1. Overview

Criminal Records, also known as Police Check, or Police Clearance Certificate is an official document issued by Vietnam Justice Departments at the provincial level or the National Center for Judicial Records, with the purposes of:

• Proving whether or not an individual has a previous criminal conviction or is banned from holding certain posts, establishing or managing enterprises or cooperatives in case enterprises or cooperatives have been declared bankrupt by court.
• Recording the remission of previous criminal convictions, and facilitating the community reintegration by convicted persons.

There are two types of Criminal Record Certificate:

- Criminal Record Certificate No.1 is granted to individuals, agencies, and organizations:

• Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who resided or are currently residing in Vietnam may request the issuance of criminal record cards.
• State agencies, political organizations and socio-political organizations that may request the issuance of criminal record cards to serve the personnel management, business registration, establishment and management of enterprises or cooperatives.

- Criminal Record Certificate No.2 is granted to:

• Vietnamese and foreigners who do not have a permanent residence, a temporary place of residence or have no place of residence may request the issuance of criminal record cards.
• Procedure-conducting agencies may request the issuance of criminal record cards to serve the investigation, prosecution and adjudication work.

Criminal Record Certificate No.2 is mostly requested at court proceedings, whereas Criminal Record Certificate No.1 is more common when applicable for various purposes, including work permit applications for foreign workers, supplementary documentation for company job applications, as well as consular requests or visa applications within Vietnam. 

2. Eligibility

According to Law No. 28/2009/QH12 on Judicial Records, below are subjects who can be granted Criminal Record Certificate,

• Vietnamese citizens whose places of permanent or temporary residence are unidentifiable;
• Vietnamese citizens permanently or temporarily residing in Vietnam;
• Vietnamese citizens currently residing overseas;
• Foreigners who resided in Vietnam or currently residing in Vietnam.

3. Required documents

Vietnamese or foreign individuals or agencies or organizations must prepare the basic documents:

• Form declaration requesting issuance of the criminal record certificate;
• Copy of the identity card or passport or visa of the requested person;
• Copy of the household registration book or certificate of permanent or temporary residence of the requested person;
• Authorization documents in accordance with regulations in case of authorization (Including but not limited to Notarized authorization form and Identity card/ Passport/ equivalent document of the authorized person).

4. How it works

Up to now, Vietnamese citizens and foreigners can register to get a Criminal Record Certificate via the Online Judicial Certification of the Vietnam Ministry of Justice. 

The detailed guide is below:

Step 1: Enroll for the issuance of an online criminal record certificate here

Select your case and the permanent/temporary residence; click “GET STARTED” to proceed with the service. The platform will guide you step by step or you can download guidelines on the main screen.

You must save your online code which is displayed on the screen before clicking the “FINISH” button.

Step 2: Bring your profile and the online code to agencies managing judicial record databases in person or by postal service.

Depending on the place of residence, Vietnamese citizens and foreigners can go to the respective authority to submit their documents.

• Who reside in Vietnam submit their application documents at Vietnam Justice Departments at their place of residence;
• Who reside outside Vietnam submit their application documents at the National Center for Judicial Records.

Step 3: Pay the fee and get an appointment document to get the result.

Upon completion of all steps, you will receive an appointment document. In the case of a mailed submission, the appointment paper will be dispatched to the applicant's email.

Step 4: Receive your result

The applicant is required to visit the submission location to obtain the results. Additionally, if applications are submitted by mail, the result will be dispatched to the address provided in the registration form.

5. Processing time & Fees

Normally, the processing time for Criminal Record Certificate issuance would be 10 working days after receipt of complete documents and fees. 

Fees are regulated clearly in Circular No. 244/2016/TT-BTC,