A hand on a Live Scan scanner, the electronic route for eligible FBI requests

The short answer

  • Electronic submission: approximately 1 hour to 5 business days (not guaranteed).
  • Mailed EDO package: adds mailing, FBI receipt and intake; the electronic estimate does not apply.
  • Federal Apostille: a separate government timeline that starts only after the FBI report is issued.

Electronic FBI Background Check Results

For eligible FBI Identity History Summary requests, results typically arrive approximately 1 hour to 5 business days after successful electronic submission, and many customers receive them in approximately one hour. Timing is not guaranteed. Electronic submission applies to FBI Live Scan Fingerprinting for U.S. citizens and green card holders located in the U.S. or its territories.

Direct-FBI Applications and Federal Apostille

  • The stages that add timeBy request type

  • EDO (direct-FBI application)

    You mail the fingerprint package; FBI receipt and intake; FBI processing. See FBI checks for non-U.S. citizens.

  • Federal Apostille

    Begins after the eligible FBI report is issued; U.S. Department of State timeline; then shipping or pickup. See Federal Apostille.

  • Employment or licensing check

    The requesting agency’s own submission route and review, often with FD-258 fingerprint cards.

What controls your timeline

  • Submission route: electronic for eligible requests, or a mailed EDO package with its own transit and intake time
  • Print quality: a rejection and retake adds time. Our free retake policy covers fingerprints we captured that the FBI rejects for print quality, within 90 days
  • Who receives the result: your own Identity History Summary comes to you; a board or employer check routes through that agency, whose review adds time
  • Apostille: cannot begin until the eligible report exists. A rush add-on is subject to approval and charged only if the approved document is processed within the agreed window

Planning around a deadline

  • Choose electronic submission if you are eligible and your receiving authority accepts it
  • Bring your ID, instructions and destination country so your prints pass the first time
  • Need an apostille? Book the bundle so that stage starts as soon as the report is issued
  • Tell us your deadline before you book; we will say whether it is realistic rather than promise a government result time
Book FBI Fingerprinting Contact Us About Your Deadline