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Police Clearance (Certificate of good conduct)
Police Clearance Certificates are issued by the Federal Central Register (Bundeszentralregister) of the German Federal Office for Justice.
The certificate of conduct, sometimes referred to as a “police check”, “background check” or “criminal records check”, is an official document printed on special green paper which shows whether or not an individual has previously been convicted of a criminal offence. This data on previous convictions comes from the Federal Central Criminal Register.
You have to apply for a certificate of good conduct with the Federal Office of Justice in Bonn/Germany. The certificate of good conduct is not issued at the Consulate.
Personal data and signature on the application form have to be officially certified. This official confirmation can be obtained with any Canadian notary public, and sometimes at a police station.
You can also have your signature and personal data certified by the German Consulates in Toronto and Vancouver. For that, you need to book an appointment in the category “other consular services” on our website, present the application form and a valid passport. If you are a German citizen, you need to present your valid German passport or “Personalausweis”. The Consulate charges a fee (see here: Fees for consular services) for the vertification of your data in addition to the issuance fee of the Federal Office of Justice.
Please note that the Consulate charges a fee for the signature certification in addition to the issuance fee of the Federal Office of Justice.
The certificate of conduct can only be issued once the fee has been received. Please include proof of payment with your application.
The address can be found on the top left of the application form.
How long will it take to receive the certificate of conduct? Please see the FAQ of the Federal Office of Justice: FAQ
If you have any questions as to the status of your application, use the following contact details
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Please book an appointment for the consular services at the German Consulates in Toronto and Vancouver online in advance for services that require a personal appointment and cannot be done via mail.
Please use this form to contact us in consular matters
