If you’re applying for a visa, immigrating or applying for a job locally and need a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), you may want to know where to get police clearance certificate.

Getting a police clearance certificate can seem like a really complicated, daunting process when you look at it initially, however, there are ways to make it a lot less complicated, especially if you use a third party service, to help streamline the entire process.

A SAPS police clearance certificate is only issued by the CRC (Criminal Record Centre), once an in-depth background check is carried out to find out whether an individual has any past criminal records against their name.

If you have no past criminal record against your name, you’ll be issued with a PCC, however, should you have a criminal record, it will be recorded on a second page of your police clearance certificate, although no details of crimes committed will be included.

Where to get police clearance certificate

It’s essential to note here that a police clearance certificate is one of the most vital documents you need when applying for a visa, whether to study, work or immigrate overseas, as well as to apply for employment locally in certain sectors.

You can apply for a police clearance certificate in two ways, as listed here:

Local police station

When you apply at your nearest police station, you’ll have your fingerprints taken and provide a certified copy of your ID. You’ll also have to fill in an application form, which is vital to the success of your application.

This application form can be sent back because of one misspelt word or anything else that is incorrect on the form, which will mean starting all over again. This is where things can get really complicated!

Please note; if you want your maiden and married surname on the police clearance certificate, you’ll need to provide the police station with a copy of your marriage certificate, and only one of each may be used.

Once this process is completed, it may take a few weeks for the police station to send your application to the CRC in Pretoria. This is because they only send their bag of applications once there are enough applications to justify sending it to Pretoria.

Add to this waiting period the major backlog currently being experienced at the CRC, and you could well be looking at a waiting period of between 2.5 and 3 months, before receiving your police clearance certificate.

Doc Assist Police Clearance Services

Doc Assist is a team of professionals who deal with applications for police clearance certificates on a daily basis directly with the CRC. All you need to do to get the ball rolling to a frustration free process, is to supply Doc Assist with:

  • Your fingerprints
  • Info on the country where the PCC will be used in 
  • 2 copies of your ID or passport
  • Your marriage certificate, if you would like your maiden and married surname on the PCC

From then on, you get to sit back and relax, while the friendly team of professionals make sure that your application is registered on the SAPS system (this is where a lot of applications get lost!)!

Need to know more about where to get a police clearance certificate?

Email the friendly team at Doc Assist today to find out more about how to get a police clearance certificate, minus any of the usual frustration attached to processes like this!

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