Applying from United States

Identity History Summary (the FBI criminal-record check)

Issued by FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS)

Federal documents, including the FBI summary, are apostilled by the US Department of State. State-issued vital records are apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued them.

Issued by US Department of State, Office of Authentications; state Secretaries of State

The "long form" certified copy showing the parents’ names. The exact name varies by state.

The Los Angeles list puts it plainly: where a short form and a long form are both available, order the long form.

As of 20.06.2025

The four US posts divide the country between them and each one receives files only from its own jurisdiction. Filing at the wrong post means starting the appointment queue again, so confirm the list above against the post’s own page before booking — MVEP publishes the jurisdictions and revises them without notice.

This is the split that catches most American applicants. The FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document and is authenticated by the US Department of State in Washington. A birth or marriage certificate is a state document and is authenticated by that state’s Secretary of State. A file assembled through one channel alone comes back incomplete, and each apostille then needs its own certified Croatian translation.

The Consulate General in Los Angeles publishes the most detailed document list of any post serving the diaspora, last revised on 20 June 2025. It binds the nineteen states Los Angeles covers, and it is worth reading even if you file elsewhere: where another post publishes nothing, the LA list is the closest thing to a written standard.

How fresh a birth or marriage certificate has to be is one of the places official sources genuinely disagree. MVEP’s general guidance works to six months; the Los Angeles list has run to a year and a half. Order documents late rather than early, and confirm the window with the post that will receive your file before you pay for translations.