FINGERPRINT ME, DOCUMENT GUIDES
Start with your situation, not the paperwork
You do not need to know what an apostille is, or what an FBI background check looks like, before you call us. Tell us what you are trying to do and where it is going.
We will show you what the packet usually includes, then handle the parts you would otherwise chase across several offices, states, or countries.
CHOOSE ONE
Which one sounds like you? Pick the closest match. If none of them fit, the last one is the right place to start.
SITUATION 01
Moving abroad, residency or a visa
A consulate, immigration lawyer, or relocation agency has given you a list. That list is usually longer than one document, and the documents on it rarely travel the same route.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
You do not visit any of those offices. Bring us the list and we run it: the FBI report, certified copies from whichever states issued your records, the apostille or authentication on each document, and the certified translation if your destination needs one. One point of contact, one finished packet back to you.
What the packet usually includes
- FBI background check, the Identity History Summary, with an apostille or authentication
- Birth certificate, a certified copy from the state that issued it
- Marriage certificate or divorce decree, when your status is part of the application
- Passport and government ID copies, notarized before they can be apostilled
- Proof of income: bank statements, pension or Social Security benefit letters
- Certified translation, when the destination does not work in English
The order that usually works
- 1Confirm the destination country and what the receiving authority actually asked for, in their wording
- 2Start the FBI report early if it is on the list, since it has to be completed before it can be authenticated
- 3Send each state-issued record to the state that issued it
- 4Apostille or authenticate each document by its own route
- 5Translate at the stage the receiving authority requires
SITUATION 02
Marriage, adoption or family documents
Family matters come with instructions from a foreign authority, an adoption provider, or a court. Those instructions control, and they are usually more specific than a general checklist found online.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
Family packets almost always pull from more than one state, and sometimes more than one country. You do not have to chase any of it. We request the certified copies, handle the notarizations, send each document to the authority that can certify it, and bring the completed packet back together.
What the packet usually includes
- Birth certificates for each person named in the application
- Marriage certificate, divorce decree, or death certificate, as your situation applies
- FBI background check for each adult, when the authority asks for one
- Home study reports, court orders, or agency letters, notarized where required
- Powers of attorney and affidavits, notarized before apostille
- Certified translation for a destination that does not work in English
How we work it
- 1Bring the exact instruction sheet you were given, even if parts of it confuse you
- 2We sort each document by where it was issued and who has to certify it
- 3Notarization happens first on anything that requires it
- 4Each document is apostilled or authenticated on its own route
- 5Translation is arranged if the receiving authority requires it
SITUATION 03
School, work or business abroad
A university, employer, registrar, or foreign registry has asked for official papers they can verify. What they will accept is narrower than what you probably have on hand.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
Transcripts from one state, a license from another, corporate records from wherever the entity was formed. We contact each issuing authority, obtain the version the institution will actually accept, and handle the apostille or authentication on all of it, so you send one complete packet instead of assembling it piece by piece.
What the packet usually includes
- Diplomas and transcripts, often certified by the registrar before anything else
- Employment letters, professional licenses, or credentials
- FBI background check, when the school or employer requires one
- Corporate records: articles, certificates of good standing, board resolutions
- Passport or ID copies, notarized
- Certified translation where the institution does not work in English
How we work it
- 1Send us the requesting institution's instructions as you received them
- 2We confirm whether they want an original, a certified copy, or a notarized copy
- 3Each document is routed to the authority that can certify it
- 4Apostille or authentication is handled per destination
- 5Translation is added where the institution requires it
SITUATION 04
Missions, churches and groups
You are moving several people through the same process against one date. The process itself is not the hard part. Keeping everyone together is.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
One roster, one coordinator, one invoice. We fingerprint the group, keep every traveler's documents moving together, handle the apostille or authentication for the destination country, and report status back to you rather than to each person individually.
What the group usually needs
- FBI background check for each traveler or volunteer
- Passport copies, and consent or authorization forms for minors
- Letters from the sending organization, notarized where required
- Apostille or authentication for each destination country
- Certified translations when the host country requires them
How we handle a group
- 1Send the roster and the destination, even before every detail is final
- 2We schedule fingerprinting as one block, on-site at your location if that is easier
- 3Documents are tracked as one job, not as separate strangers
- 4Status comes back to one coordinator instead of to every traveler
SITUATION 05
Work or licensing here in the U.S.
An employer, licensing board, school, or state agency asked for fingerprints or a background check. What they asked for has a specific name, and the paper they handed you usually says which one.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
If your prints need to reach more than one agency, or a second state is involved, we handle those submissions as well. You do not need a separate appointment for each one, and if the same report is also going overseas we add the apostille step to the same job.
What they are usually asking for
- An FBI Identity History Summary in your own name
- An agency submission tied to an ORI number and applicant type
- FD-258 fingerprint cards for you to mail in yourself
- An Arizona DPS clearance card
- A submission to another state, such as Florida or California
What to bring
- 1The instruction sheet, email, or form the agency gave you
- 2Valid government photo identification
- 3Any ORI number, applicant type code, or reference number you were given
- 4The deadline, if you are working against one
SITUATION 06
Not sure what you need
This is the most frequent place people start, and asking costs nothing. You are not expected to arrive knowing the vocabulary.
WE DO THIS PART FOR YOU
Whatever the answer turns out to be, you are not handed a list and sent away to figure it out. Once we identify the route, we handle the pieces: the fingerprinting, the certified copies from other states, the notarization, the apostille or consular legalization, and the translation.
Tell us these four things
- What the document is, and which state or country issued it
- Where it is going: the country, and the office or organization receiving it
- What you were asked for, in their words, even if it makes no sense to you
- Any deadline you are working against
What you get back
- 1Which route each document actually takes, state or federal
- 2Whether a translation is likely to be required
- 3What can be handled in one visit with us
- 4What has to come from another office, and how we coordinate it
WHY BRING THE WHOLE PACKET TO ONE PLACE
One job, one point of contact
When a packet is split across a fingerprint shop, a notary, an apostille courier, and a translator, the gaps between them are where deadlines are lost. Nobody owns the whole thing.
Any state
Your birth certificate, marriage record, or corporate filing does not have to be from Arizona. We coordinate with the state that issued it, wherever that is.
Any destination
If the destination is in the Hague Apostille Convention, the document takes the apostille route. If it is not, it needs authentication and consular legalization instead. We identify which applies before anything is sent.
One coordinated packet
Fingerprinting, background checks, notarization, apostille, authentication, and certified translation can move as a single job, tracked together, instead of four vendors who never speak to each other.
BEFORE YOU BOOK
What we do, and what we do not do
FingerPrint Me handles the document process: fingerprinting, background check submissions, notarization, apostille and authentication coordination, and certified translation.
Requirements are set by the receiving authority, and they can differ by country, by office, and by case. We work from the instructions you were given, and from the issuing and receiving authorities' own requirements, rather than from assumptions. We do not control agency decisions, approvals, or processing times, and we do not provide legal advice about your visa, immigration, or court matter. If you are working with a lawyer or an agency, bring what they gave you and we will work to it.