Copy of criminal record

The Ministry of Justice is frequently asked to provide a “Police Certificate", "Certificate of Good Conduct" or a "Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Check" for people overseas. In New Zealand there is no such document, however you can apply for a copy of your record held by the Ministry of Justice, which you can then show to another party.

How to apply

There are three choices of application form. Two types of form can be downloaded from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice website, one to apply for your individual record and the other to provide the information to a third party. These need to be completed, signed by you and accompanied by a suitable form of identification such as a passport or birth certificate. A photocopy is acceptable. If you reside overseas, the completed form should be either emailed to criminalrecord@justice.govt.nz or faxed to 0064 4 918 8974.

For the third kind of application, ‘Request by Third Party (Section 19 Exception to Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004’ you will need to apply to the New Zealand Ministry of Justice in writing to obtain the application form. This is only necessary under unusual circumstances, so please check the details on the website to see if you require this.

Obtaining a Police Clearance Certificate from the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom does not issue Police Clearance Certificates. Under UK law you cannot apply for a DBS/Disclosure and Barring Service check (previously CRB/Criminal Records Bureau check), but others can make an application on your behalf. If you require a police clearance for working purposes, you can arrange for your employer to make an application on your behalf.

If you need to make an application yourself, you can apply for what is called ‘subject access’. This is where you request access to information held by the police about yourself. For London you can find full information and download the form from the Metropolitian Police or contact your local police station.

For other parts of Britain go to your local police force website, or contact your local police station.