Police certificates can take some planning. Start with the instructions for your application and the country issuing the document.

Which document is needed?

A police certificate shows whether you have a criminal record and helps IRCC assess admissibility. Different countries use different names, including police clearance certificate, good conduct certificate or judicial record extract. The name alone is not enough to tell you which document to order.

Follow the country instructions

Check whether your application requires certificates, which countries they must come from and when to submit them. Another applicant’s checklist may not fit your history. Make a list of where you have lived and the relevant dates, then compare it with your application guide.

Check the complete package

Allow time for the issuing process. If the certificate is not in English or French, IRCC requires a copy of the original and a certified translation. Keep them together and check the names and dates. If you have difficulty obtaining a certificate, read IRCC’s instructions for that situation before choosing a different document.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Police certificate.

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