About Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC)

Yes. Local applicants under the age of 18 shall always be accompanied by their parent or guardian when submitting their applications in person. The parent or guardian shall sign on the application form (Pol.172A) or other required documents to confirm that such procedures are processed with their consent on a fully informed basis. For overseas applicants who are under the age of 18, the applications shall be submitted with a consent signed by the parent or guardian on the application form (Pol.172A) to confirm that such procedures are processed with their consent on a fully informed basis.

Nevertheless, it is suggested that you shall check with the relevant Immigration authority whether the submission of CNCC is required for the young dependents.

No. Online / email application is not available. Please also note that the originals of a signed application form, a signed fingerprint consent form and a full set of the applicant’s fingerprints (for overseas applicants) are required. For details, please refer to “Notes to Applicants” on the website of CNCC: https://www.police.gov.hk/cncc/en

No. Applicants need to print the documents and bring them to our office for submission as the documents will be filed for processing. No printing service is provided at this office.

Overseas applications can be submitted by both normal post and courier. However, please be reminded that mail with insufficient postage will be returned.

No. Applications for CNCC in Hong Kong can only be processed by the CNCC Office located in Wanchai, Hong Kong. For details, please refer to “Notes to Applicants” on the website of CNCC: https://www.police.gov.hk/cncc/en

For such cases, application documents will be returned to applicants by post. If the applicant has provided an email address or a contact phone number in Hong Kong, our office will try to reach the applicant for possible remedial actions before returning the documents.

No. If you would like to enquire whether there is any criminal conviction record against you being kept by the Hong Kong Police Force, please visit the webpage of “Data Access Request for Criminal Conviction Data” for more details: https://www.police.gov.hk/ccd/en

You may consider making a declaration or oath/ affirmation for private use, at any of the Enquiry Centres in 18 districts under the Home Affairs Department of the HKSAR in person. For details, please visit the website of Home Affairs Department:
https://www.had.gov.hk/en/public_services/public_enquiry_services/provided.htm

If you do not have / no longer have a HKID card, you can still apply with your current valid passport.

No. Please understand that a request letter issued from a relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority to support the purpose of application is our fundamental requirement.

The letter shall contain the applicant’s name and clearly indicates that the production of the Certificate is required.
There should also be a POSTAL ADDRESS of the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority since the application result will be directly sent to them by registered mail.

Yes. The validity of a request letter is considered to be within one year after its issuance date.

Please print out the letter for submission. If the request is indicated in an email from the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority, please print out the complete email correspondence showing the sender’s and recipient's email addresses as well as the email sending date.

The request letter is a mandatory requirement for lodging an CNCC application. Please seek assistance from the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority. You may also refer to the "I. Information for reference" of this FAQ webpage.

Usually overseas police station / law enforcement agency / Consulate would help with the fingerprint taking. If your full set of fingerprints is taken by other agencies appointed by the abovementioned authorities, a proof of the appointment is also needed for verification purpose.

Fingerprints taken with ink or via live scan (i.e. electronically) are both acceptable. If your fingerprints are taken via a live scan device, a hard copy must be generated so the fingerprint card can be mailed to our office. Please be reminded of the certification we required on the fingerprint card, such as the police station stamp.

No. Fingerprint cards previously processed by another party will not be accepted.

Yes. All applicants are required to submit a full set of their fingerprints for each application.

Please request the fingerprint taking officer to reflect the problem in writing on the fingerprint card or on a separate letter for our exceptional consideration. Depending on the condition of the fingerprints, we may ask the applicant to provide extra sets of fingerprints for our processing.

Yes. During office hours, our office provides fingerprinting services to the public for free. Members of the public must book an appointment through the OBS to submit applications at least one day in advance of the intended appointment. Those without an appointment will not be processed. Up to two sets of fingerprinting services will be provided for each appointment.

To ensure proper use of this service, applicants must bring along any document issued from the overseas authority which bears your full name and reasons for fingerprints submission; or your passport showing the period of your stay in that relevant country; or a standard fingerprint form from the relevant Authority.

For applicants in Hong Kong, payment by cash / Octopus cards / EPS / crossed cheques payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or “The Government of Hong Kong SAR” is accepted. Add-value service for Octopus cards is not available at this office.

For applicants outside Hong Kong, payment by bank draft payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or “The Government of Hong Kong SAR” is accepted. A personal cheque in Hong Kong dollar of an licenced bank in Hong Kong is also acceptable. You may also mail the application documents to your relative/friend in Hong Kong who can submit the application on your behalf and pay the fee in cash / Octopus Card / EPS / cheque in our office. Please note that we do not accept credit card / electronic / online / telegraphic transfer of money / electronic cheque / Cash sent by mail.

You may mail the requested documents to your relative/friend in Hong Kong who can submit the application on your behalf and pay the fee in cash/ Octopus Card/ EPS in our office. Please note that appointment is required for document submission or payment from applicants (including applicant’s representative in Hong Kong).

If you cannot arrange a bank draft in Hong Kong Dollar and do not have a relative/friend in Hong Kong, the foreign currency accepted is US dollar only.  However, please understand that at least an extra amount of HK$100 per bank draft / personal cheque will be charged by the bank for processing foreign currency. In this connection, please provide us a bank draft / personal cheque of at least US$50 per application.  Besides, as currency conversion is involved and the additional handling fee varies from one bank to another, please check with the bank and top up the payable amount of the cheque accordingly.

Yes. Please submit a cheque / bank draft with issue date within six months.

Yes. If you apply in person / your representative submits your application at our office, a payment receipt will be given to you / your representative immediately upon receipt of application fee. If you apply from overseas, a notification will be sent to you by email when complete application documents and fee are received. No notification will be received if you are unable to provide an email address.

It takes around four calendar weeks for processing upon receipt of complete application documents. After processing, the result will be sent out to the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority by registered mail of the Hongkong Post.

No. There is no express service for the application. Please allow sufficient time for your CNCC application to be processed and apply early.

No. The CNCC will be sent to the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority only. Applicants will receive a copy only when they have criminal conviction record. The policy was established to prevent possible abuse of the certificate.

The original copy of the result will be sent out by registered mail of the Hongkong Post. As the information on the result is strictly confidential, please understand that the result will not be sent through email or by fax due to security concerns.

No. The result will not be sent out with other documents provided by applicants. Nevertheless, if the applicant has provided the reference number assigned by the requesting authority, the reference number will be quoted on the result for identification.

Applicants will not be notified of the release of results. If they would like to enquire the application status, they are welcomed to contact us via phone (852) 2860 6557 (for applicants in Hong Kong) / (852) 2860 6558 (for applicants outside Hong Kong), or email us at cncc-enquiries@police.gov.hk after their applications have reached our office for three to four weeks.

When you enquire your application status, please provide the following information:
1) full name in English (SURNAME, given name)
2) HKID number (if applicable)
3) valid passport number
4) date of submission of application documents / our CNCC reference number for your application

If the relevant authority does not receive the result and requires a true copy, a letter/official email (showing the sender and recipient's email addresses and sending date) from the relevant authority proving that the result was not received is required. Upon receipt of the letter/official mail, the certified copy of the result to be mailed to destinations in Hong Kong will be sent out by registered post as soon as possible. If the certified copy of the result is to be sent outside Hong Kong, applicants have to arrange courier service at their own expenses and respective shipment instructions will be provided when the result is ready.

No. Only one name of the applicant as stated on either the HKID card or valid passport will be shown on the result of CNCC application, depending on the name shown on the request letter from the requesting authority. For other names of the applicants, including different names shown on the Birth Certificate / any Alias / Nick name / change of name, applicants will need to explain to the requesting authority on their own separately.

There is no expiry date / validity period for our results. There will only be an issue date. The expiry date/validity period is set by the relevant immigration authorities / Consulate / Government Authority. Therefore, please refer to the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority for this requirement.

There is no renewal service for CNCC applications. Please submit a new application to our office with all required documents again, including a new request letter from the authority and fingerprints. The processing time is the same as a new CNCC application, which is four calendar weeks.

No. The checking will not be confined to a specific period while any criminal conviction record found to be kept by the Hong Kong Police Force will be revealed for the consideration of the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority. Only the date of issue will be specified on the result.

Yes. Applicants with criminal conviction record can apply for the CNCC but the application result will be different. Please note that the "Certificate" will only be issued to the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority if no criminal conviction data against the applicant is kept by the Hong Kong Police Force. If criminal conviction data is found, both the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority and the applicant will be replied with a letter advising that the CNCC could not be issued and listing out the conviction data.

Yes. Nevertheless, if an applicant is under investigation by the Hong Kong Police Force / law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, or is currently a defendant in criminal proceedings in Hong Kong, or is subject of non-payment of fine including traffic offences, his/her application will not be further processed until the matter concerned has been concluded. We shall issue a letter to the applicant informing that his/her application is pending for the conclusion of the matter. Once there are no outstanding matters, the application result will be issued.

No. For applicants with criminal conviction data found, a letter instead of CNCC will be sent to the relvant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority as well as the applicant to indicate the applicant’s conviction data, including the dates, offences and results of convictions as well as the fact that no CNCC could be furnished.

Yes. Please refer to the following service:

In accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Criminal Conviction Data Office has been established to enable the public to enquire whether there is any criminal conviction record against him / her being kept by the Hong Kong Police Force. If conviction data is found, a copy of the records will be given to the requester. If no conviction data is located, the requester will be only advised of the result verbally.

In view that criminal data is highly private and sensitive, the Data Subject, and the Relevant Person if any, shall bring along his/her Hong Kong Identity Card and attend the office in person at 14/F, Arsenal House, Police Headquarters, 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong for confirmation of identity.

If the applicant's conviction record was considered as spent according to Section 2(1) of Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 297 of Laws of Hong Kong) (ROO):-

According to ROO, where an individual has been convicted in Hong Kong of an offence in respect of which he was not sentenced to imprisonment exceeding 3 months or to a fine exceeding $10,000; he has not been convicted in Hong Kong on any earlier day of an offence; and a period of 3 years has elapsed without that individual being again convicted in Hong Kong of an offence, the individual shall, three years after his conviction, be deemed to have no conviction record save for the exceptions specified in sections 3 and 4 of ROO.

For applications of Certificate of No Criminal Conviction, the "spent" conviction record will be listed in the reply letter with a note that the relevant conviction is regarded as spent in Hong Kong by virtue of Section 2(1) of the ROO.

There is no mechanism to remove the existing criminal conviction record if a person was found convicted.

For enquiries, you may write to the Office, e-mail cncc-enquiries@police.gov.hk, call (852) 2860 6557 (for applicants in Hong Kong) / (852) 2860 6558 (for applicants outside Hong Kong), or fax (852) 2200 4321. Applicants are advised to contact us by email as the hotline service is busy during peak periods.

You can obtain a written judgment of the convictions from the respective courts by quoting the case numbers shown on the CNCC application result. You may find the contacts of the Magistrates' Courts on the website of the Judiciary (https://www.judiciary.hk/en/about_us/contactus.html).

No. Our office does not provide apostille / notarisation service. As far as we understand, some applicants may apply for the apostille service at the High Court. You may refer to the website of Judiciary for more information: https://www.judiciary.hk/en/court_services_facilities/apostille.html

With reference to the memorandum on EDB website (http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/sch-admin/admin/about-sch-staff/net-scheme/net-appointment-matters.html/data/sch-admin/admin/about-sch-staff/net-scheme/net-appointment-matters.html):-

Eligible NET teachers candidates who are not able to obtain the above-mentioned CNCC since they have been residing in Hong Kong are required to obtain a certificate of statutory declaration at any of the Enquiry Centres in 18 districts under the Home Affairs Department of the HKSAR in person.

No. Please note that according to the "Notice to Hong Kong Medical Practitioner on the Requirements for Certificate of No Criminal Conviction during Applications for Mainland's Medical Practitioner's Qualification Certificates and Registration " (http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wsb/pxwfb/200906/41013.shtml ) (Chinese only), applicants can provide a statement notarized by those appointed Hong Kong lawyers as a proof of no criminal conviction record. Please refer to the relevant website for more details.

If you are seeking enrollment in overseas study and are required by the recognised education institution to obtain criminal record checks in order to comply with the legal and administrative requirements, please provide a request letter from the relevant Consulate / government authority / recognized education institution requiring such a check. You are also required to provide a postal address of the Consulate / government authority / recognized education institution which will be receiving the result of CNCC.

Please note that all results of CNCC applications shall be directly sent to the relevant U.S. Embassy/Consulate instead of the National Visa Center (NVC) in the U.S. For details, please refer to the website of the Department of States (https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country/HK.html).

For details, please refer to the website of Government of Canada

• http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/hong-kong.asp#spec
• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/apply-permanent-residence/police-certificates.html

From the past experience of other applicants, after an applicant submitted his/her application to Canadian Immigration and they start processing his/her application, they will issue a letter stating the production of the Certificate is required and the reason. The letter shall contain the applicant's full name and preferably the case number given. Also, there shall be a postal address of the Canadian Immigration office which will be receiving the result of the application for Certificate of No Criminal Conviction. Please provide us this letter. For details, please refer to the relevant immigration office.

For details, please refer to the website of Department of Home Affairs ( https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/contact-us/offices-and-locations/list).

From the past experience of other applicants, after an applicant submitted his/her application to Australian Immigration and they start processing his/her application, they will issue a letter stating the production of the Certificate is required and the reason. The letter shall contain the applicant's full name and preferably the case number given. Also, there shall be a postal address of the Australian Immigration office which will be receiving the result of the application for Certificate of No Criminal Conviction. Please provide us this letter. For details, please refer to the relevant immigration office.

For details, please refer to the website of Immigration New Zealand (https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/tools/police-certificates).

If applicants are applying for UK visa, please submit their application of UK visa online first. Then, please print out the page of the biographic details of the online UK visa application (with a visa application number which starts with GWF). Applicants are also required to provide a copy of the appointment confirmation of the UK visa interview which shows the interview location where their CNCC application result will be sent to.

For the requirement of the Letter of Good Conduct (LOGC) for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), please obtain a request letter from the Consulate General of Malaysia in Hong Kong.