Fees and steps checked on
An FBI background check for the UAE is the Identity History Summary issued by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, signed by a division official at the time it is issued. Because it is a federal record, it goes straight to the US Department of State for authentication, with no state step, then to the UAE Embassy in Washington, which attests it together with MOFA. UAE employers, health and education regulators and some visa files ask for it from people who lived in the United States.
Price: AED 1,025 per FBI result plus VAT, about 1 month and 3 weeks from the day the result is ready, with the federal, embassy and MOFA fees and courier included. The FBI's fee for the check itself is paid by you when you apply. See attestation fees.
Get the right FBI result first
The FBI states that it authenticates fingerprint search results by adding the FBI watermark and the signature of a division official at the time of submission. It also says that requests to authenticate results it already processed are not accepted. So the check has to be requested in a form the State Department can authenticate, and it cannot be fixed later.
You can apply in three ways, all listed on the FBI's Identity History Summary pages:
- Online through the FBI's electronic departmental order site, with fingerprints taken at a participating location.
- Through an FBI-approved channeler, a private company that submits fingerprints to the FBI for you.
- By mail with a completed FD-258 fingerprint card. The FBI warns that mail processing can take much longer.
If you request the result online, the FBI also offers a mailed paper copy in a sealed envelope. Ask for it. The paper copy with the signature is the version that travels best through authentication.
Living in the UAE? The mail route and the channeler route both work from abroad, because the FBI result is posted or emailed to you. Check the current rules on the FBI pages before you book fingerprints.
The chain for an FBI check
- FBI result with the watermark and the division official's signature.
- US Department of State, Office of Authentications. It authenticates the FBI official's signature. No Secretary of State step, because the document is federal.
- UAE Embassy in Washington, through VFS Global. The embassy and MOFA attest it together on the MOFA digital route.
- Email delivery of the attested result, ready for the UAE office.
The State Department's criminal records page confirms that FBI and police records can be sent to its Office of Authentications, and asks you to state the country where the record will be used.
Who asks for it in the UAE
- Licensing bodies that ask for a police certificate from each country where you worked, for example for some health and finance roles.
- Schools. KHDA, ADEK and the Ministry of Education ask schools for a good conduct check for teachers. See teacher certificate attestation.
- Employers in finance, security and work with children.
- Some residence files, when the authority wants a police certificate from your last country of residence. See police clearance for a UAE visa.
Documents to send
- A scan of the FBI result showing the watermark and the signature
- Your passport copy
- The UAE office it is for, and the date the office wants it by
What goes wrong
- A result without the official signature. It cannot be authenticated. A new FBI request is the only fix.
- A state police check sent instead. Some UAE offices want the FBI check, others accept a state record. Ask which. The state route is on USA state police clearance attestation.
- An old result. Regulators often want a recent certificate. Apply close to your submission date.
- A name mismatch between the FBI result and your passport, for example a missing middle name.
A UAE police certificate for use abroad follows a different route, covered on police clearance certificate in Dubai.
FBI background check attestation for the UAE: the short version
If you searched for "FBI background check attestation UAE", the route is fixed. The FBI issues a signed Identity History Summary, the US Department of State authenticates it, and the UAE Embassy in Washington attests it together with MOFA. There is no state step. We run every stage after the FBI result, and you stay in the UAE. The one thing we cannot repair is a result without the FBI signature, so check that first.
What to send us
- A scan of the whole FBI result, every page, with the watermark and signature visible.
- The photo page of your passport.
- A name-change document if the name on the FBI result differs from your passport.
- The UAE office that asked for it, and its deadline.
The paper copy with the signature is what travels through the chain, so it leaves your hands until the courier returns it. The attested copy is emailed to you first. Do not laminate it: MOFA does not accept laminated documents.
Time in order
First comes the FBI's own processing, which depends on the route you chose and is outside our control. Our attestation then takes about 1 month and 3 weeks from the day we have the result, at AED 1,025 plus VAT with the federal, embassy and MOFA fees and courier included. Order the FBI check as soon as the UAE office asks.
Check the finished attestation
Enter the reference number and issue date from the last page at verify.mofa.gov.ae and open Document Status. See MOFA attestation verification. If you are unsure how the UAE treats an apostille, read attestation vs apostille.
