Browse all guides+

FBI background check apostille for Colombia

By Frank MetayerUpdated November 2, 2026

To use your FBI background check in Colombia, have the U.S. Department of State apostille it, then get an official Spanish translation of the report and its apostille. If the report is for a Colombian visa, it also has to be no more than three months old on the day you register your application.

Colombia has applied the Hague Apostille Convention since January 30, 2001. That means it accepts the apostille, a government certificate that vouches for a public document's signature. Your FBI report never has to pass through a Colombian consulate.

A retired teacher in Arizona applying for Colombia's pensioner visa is a typical case. Her pension certificate is ready, but the checklist also asks for a criminal record from the country where she has lived for the past three years. For her, that means the FBI report: apostilled in Washington, translated into Spanish, and filed before it turns three months old.

Key takeaways

Colombia's visa rules list a criminal record certificate for some visas, such as the pensioner and passive-income visas. The visa office can also ask any applicant for one.
If you have been living in the U.S., that record is the FBI Identity History Summary. Only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it.
Colombia belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention, so you do not need consular legalization.
Colombia expects an official Spanish translation. One made in Colombia by an official translator needs no apostille; one made in the U.S. needs its own.
For a visa, the FBI report must be no more than three months old when you register the application. The apostille does not restart that clock.

Who in Colombia asks for a U.S. criminal record

Colombia's visa system, run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (known in Colombia as the Cancillería), spells out the requirement. The ministry's visa rules, Resolución 5477 de 2022, list a criminal record certificate for certain visas. For U.S. citizens, the main ones are the pensioner visa (Visa M Pensionado) and the passive-income visa (Visa V Rentista).

The certificate must come from the authorities of the country where you lived during the last three years, with an apostille and an official Spanish translation. If you also lived in another country during that time, ask the Cancillería whether it wants a record from there too. These checklists change, so confirm the current one with the office receiving your file before you order anything.

Other visa types can still trigger a request. Article 26 of the same rules lets the visa office ask any applicant for a record from their country of nationality or residence. If that request arrives during review, you get a short deadline to answer, so check the date on the Cancillería's request. That window is rarely long enough to request, apostille, and translate a report from scratch.

Families abroad who adopt a Colombian child go through ICBF, Colombia's family welfare institute. Its document list for applicants living abroad includes a criminal record certificate, and your adoption agency will confirm the format it wants.

Naturalization works differently: it follows its own document list under the current nationality law (Ley 2332 de 2023). Ask the Cancillería whether it wants a foreign criminal record before you order an FBI report.

Employers in Colombia sometimes ask too. If yours does, get the request in writing so you know which record it wants.

The record that counts: your FBI Identity History Summary

Colombia's rules ask for a record issued by the authorities of the country where you have been living. In the United States, the nationwide record is the FBI Identity History Summary, a fingerprint-based search of FBI records.

A local police letter or a state record covers only that city or state. Use one only if the Colombian office asks for it. A commercial name-based report is not a government record at all.

You can request the check from the FBI directly or through an FBI-approved channeler, a private company the FBI authorizes to submit fingerprints and return results. Both routes produce the same official record.

You also don't need the paper copy the FBI mails. The official, unaltered PDF downloaded from the FBI portal can go to the Department of State for the apostille. Requirements can change, so we confirm the current rule before every submission.

Our team includes Kevin Carlson, who has handled FBI background checks since 1998 and leads our FBI and Department of State work. We request your FBI check through an FBI-approved channeler, and the results move straight into the apostille step.

Only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it

The FBI is a federal agency, so its records are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. A state Secretary of State cannot apostille an FBI report, whichever state you live in. Tell the Office of Authentications that the report is going to Colombia. Because Colombia is a Hague member, you get an apostille, not a certificate meant for embassy legalization.

Skip the notarized-copy shortcut. Some people notarize a copy of their FBI report and get a state apostille on that copy. That apostille confirms the notary's signature, not the FBI's, and it is one of the most common reasons an FBI packet comes back. Do not write on, staple, or notarize the original results either.

For every step, including the request form, see our guide to apostilling an FBI background check. Or let our FBI background check apostille service handle it for you. Sending documents to more than one country? Check which countries accept an apostille first.

Two ways to handle the Spanish translation

Colombia's rules require an official Spanish translation, called a traducción oficial, for foreign documents that are not in Spanish. The Cancillería accepts two routes, and they work differently.

Translated in Colombia. An official translator licensed in Colombia (a traductor oficial) can translate your apostilled report. Since December 1, 2020, these translations are not apostilled for use inside Colombia, because the translator's signature is already valid there. Your FBI report still needs its U.S. apostille.

Translated in the United States. A translation made outside Colombia has to be apostilled in the country where it was made before Colombia gives it legal effect. In the U.S., the translator usually signs a statement of accuracy, a notary notarizes that signature, and the state then apostilles the notarization. That route adds a second apostille, this time from a state office.

Either way, the FBI report gets its apostille first and the translation comes second. The Cancillería itself recommends apostilling the original before it is translated. The U.S. apostille is in English as well, so the translation should cover the apostille page along with the report.

We can arrange a certified Spanish translation in the U.S. and submit it for its own apostille. We are not Colombian official translators. If you would rather use a traductor oficial in Colombia, we send you the apostilled report instead. Practice can change, so ask the office receiving your file which route it accepts.

Your Colombian police certificate is a different document

Colombia's National Police (Policía Nacional) keeps its own database of criminal records. The certificate drawn from it, the certificado de antecedentes judiciales, is a Colombian document. It does not replace your FBI report.

For visas, Colombia's rules let the Cancillería check that database online on its own. If a U.S. office ever needs your Colombian certificate, only Colombia's Cancillería can apostille it, through its online apostille system. No U.S. office, state or federal, can apostille a Colombian document.

Where Colombia-bound FBI files go wrong

Before you file, rule out each of these:

✕The FBI report was more than three months old on the day the visa application was registered.
✕A state apostille on a notarized copy, instead of the U.S. Department of State apostille on the FBI's own results.
✕A local police letter or a commercial background report in place of the FBI Identity History Summary.
✕A translation made in the U.S. that never got its own apostille.
✕A translation that leaves out the apostille page, or one made before the apostille was attached.
✕No record from another country you lived in during the last three years, when the visa office asked for one.

Broader causes are covered in why apostilles get rejected.

How recent the FBI report must be

For a visa, Colombia's rules say supporting documents other than passports must be issued no more than three months before you register the application. To be safe, count from the date on the FBI report itself. Neither the apostille nor the translation restarts that clock.

Our part, the federal apostille on your FBI report, takes about 10 business days. Government workload can lengthen this. A translation made in the U.S. needs its own apostille as well. Our apostille pricing page lists the FBI rate.

Other Colombian offices, such as the adoption authority, can set their own limits on how old a record may be. Ask before you order.

Pick your filing date first. Count back three months: your FBI report must be dated on or after that day. Then leave about 10 business days for the federal apostille, plus time for the translation.

Filing an FBI background check in Colombia?

Our FBI team, led by Kevin Carlson, can request your FBI check through an FBI-approved channeler, submit it to the U.S. Department of State for the apostille, and arrange the Spanish translation. Share your visa type and filing date, and we will plan the order around Colombia's three-month window.

Start an order Call 1-800-889-7850

Frequently asked questions

Does Colombia require an FBI background check for a visa?+

For some visas, yes. Colombia's visa rules (Resolución 5477 de 2022) ask for a criminal record certificate from the country where you lived during the last three years. That includes the pensioner visa (Visa M Pensionado) and the passive-income visa (Visa V Rentista). The visa office can also ask any applicant for a record from their country of nationality or residence. As of 2026, confirm the list for your visa with the Cancillería or a Colombian consulate.

Who apostilles an FBI background check for Colombia?+

Only the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications. An FBI report is a federal document, so a state Secretary of State cannot apostille it. Colombia has been part of the Hague Apostille Convention since January 30, 2001, so the apostille is all the authentication Colombia needs. No consular legalization is required.

Can I use the downloaded FBI PDF for a Colombian visa?+

Yes. The official, unaltered PDF downloaded from the FBI portal can be submitted to the U.S. Department of State for the apostille; a paper original isn't required. Don't edit it or notarize it. Requirements can change, so we confirm the current rule before every submission.

Does the FBI report need a Spanish translation for Colombia?+

Yes. Colombia requires an official Spanish translation of foreign documents that are not in Spanish. A translation made in Colombia by an official translator (traductor oficial) needs no apostille for use there. A translation made in the United States must carry its own apostille. Translate after the apostille, and include the apostille page in the translation.

How recent does the FBI check need to be for a Colombian visa?+

Colombia's visa rules require supporting documents, other than passports, to be issued no more than three months before you register the application. Count from the date on the FBI report; the apostille and the translation do not restart that clock. Other Colombian offices may set their own limits, so ask the office receiving your file.

Can a U.S. office apostille my Colombian police certificate?+

No. The certificado de antecedentes judiciales from Colombia's Policía Nacional is a Colombian document, so only Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Cancillería) can apostille it, through its online system. U.S. offices only apostille U.S. documents.

How much does an FBI background check apostille for Colombia cost?+

We charge a flat price per document, based on the document type and the state or agency that issued it. You see that price before you order, with no hidden fees.

Keep reading

FBI Background Check Apostille (service)How to apostille an FBI background check Which countries accept an apostille Certified Translation Apostille pricing Apostilla del FBI para Colombia (español)