How long does it take to get a Police Clearance Certificate is a burning question, one that has left many South Africans utterly frustrated in 2022, due to overwhelming backlogs in applications at SAPS Criminal Records Centre, for a variety of reasons.
Some of these reasons have included the closure of the building for two weeks, further compounding the backlog, due to an unknown dispute between the Dept. of Public Works & Infrastructure, and its landlord, which was beyond the control of SAPS apparently.
It should, in general, take only 14 working days for a police clearance certificate to be processed by the SAPS Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria, instead, we are currently looking at up to 14 weeks for applications to be processed!
The one thing few think of, unless it impacts them directly, is that this most important document is needed by many South Africans for immigration, studying overseas, working overseas and applying for work in South Africa.
At this point, the only way to make sure you get your police clearance certificate in a well-planned, ahead of time manner, is to chat to the friendly team at Doc Assist about what they can do to take all the frustration out of applying for a PCC.
How long does it take to get a police clearance certificate?
Taking an historical look back at 2022, and the SAPS Criminal Record Centre backlogs, this is what they’ve looked like, as revealed by SAPS:
March 2022 60 000 applications on hand that needed to be completed
May 2022 The backlog of SAPS clearance certificates and firearm licenses had grown to 85 0000
December 2022 there is currently a backlog at the Pretoria SAPS CRC of more than 40 000 police clearance certificates
According to SAPS, the waiting period in March and May, and the months that followed, were hindered and made worse by an unusual growth in applications, load shedding and the system being offline.
At that time, the waiting period for the processing of applications was 8 weeks, which has now grown to in excess of 14 weeks.
Despite all these setbacks, SAPS and the CRC are working around the clock to bring these backlogs to a manageable amount that won’t affect so many applicants, but it’s best to plan well ahead of time to get your application for a police clearance application going, so that you get it on time.
How can Doc Assist Police Clearance Services help you?
Doc Assist is made up of a team of professional document procurement specialists, based in South Africa, who submit applications on behalf of their clients on a daily basis to the CRC.
This means that you can rely on this team to get your application onto the SAPS system timeously, and to follow up on the process on your behalf.
This team established Doc Assist in order to make applying for everything from police clearance certificates to Notary Services, Academic Documents, marriage certificates, Apostille, Embassy Verification and so much more, a lot easier on you.
Their attitude to clients is to take the frustration out of obtaining any documents you need; no more standing in line to get an Unabridged Birth Certificate at Home Affairs, for instance! Doesn’t that sound great!
Contact Doc Assist to find out more about how long it will take to get a PCC, or to request a quotation from this friendly team of professionals.