How to get a police certificate
In most cases, you must contact the local police or government to ask for a certificate.
You may have to:
- provide information or documents like:
- photographs
- fingerprints
- the addresses where you lived in the country or territory and the dates that you lived there
- pay a fee
If your certificate is in a language other than English or French, send the original police certificate along with a translation from a certified translator.
If you need to give your fingerprints for a police certificate, this isn’t the same as giving your biometrics (fingerprints and photo) for an application.
Get a police certificate
Find out how and where to get a police certificate from different countries.
Select a country or territory:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bonaire
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China (People’s Republic of)
- Colombia
- Comoros Islands
- Congo
- Congo (Democratic Republic of)
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark (including Faro Island and Greenland)
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong SAR
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland, Northern
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy (including Vatican City)
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macao SAR
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Micronesia (Federated States of)
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro (former Yugoslavia)
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia (Republic of)
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestinian Authority (Gaza/West Bank)
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Reunion
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Lucia
- Samoa (American)
- Samoa (Western)
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain (including the Canary Islands)
- Sri Lanka
- St. Helena
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor Leste (Timor oriental)
- Togo
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Wallis and Futuna
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
If you can’t find your country or territory on the list
Contact the national police agency, or your country or territory’s embassy or consulate in Canada.
If you can’t get a police certificate from your country or territory
You must:
- show proof that you requested a police certificate from the correct authorities
- write a letter explaining all you’ve done to try to get one
Even if you send us both of the above items, we can’t guarantee we’ll accept your application.
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