A police clearance certificate is a check of your criminal record, issued by the CID of the Ghana Police Service.
You will need one for a work visa, a residence application abroad, a foreign university, adoption, some professional registrations, and increasingly for senior jobs at home.
Where to go
It is issued centrally by the CID, not at your local police station. The main office is at CID Headquarters in Accra, and Ghanaians abroad apply through a Ghanaian mission, which forwards the request.
Fingerprints are taken as part of it, which is why it cannot be done entirely online and why nobody can do it for you.
What to bring
- Ghana Card, and your passport if the certificate is for a foreign authority — the certificate should carry the passport details the receiving authority holds
- Passport photographs, to the number the office asks for
- A letter stating why you need it and, where relevant, the name and address of the receiving institution
- Payment receipt
Get the name and the passport number exactly right
The certificate is checked against the passport you used to apply for the visa. A middle name present on one and missing on the other is enough to have it rejected abroad, after you have already paid the visa fee. — Fixing a name discrepancy
How long it is good for
The certificate itself does not expire. The receiving authority decides how recent it must be, and 6 months is the usual limit.
Do not get one too early. A certificate obtained eight months before you finally submit the application is a certificate you will pay for twice.
If it goes abroad
Most foreign authorities want the certificate authenticated before they will accept it — either an apostille or authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed by legalisation at the relevant embassy in Accra.
Ask the receiving authority which they require, in writing, before you start.
If you have a record
A certificate reports what is on the record. If something is on yours and you know it, take advice before you apply rather than hoping it has been forgotten — many foreign authorities treat a non-disclosure far more seriously than the underlying matter.
If something appears that should not be there, or a matter was dismissed and is still showing, that is a correction to pursue formally with the CID and, if needed, with a lawyer.