A Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) is an official document issued by the Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management (CR & CSM) stating whether or not any criminal convictions have been recorded against an individual. This service is available to people who require confirmation of their criminal status for emigration purposes or for travel or employment abroad.

The issuing of a Police Clearance Certificate is the sole responsibility of Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management in Pretoria. The applicant must provide the following documents:

• A full set of his/her fingerprints on a SAPS 91(a) when living in South Africa. The fingerprints must be taken by the South African Police Service. Persons living outside South Africa, may apply at the any police station in that country or at the South African Embassy. Fingerprints must be taken on the official fingerprint forms of the applicable country or, if available, on the SAPS 91(a) fingerprint enquiry form.
• An application form must be duly completed.
• A certified copy of the applicant's identity document/passport. The applicant must present his/her identity document/passport at the police station, as proof of identity will be required.
• Should a maiden surname and/or other surnames be required on a Police Clearance Certificate, mention must be made thereof in the application and documentary proof of the maiden surname and/or other surnames (for example a certified copy of marriage certificate) must be attached to the application.
• Proof of payment. The prescribed fee is R160,00 per application. The required non-refundable tariff is payable in cash at the nearest police station or electronically into the South Africa Police Service’s account in favour of the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service. The banking details are as follow: ABSA cheque account number 4054522787; branch code 632005; Swift code ABSA ZAJJ. In the case of an electronic payment, the letters “PCC” followed by the initials and surname of the applicant must be indicated as reference.

Applicants living abroad may forward the application and required documents directly to CR & CSM for processing. Applications received from abroad will not be returned to the applicant. The applicant must monitor progress via the SAPS website and upon completion arrange for collection as indicated on the application form. For security purposes the certificate will only be handed over to the person nominated by the applicant or chosen courier service. Note that certificates not collected within three months after finalisation will be destroyed.

Applicants living in South Africa may, at no additional costs to the applicant, request the police station to forward the applications to CR & CSM in Pretoria. The applicant may also in person deliver the application to CR & CSM in Pretoria or use the service of a postal or courier service at his/her own cost. For security purposes the certificate will upon completion only be handed over to the applicant or person nominated by the applicant or chosen courier service as indicated on the application form. Where the applicant requested the certificate to be returned to the police station, the responsible person at the police station must ensure that the certificate is handed over to the applicant in person. Proof of identity must be presented when the certificate is collected. Note that certificates not collected within three months after finalisation will be destroyed.

Once you have been to the police station and have completed your application documents and would like to send your application via courier to SAPS CRC then Citisprint cc will assist in collecting your documents personally from you during the course of the day from 8:30am – 5:00pm.  The documents will be sent overnight and delivered at the Criminal Records Centre the following day Mondays – Thursdays.  Please note that all documents collected on Fridays will only be delivered the next working day which will be the Monday.  The same applies to public holidays.

How to book a collection going to SAPS

We have 3 convenient methods in which to arrange collection:

1. Send us an email to crc2@citisprint.co.za or crc3@citisprint.co.za with your name, surname and address where the documents need to be collected from. We will send you an email back confirming the collection and amount payable to the driver
2. SMS 44111 – with your name, surname and address where the documents need to be collected from. We will send you a sms back confirming the collections and amount payable to the driver
3. Call our office on 021 511 3105 and ask to be put through to the police clearance department and one of our friendly customer service agents will assist

Once your police clearance has been finalised you will receive a sms from the SAPS CRC advising you that your document has been finalised with a unique reference number.  In order to collect we will need your name, surname, date of birth and reference number. Please note that this is not an overnight service and could take between 3 – 5 working days.  Once we have submitted the list for collections the SAPS department needs to print, stamp and scan the documents before they can be given to the courier and this process takes time.

How to book a collection from SAPS

We have 3 convenient methods in which to arrange collection:

1. Send us an email to crc2@citisprint.co.za or crc3@citisprint.co.za with your name, surname, date of birth and unique reference number. We will send you an email back confirming the collection. Once the documents have been received at our office we will contact you to arrange delivery and advise of amount payable to driver on delivery.
2. SMS 44111 – with your name, surname, date of birth and unique reference number. We will send you an sms back confirming the collection. Once the documents have been received at our office we will contact you to arrange delivery and advise of amount payable to driver on delivery.
3. Call our office on 021 511 3105 and ask to be put through to the police clearance department and one of our friendly customer service agents will assist you.

For your convenience we have 4 methods of payment:

• CASH – The correct amount payable to the driver on collection or delivery
• EFT – You can make an electronic funds transfer to our account: BANK NAME: Nedbank ACCOUNT NAME: Citisprint ACCOUNT NUMBER: 101 0019988 BRANCH CODE: 123 209 PAYMENT REFERENCE: Your Name
• SNAPSCAN - You can pay by snap scan on our website http://www.citisprint.co.za/payments/
• CREDIT CARD – You can pay by credit card on our website http://www.citisprint.co.za/payments/