added after the translation is already complete.

The U.S. Department of State explains that when a destination requires translation from English as part of the federal submission, a professional translation may need to be notarised. However, the original federal document itself must not be notarised.

Note: Since these rules differ depending on where you’re sending the documents, follow the receiving authority’s written instructions rather than assuming that one translation sequence applies everywhere.

Getting an FBI Apostille in Krakow becomes more manageable once you identify your current stage. An FBI apostille is a federal process from start to finish, and every stage, fingerprinting, the FBI record search, the apostille request, and translation if needed, has its own rules and its own timeline. Handling each part yourself is possible, but it means managing several complex steps on your own, often across two countries.

If you're based in Krakow and looking for some help, Globeia coordinates the process from fingerprinting to applying for an FBI apostille on your behalf and keeps you updated through the SmartPortal at every stage.