Certainly writing the month is the most clear, but as local/document drafting customs prevail it is usually very apparent which one is being requested - obviously don’t use an EU format on a US document and vice versa. In my experience the date format is the least of your worries when it comes to the wants of competing jurisdictions, and it isn’t an issue in situations where dealing with those variations is commonplace.
My lawyer asked me to copy my social security card, have it notarized (true and correct copy), then add the state apostille of the notarization. The nice thing is that the state apostille was much easier/cheaper than the federal one in my state, as it was a few hours drive.
Just another data point for you. IMO, better safe than sorry.
I am on my 4th GV Residency card and have never needed to use any service to get the FBI Background Reports apostilled. I have now done this 5 times (my initial GV, 2 renewals, my wife’s initial GV, and my citizenship application) and it has always taken around 30 days to get the FBI Criminal Background Records apostilled and returned to me. Here is the link for the Form to submit with the request and a check for $20 for each one you need apostilled: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds4194.PDF.
I also include a self-addressed pre-paid UPS envelope so I can track the documents.
Here is my form letter:
Department of State Via USPS
Office of Authentications
44132 Mercure Circle
P.O. Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206
Re: Apostille of FBI Criminal Background Records
Greetings:
Enclosed please find the completed Request for Authentications Service Form, and 4 FBI Criminal Background Record for _______________, ___________________, _______________ and __________________, and a check in the amount of $80.00 payable to the U.S. Department of State.
Please authenticate the FBI Criminal Background Records with an Apostille and return the authenticated documents to me in the enclosed pre-paid UPS envelope.
For the state of Texas documents (marriage certificate, birth certificate, and any notarized affidavits), I UPS them to a friend in Austin and he walks them through in-person as the TX Secretary of State will apostille them and hand them right back to you.
Good luck!
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Super helpful, thanks for the details!
The time lines don’t work anymore. The certificate is only valid for 90 days, and the mail-in time line is now 5-6+ weeks. So you have at best a 30 day validity window.
I just did this less than 4 months ago for a 9/30/25 biometric appointment. I got the Instant FBI Background Reports with electronic fingerprints on Aug 10, mailed them overnight mail on Aug 12, they were apostilled on Aug 29, and had them in hand on September 3 after the Labor Day holiday which was 4 weeks prior to our appointments.
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Before the shutdown, the firings and the furloughs. There was a report recently of someone submitting in the late September and not having heard early in November. I just don’t think DIY mail-in is feasible. YMMV.
I live in the UK, and need a California birth certificate apostilled. I can get the birth certificate from Vitalchek and I understand that I can send that to Sacramento by mail for the apostille. But that’s quite a lot of posting internationally. Can a local apostille firm handle the whole process more efficiently? Any recommendations? thanks
I agree with the comments on Monumnet Visa and have used them for our family 3x with good success. https://monumentvisa.com/
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It should be the case that Vitalchek can send it directly to Sacramento, and Sacramento can send it along to you. Call Sacramento for help. Connecticut has the same system and they did that for me with a marriage certificate (same process).
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