Why a FDLE background check gets refused

Most refusals on a FDLE background check happen before the state says no. We say no when the photo does not match what Tallahassee accepts. The usual list is an FBI report, a third-party reprint, a screenshot.

We make sure the sheet is the FDLE result and not a third-party website printout with the FDLE logo pasted on it.

This is a Florida Department of Law Enforcement criminal-history result, certified by FDLE. An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal paper. Florida cannot stamp the FBI result. If you already mailed one of those bad versions, order the right paper and start again. There is no “they might stamp it this time” on a photocopy.

A clean Florida stamp can still fail in Honduras if the name does not match, if they wanted a translation of the stamp and you translated only the old certificate, or if the office asked for a different document than the one you sent. Ask the office in Honduras whether they want a translation, and whether the translation has to include the apostille page. Do that work after Tallahassee stamps the original. A translation stapled to an unsigned copy cannot be apostilled.

Names are their own category. An accent, a missing middle name, or a married surname that never got onto the vital record will not be corrected by the apostille. If the passport and the Florida paper disagree, stop and decide which record has to change. We authenticate the paper you send. We do not amend it.

Lamination is a hard stop. The examiner has to see and feel the seal. If you already laminated the only copy, order another certified copy. Do not ask the counter to cut the plastic off.

From Orlando, the cheap mistake is mailing the only original by a service with no tracking, then asking us where it is. We cannot file a paper that is not in Tallahassee. Use a tracked envelope and keep the photos.

Here is the same job as a week in Orlando, Orange County, not as a slogan. Monday, you already have the FDLE background check in your hand, or you are still waiting on the issuer and you do not pretend otherwise. You upload the photo. We either tell you to mail it or tell you what is wrong with it. Tuesday you ship, with the order number on the label. Transit from Orlando is about two business days. The paper reaches the desk, we compare it to the photo, and it goes to the Florida Department of State on the next business-day drop.

Honduras is in the Hague Apostille Convention. Honduras offices usually ask because of a family record, a school file, a company paper, or a power of attorney. When the stamped original is back in Orlando, that is the moment a translation can start, if Honduras asked for one. It is also the moment a PDF scan matters, if you bought the $20 copy so someone abroad can read the stamp before the courier arrives. The original is still the thing you carry to the appointment.

This week cannot start until the issuer has signed. This is a Florida Department of Law Enforcement criminal-history result, certified by FDLE. An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal paper. Florida cannot stamp the FBI result.

Can you apostille a FDLE background check for Honduras without a trip to Tallahassee? Yes. You mail the original. We file it. It comes back to Orlando with tracking. Honduras is in the Hague Apostille Convention.

How long from Orlando? Plan about two business days for the original to reach us, a business day at the state for a courier drop, and return shipping. Rush is for when that calendar is already tight and the paper is already clean.

Will Honduras accept a photocopy if the apostille is real? No. An FBI report never becomes a stampable original. Get a new certified copy instead of paying twice.

Return shipping is part of the job, not a footnote. Pick the FedEx service that matches the date you told the foreign office, and remember that a business day at the state sits between those two rides. From Orlando, about two business days inbound is only half of the travel. The label home is chosen at checkout so you see the number.

A photo review is a real review. We are not collecting pictures for a gallery. If the picture is dark, crooked, or missing the page with the seal, send another one before you buy a label. The seal page is the page. A beautiful first page with the seal cropped off tells us nothing.

Keep the certified copy flat in the envelope. Folding through an embossed seal cracks it. People then ask if the crack “still counts.” Do not find out. A rigid mailer costs less than a new certificate. Vital records are on security paper that shows a crease forever.

Tell the foreign office the truth about timing. “It is apostilled” means the certificate is attached and you have the original back. It does not mean you paid us this morning. Honduras will want to see the paper, not a receipt. If they need an advance look, add the $20 PDF on prices and still wait for the original before you travel.

One Florida document, one state fee, one apostille. There is no family rate at the counter that covers a spouse and a child on a single certificate. If three people need three birth records, that is three certified copies and three stamps. Set the order up that way. Several documents explains the invoice.

If a lawyer, a translator, and a courier are all in the email thread, pick one person to receive our questions. Three replies that contradict each other are how the wrong paper gets shipped. Put that person’s phone on the cover sheet. (855) 261-8500 reaches us during the business day if the thread is stuck.

Do not send gifts, cash, or a second “just in case” photocopy clipped to the original. The extra sheet looks like the document. We have separated them, and we would rather not. Send the original you want stamped and the cover sheet. Make spare copies after the apostille exists so the spare shows the stamp.

Check the destination one last time against the country list. A relative may have said “the embassy” out of habit when the country has taken apostilles for years. Honduras is the page that matches this guide. Habit is how people buy embassy legalization they no longer need, or a Florida stamp they cannot use.

Read this together with Honduras, FDLE background check, Orlando, Orange County, prices, how it works, the order form, all countries, Florida cities. Related guides: Cost and timing for a FDLE background check, Florida apostille from Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida birth certificate for Honduras, Clerk-certified copies in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County. The phone is (855) 261-8500 and the email is floridafastapostille@gmail.com.

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