Fingerprints, Apostilles and Background Checks in Mérida
For Yucatán’s growing American and Canadian community
Mérida has become home to many American and Canadian families, and with them come specific tasks: enrolling children in school, registering a deed on a downtown house or getting married at the civil registry. Others teach English or volunteer and need a recent FBI or RCMP check. We help you get the right document, apostilled by the country that issued it and translated when the Yucatán authority asks for it.
What we do in Mérida
We cover Mérida, Progreso and the rest of Yucatán. Fingerprinting by appointment at a place confirmed when you book; courier delivery.
Services for Mérida
The work happens in the U.S. or Canada; the result reaches you here, ready for the Mexican office.
Fingerprinting for the FBI and RCMP
We record your prints on the format each authority requires: the FBI’s FD-258 card or the C-216C form of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Every impression is checked for legibility before it is sent, because a rejected card means starting the application again.
FBI Background Check (Identity History Summary)
We take care of the whole FBI background check (Identity History Summary): fingerprinting, the request itself, the apostille from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and a Spanish translation by a perito traductor when your Mexican procedure calls for one.
RCMP Criminal Record Check (Canada)
For Canadians and anyone who has lived in Canada: we take your prints on the C-216C form and handle the RCMP certified criminal record check and the Global Affairs Canada apostille, so the certificate can be used in Mexico or any other Hague Convention country.
Apostilles for U.S. and Canadian Documents
We apostille birth, marriage and death certificates, divorce decrees, diplomas and transcripts, powers of attorney and other documents issued in any of the 50 states or in Canada. Each country apostilles only its own documents: a U.S. certificate cannot be apostilled in Mexico, so the work is done with the authority where it was issued.
Certified Translation by a Perito Traductor
Many Mexican authorities, such as the Registro Civil, notaries and the courts, only accept foreign documents translated by a perito traductor authorized by the state judiciary. We translate the document and, as is usually required, its apostille too.
Your paperwork from Mérida
Four steps, without leaving Mexico.
Document Review
Send us a photo or summary of the document and the office’s requirements in Yucatán. We confirm the route before you pay.
Biometric Capture
Fingerprinting is by appointment; the place is confirmed when you book. Documents are couriered to Mérida, Progreso and the rest of Yucatán.
Overseas Apostille
We file with the FBI, the RCMP, the state Secretary of State, the Department of State in Washington or the Canadian authority.
Official Certified Translation & Courier
We arrange the translation with a perito the office accepts and send everything to you by DHL Express.
Routes for U.S. and Canadian documents
Each country has its own authorities, fingerprint formats and apostille rules.
The U.S. route from Mérida
We take your fingerprints on the FD-258 card. If you are a U.S. citizen or green card holder, they go to the FBI electronically and the report arrives in 24 to 48 hours; if not, they travel on paper cards by post and it takes several weeks. Then the Department of State in Washington adds the federal apostille.
What to have ready
With these, we can review your case faster:
- Valid passport: a clear photo of the page with your details.
- The office’s list: exactly what the INM, Registro Civil, SEP, notary or employer asked for.
- Matching names: your name should match across your passport, certificates and Mexican documents.
- Certified copies: an apostille needs the certified copy with the issuing office’s signature and seal.
- Privacy: please leave your Social Security number, passwords and anything unnecessary out of your first message.
Timelines and costs for Mérida
You get the timeline and the total cost in writing before you pay.
Timelines
Electronic FBI (U.S. citizens and green card holders only): 24–48 hours or 4 working days; paper FBI: several weeks, with dates confirmed per case. Federal apostille: 10–12 business days. State apostilles: 5–7 business days on average. RCMP: 1–2 weeks. Ontario apostille: 4–6 business days; Global Affairs Canada: 20–25 business days. Translation: confirmed with the quote.
Costs
Every case is quoted in writing before work starts, with official fees, translation and delivery to Yucatán listed separately.
Frequently asked questions in Mérida
What people dealing with offices in Yucatán ask us.
I am moving to Mérida with my children. Which school records need an apostille?
It depends on the school and the grade. The school or the state education authority may ask for foreign report cards or transcripts apostilled and translated. U.S. records are apostilled in the school’s state; Canadian ones by the province or Global Affairs Canada. Ask the school what it needs first.
I am from Alberta. Is my marriage certificate apostilled in Ottawa?
No. Alberta apostilles its own documents, as do Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Global Affairs Canada handles federal documents and those from the other provinces and territories.
I want to volunteer with children in Mérida and they ask for a criminal record check. Which one?
The check from each country where you have lived: the FBI check if you lived in the U.S. and the RCMP check if you lived in Canada. Many organizations want them less than 3 to 6 months old, so apply shortly before you hand them in.
Nearby cities
If you live between two cities or your case is handled by another office:
About us
Fingerprint in Mexico is a private document-handling service and part of Tu Apostilla. We are not a government office and do not speak for the FBI, the RCMP, the U.S. Department of State, Global Affairs Canada or any Mexican authority: certificates and apostilles are always issued by the competent authorities. Orders are placed on fbibackgroundcheck.co.uk, the company’s main website.
Free case review for Mérida
We reply with the steps, the timeline and the cost for your case in Yucatán.