UK Police Certificate: Who Needs One + How to Get It

What Is a Criminal Record Certificate?

A criminal record certificate — also called a police certificate, a police clearance certificate, or a certificate of good character — is issued by the police or an appropriate law enforcement agency in a country. The Home Office guidance says a certificate will include information about a person's criminal record, including past offences and information about recent arrests pending further action such as prosecution, or will confirm that the person has no criminal record.

It sits alongside, but is separate from, the declaration every entry clearance applicant makes about previous offending on the application form, and from the good character requirement that applies to citizenship.

Which Applications Need One

The requirement is narrower than people often assume. The Home Office guidance says it applies to applications for entry clearance in these categories:

• Skilled Worker applicants whose job in the UK falls in one of the standard occupational classification codes on the published list — health, education and social care roles, from medical practitioners, nurses and midwives to teachers, teaching assistants, social workers, care managers, senior care workers, nursery nurses, childminders and youth and community workers. The guidance says this "provides additional safeguards where a migrant's job involves working closely with children and vulnerable people".
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Investor) applicants, both closed routes, where the requirement has applied since 1 September 2015.
• The spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner of any of those applicants, whether they apply at the same time or separately to join someone already in the UK.

GOV.UK states plainly that the requirement "will not apply if you are making an application for an extension of stay in the UK". It is not a specified document for a settlement or British citizenship application either, though those applications are assessed against good character and suitability in their own right.

You do not need one for a Student visa or a visitor visa.

Which Countries Do You Need Certificates From?

Where the requirement applies, a certificate is needed from the relevant authority in every country except the UK where you have been present for 12 months or more — continuously or in total — in the 10 years before the date of application, while aged 18 or over.

Three details in that sentence do the work:

• Except the UK. No UK certificate is required for this purpose.
• Continuously or in total. Several shorter stays in the same country add up to the 12 months.
• While aged 18 or over. Time spent in a country as a child does not count. The guidance tells caseworkers to look at a shorter period than 10 years for applicants aged 18 to 27.

The certificate must be obtained before the application is made. The GOV.UK guidance on overseas criminal record checks lists the authority to contact in each country, with the process, cost and service standards. GOV.UK warns that this country guidance is subject to change and may not reflect the current position, and that it remains the applicant's responsibility to check with the relevant authorities. Where a country is not covered, it suggests contacting that country's embassy or high commission.

Countries That Issue Certificates by Region

Some countries keep criminal records at state, region, province or local level rather than nationally, and will not issue a single central certificate. The guidance says a regional certificate is normally acceptable where it comes with an explanation of the attempts made to get a national one, or evidence that none is available, plus evidence of residence in that region for the period the certificate covers. Someone who lived in several regions of such a country needs a certificate for each, or a satisfactory explanation of why that is not possible.

How to Obtain a Certificate

From each country you lived in

GOV.UK says the application process varies from country to country, and that you apply either in that country or to its embassy in the UK. Its country pages, split into A to F, G to P and Q to Z, set out the process, cost and service standards for each. Some countries take applications online; others require a personal visit, a postal application, or fingerprints.

The certificate has to be obtained before the application is submitted, so the country with the longest processing time sets the timetable.

How recent it has to be

The guidance sets out when a certificate is normally considered valid:

• for your latest country of residence, where it was issued no earlier than 6 months before the date of application;
• for other countries you were present in, where it was issued within the last 6 months before that period of stay ended — which can be any date.

So a certificate obtained years ago, as you left a country, can still be the right document for that country.

The UK is not included

The guidance says a certificate is required for each country except the UK, so no UK certificate is needed for this requirement. ACRO Criminal Records Office does issue UK police certificates, through its own website, but they are for other purposes — most often a visa application to another country.

What If the Certificate Shows an Offence?

The certificate is not itself a decision. Where it records a criminal history, the caseworker considers whether there are grounds to refuse under Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, following the published guidance on grounds for refusal on criminality. Since 26 March 2026 a suspended sentence of 12 months or more is a mandatory ground for refusal.

Two situations the guidance deals with specifically:

• A discrepancy between the application form and the certificate. The caseworker may ask for an explanation, and the guidance notes there can be a good reason — a certificate may not show a conviction that is spent under that country's rehabilitation law.
• A pending prosecution. Where someone has been arrested and charged and is awaiting prosecution or a court hearing, the application is normally held until the proceedings are resolved. The guidance allows for cases where holding is not workable, for example where there is no prospect of resolution within a reasonable time.

A false or fraudulently obtained certificate is a separate and serious matter: the guidance requires a document verification report and, where one is established, refusal both for providing a false document and for failing to provide a valid certificate.

For citizenship applications the good character rules apply, and for settlement the rules on criminal records turn on the sentence and how recent it is.

Translation and Certification

The guidance says that if the certificate is not in English, a translated copy must be provided meeting the requirements of paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules. See our guide to certified translations for what a translation has to contain.

When a Certificate Cannot Be Obtained

The Immigration Rules provide for an exemption where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a certificate and the applicant has given a satisfactory explanation with the application, including details of the attempts made. The guidance says each request is considered case by case, and gives examples of when a caseworker may conclude it is not reasonably practicable:

• there is no procedure for issuing certificates;
• certificates are not available to people who are not nationals of that country;
• the applicant fled the country for humanitarian reasons and cannot re-establish contact with the authorities;
• there is, or has been, international or internal armed conflict, or a humanitarian disaster.

An exemption is country-specific. Someone who cannot get a certificate for one country is still required to provide one for any other country where they were present for 12 months or more, where that is feasible.

The consequence of providing neither a certificate nor an explanation is set out plainly: the requirements of the rules are not met and the application is refused. Where the caseworker concludes a certificate or explanation could have been provided, the guidance says they should write and ask for it, and that what is asked for must arrive within 28 working days of the date of the request.

Next Steps

The starting point is the list of countries where you have been present for 12 months or more since turning 18, in the last 10 years, and the GOV.UK country pages for each of them. Certificates have to be in hand before the application is made. Advice on an individual criminal record is regulated work in the UK: it can be given by a solicitor or by an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority, and our guide to immigration solicitor costs sets out what that costs.

Related guides:

• Good Character Requirement
• Settlement Documents Checklist
• Citizenship Documents Checklist
• Document Translation Guide
• Criminal Record and Citizenship

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