Police Certificate （Certificate of Non-Criminal Record）
2020/4/20
Police Certificates are issued by the Japanese National Police Agency. This document certifies whether the applicant has any criminal convictions in Japan and is written in Japanese, English, French, German and Spanish.
Police Certificates are issued only when it is requested by certain authorities who are required to do so by law.
Police Certificates are issued only when it is requested by certain authorities who are required to do so by law.
Application Procedure
Application
1 Prior to the application, please contact the Consular section by e-mail（consul@hg.mofa.go.jp） in order to make an appointment. Please explain in your e-mail the reason why you need a Police Certificate.
2 Please come to the Embassy in person on the day of your appointment. You will have an interview with the officer and your fingerprints will be taken.
Required documents:
・Your valid passport (It must be the original. A copy cannot be accepted.)
・Documents verifying the reason for applying for the Police Certificate such as a letter from the authority that requests it.*
*In some cases, we may require additional documents, such as a textual extract of the relevant law with Japanese translations.
In some cases, the attachment of an apostille (an international certification as specified in the The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) to the Police Certificate is required. Please confirm with the organization requesting the Police Certificate whether you would need an apostille and remember to mention this to the Consular staff upon your application.
Processing time
It will take approximately two months to process your application. We will contact you when the certificate is ready to be collected.
Collecting the certificate
You must come to the Embassy in person to receive your certificate. You must bring your valid passport for identification. If you would like to send someone instead, you need to write a Letter of Proxy and give it to your proxy to go to the Embassy. The proxy must bring his/her valid passport.
1 Prior to the application, please contact the Consular section by e-mail（consul@hg.mofa.go.jp） in order to make an appointment. Please explain in your e-mail the reason why you need a Police Certificate.
2 Please come to the Embassy in person on the day of your appointment. You will have an interview with the officer and your fingerprints will be taken.
Required documents:
・Your valid passport (It must be the original. A copy cannot be accepted.)
・Documents verifying the reason for applying for the Police Certificate such as a letter from the authority that requests it.*
*In some cases, we may require additional documents, such as a textual extract of the relevant law with Japanese translations.
In some cases, the attachment of an apostille (an international certification as specified in the The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) to the Police Certificate is required. Please confirm with the organization requesting the Police Certificate whether you would need an apostille and remember to mention this to the Consular staff upon your application.
Processing time
It will take approximately two months to process your application. We will contact you when the certificate is ready to be collected.
Collecting the certificate
You must come to the Embassy in person to receive your certificate. You must bring your valid passport for identification. If you would like to send someone instead, you need to write a Letter of Proxy and give it to your proxy to go to the Embassy. The proxy must bring his/her valid passport.
Fee
Free of charge.
Important Information
Depending on the requesting authority and the reason for the request, there is a possibility that we may not accept your application.