Criminal Record Certificate (PCC) from Czech republic

Getting a Czech criminal record certificate: how and where?

Briefly, you can get the police clearance certificate within the Czech Republic or at certain Czech consulates abroad (though not all). You may apply in person, or give a power of attorney to another person to obtain the certificate for you, or apply through the "Datová schránka" if you have one.

The best place to obtain Czech criminal record certificate

We have processed numerous Czech criminal record certificates for our clients. From our experience, the best place to get your certificate depends on where (in which country) and why you will use this document.

You must determine:

• Is it for use abroad (outside the Czech Republic)?
• Is it for use within the Czech Republic?

The following sections include the steps and certification methods for each option.

Certification for use abroad (outside the Czech Republic)

For official recognition outside the Czech Republic, the criminal record certificate must be issued either by the Czech Ministry of Justice or by a Czech notary. These options ensure the document’s international validity and allow for the subsequent placement of an apostille, if required by the destination country.

The Czech Ministry of Justice is the best choice. This is because the criminal record registry is directly managed by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic. The most reliable option is to get the document certified directly by their offices, by their staff, and using their official seal. Please note that they have only one dedicated office for this purpose, located at Legerova 7, Praha 2, Nové Město (open on weekdays; check specific working hours). We find this office to be efficient and helpful, aiming to resolve matters quickly while still following all required procedures.

There is another important point: to get a police clearance certificate directly issued by the Ministry of Justice, you must be registered in the so-called Czech Population Register ("Registr obyvatel"). This register includes Czech citizens and foreigners with long-term visas and residence permits in the country. If you are not in this register, you will need to provide your birth certificate at the Ministry of Justice offices to get the criminal record document. This can be a complicated step on its own, as the birth certificate often requires an apostille and a sworn translation into Czech.

Any notary in the Czech Republic is also a good choice for obtaining a certificate. Every notary can access the criminal record registry and issue the certificate for you. The document will be notarized accordingly. This notary certification makes the document legally valid abroad. We will not list specific addresses here; simply search for the nearest notary to your location. You can find numerous notaries in every city across the country.

It's important to note that the registry is managed by the Ministry of Justice, but the extract itself is certified by a notary. We have had only one case where its practical use raised questions (“why is the certificate from the Ministry of Justice, but veryfied by a notary?”). However, this is a rare exception, and the question was likely due to the subjective judgment of the individual person who reviewing the document. Formally, the document should have been accepted without any additional questions.

A key benefit of the notary procedure is the absence of a verification check against the Czech Population Register ("Registr obyvatel"), which is a requirement at the Ministry of Justice. As a result, a notarized police clearance certificate can be acquired by any individual, even a person who has never lived in the country. If you encounter difficulties getting the document from the Ministry of Justice offices, we recommend contacting a notary.

In many cases, the recognition of a Czech criminal record certificate outside the country may require an apostille. This must be checked individually between the Czech Republic and the specific country. You can verify whether an apostille is needed in your case using the convenient form on our website, which provides a detailed explanation for each country.

If an apostille is required, the appropriate authority depends on where you obtained the document. The apostille can be issued either by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or by the offices of the Czech Notarial Chamber.

The certificate is for use in the Czech Republic

This is a relatively uncommon situation, as most Czech state authorities have direct access to the country's criminal record registry and can check an individual's information directly. However, if a physical certificate is necessary for internal use, the following options are available:

• Any Czech post office. This refers to the Czech POINT contact points available at every post office in the country. The staff can process the request, though they may not always be proficient with the system and processing can take some time.
• Any municipal or district administration office (Městský úřad, Městská část). They can also issue a police clearance certificate for use within the country.

Please note that the documents obtained at a post office or municipal office are for internal use within the Czech Republic only (as per the law). It is NOT possible to apostille certificates from a Czech post office or municipal office.