Certificate of no criminal record: validity period, where and how to get it

• October 30, 2018
• Documentation
• Ksenia Stepanishcheva

Sometimes, when applying for permits or getting a job, you need to obtain various papers. Often this includes a certificate of no criminal record. This document is most often needed for work. It serves as confirmation of a person’s trustworthiness. It may also be required when granting a loan. The validity period of a certificate of no criminal record and its production is described in the article.

When is it needed?

The certificate is considered a required document. It often needs to be presented when:

• employment abroad;
• obtaining permission for permanent residence abroad;
• obtaining a large loan from a commercial bank;
• registration of guardianship over children under 18 years of age or incompetent citizens;
• concluding a contract for service in law enforcement agencies;
• getting a job in educational institutions.

They also require paper to apply for a visa, adopt children, or establish guardianship. To obtain a weapons permit, you also need this certificate.

The document must be presented to work, as specified in Art. 65 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. According to the law, it is necessary to confirm the absence of a criminal record in the following cases:

• persons working in the civil service;
• employees of law enforcement agencies;
• customs officials;
• employees of aviation companies;
• employees of the prosecutor's office and the investigative committee of the Russian Federation;
• responsible specialists of enterprises of the fuel and energy complex and heating networks;
• employees of educational organizations;
• board members of a number of non-profit organizations and cooperatives.

In the above situations, having a criminal record is considered a reason for refusal of employment. The law prohibits employment in organizations specified in Art. 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, with an outstanding or unexpunged conviction. If convicted of serious criminal charges, people are prohibited from working as government officials, law enforcement officers, teachers, and prosecutors.

But sometimes employers abuse their responsibilities by demanding a certificate. They believe that the employee will have to work with material or monetary values. The provisions of the law establish such demands as unlawful.

A certificate is not needed when applying for a job in a store, bank, or warehouse. The HR department can only ask for such a document. But refusal due to reluctance to hand over paper is illegal.

Concept

A criminal record refers to the situation of a citizen whom a court has found guilty of committing a crime. Criminal liability occurs after a court decision. The certificate allows you to confirm the presence or absence of a criminal record at the time of its receipt.

In paragraph 6 of Art. 86 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states that with the expungement of a criminal record, the consequences are annulled. Therefore, after this, the citizen has the right to work, obtain a permit to store weapons, and work as a security guard. Work restrictions cannot apply. Employers have the right to make inquiries about an employee, but not all do so. But in practice, even with an expunged criminal record, it is difficult for a person to find a job or get a visa.

Document type

What does a criminal record certificate look like? This document is presented in the form of a standard form, including a list of items that must be filled out. The form of the certificate of no criminal record is uniform. It contains the following information:

• passport data – full name, address;
• name and address of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that issued the certificate;
• identification number of the form;
• seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and signature of the employee.

The document does not indicate an expiration date. A certificate of no criminal record containing all of the above information can be provided upon request.

What documents do you need?

Before you issue a certificate, you need to collect documentation. Required availability:

• applications for the issuance of a document of no criminal record;
• general passport and its copy;
• passports of your country with a certified translation - for foreigners;
• papers with the basis of residence in the Russian Federation (residence permit or temporary residence permit) - for foreign citizens;
• a document from the migration and visa service for refugees;
• certificates of change of surname or name, if these procedures were carried out after adulthood.

The application must be completed in clear, legible handwriting. Spelling or factual errors can lead to refusal to issue a certificate.

Statement

Like other applications, a document requesting a certificate of no criminal record must include the following information:

• addressee – where the application is sent;
• addressee's name – applicant's details;
• the title of the document is “APPLICATION”;
• text part - the applicant asks to provide a certificate of no criminal record;
• application – a list of documents is recorded;
• date, signature.

It is important to complete the application correctly. Only then can it be accepted. If the information is insufficient or inaccurate, the application must be completed again.

Who can get it?

The application can be submitted:

• citizens of the Russian Federation;
• foreign citizens;
• stateless persons;
• authorized representatives.

In the latter case, a power of attorney is required. Foreign citizens are provided with a passport with a translation certified by a notary. If you do not have citizenship, you will need a temporary residence permit or residence permit. When receiving temporary asylum, a corresponding application is required.

Citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of criminal responsibility – 14 years – can obtain a certificate. At an early age, receiving a document is pointless.

The applicant is issued a receipt for acceptance of the application or notification via SMS or email. It indicates the registration number of the accepted application.

Registration via the Internet

To obtain a certificate, you can submit an application online. To do this you should:

1. Register on the State Services website, recording your personal information, phone number and e-mail.
2. Fill out an application.
3. Attach scanned documents.
4. Confirm the procedure.

A notification about the status of the application is sent to the applicant's email. A day is provided for this. If the application is accepted, the message will indicate the date of acceptance when you can pick up the document.

Validity

For how long is a police clearance certificate issued? The law does not provide a specific answer to this question. According to unofficial standards that are adopted in domestic records management, the validity period of a certificate of no criminal record is 3 months. When presenting this document, you must focus on such a period.

From a legal point of view, the validity of a police clearance certificate in Russia is unlimited. But in reality, a citizen can receive a criminal record during the 3 months that the document is valid.

What does it look like

The form of the police clearance certificate is established by the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated November 7, 2011 No. 1121 with amendments and additions. The document is a sheet of paper slightly larger than half the size of a regular A4 sheet. It indicates the last name, first name, patronymic of the citizen for whom the request is made, date and place of birth, literally in two sentences information about the presence or absence of information about a criminal record (including expunged and expunged) and facts of criminal prosecution on the territory of the Russian Federation. But there is no column “expiration date of a criminal record certificate” in this document, since it is not provided for in the established form.

Please note that the certificate is also received in the form of an electronic document with an electronic signature of an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has the same legal force as the paper version.

Failure Cases

There are cases when the applicant’s documents are not accepted. The inspector responsible for issuing certificates may do this in the following situations:

1. There is no application requesting the provision of a document.
2. The text of the statement is illegible and incomprehensible.
3. The documents have not been translated into Russian.
4. No original documents.

When an application is submitted electronically, the inspector may not accept it for several reasons:

1. There are grammatical or technical errors in personal information.
2. The details are not completely filled out.
3. Copies of documents in electronic form were not provided.

Getting help is easy and free. You just need to fill out the application correctly and provide the necessary documents.

A criminal record is indicated on the certificate, but it has been expunged

Often a certificate is ordered to confirm that there are no problems with the law. But sometimes the information received contains the fact of prosecution. If the document contains 1 or more convictions, you should not despair. The rules for calculating the expungement of criminal records will be useful to everyone who wants to find a decent job and start a new life.

If a criminal record is legally expunged, then the person is officially recognized as not having a criminal record, as if there had been no prosecution before. All legal consequences cease. A criminal record is annulled if:

• the end of the probationary period with a suspended sentence;
• after the expiration of 1 year from the date of completion of serving the sentence;
• more than 3 years have passed from the date of release from the colony, if imprisonment was envisaged for up to 5 years;
• more than 8 years have passed since release from the colony, when imprisonment was expected for up to 10 years;
• more than 10 years have passed from the date of release, if more than 10 years of imprisonment were provided.

How does providing a certificate affect labor relations?

Having an expunged or expunged criminal record has virtually no effect on employment opportunities and conditions. Moreover, this information is not important if the activity does not involve civil service, work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs or with persons under 18 years of age. It is recommended not to make a secret of such a criminal record due to its insignificance for the employer.

note

No matter how much you would like to improve your image in the eyes of your employer, you should not hide your existing criminal record. This is not only fair, but also safer for your reputation.

If a hidden criminal record is revealed during the employment relationship, the employer will not be able to fire you because of it. Therefore, he will fire the employee under the pretext of professional inconsistency, which is no less unpleasant.

Responsibility for the employer arises in such situations:

• refusal to hire due to lack of a certificate, if the vacancy does not imply legal restrictions for persons with a criminal record;
• refusal to hire a candidate with a criminal record, if professional activity does not contain such restrictions;
• if the corporate charter requires a certificate, and not all staff have one.

Complaints

In several cases, a citizen has the right to file a complaint against the actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers who are responsible for issuing the certificate. This is possible in the following cases:

1. The employees violated the registration deadlines for issuing the document.
2. The deadline for preparing and issuing the certificate has been missed.
3. Specialists require the presentation of documents not listed in the regulatory list.
4. When employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the MFC refused to accept an application and documents without reason.
5. If payment is required for this service.

The complaint must be submitted to the supervisors of the employees who committed these violations. Usually, after this, the issue of providing a certificate is resolved quickly.

Where and how can I obtain such a document?

All issues related to the procedure for obtaining and processing paper are regulated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. To obtain the necessary information, just contact the information center staff and ask any questions you may have. Help of a similar nature can be obtained from the MFC or you can submit a request through the State Services portal.

In fact, you don’t even need to clarify anything, since all data is posted on users’ websites and is publicly available. All that is required from the user is to go to the resource and find the necessary information.

If such a certificate is needed abroad, you can submit an application to the embassy or consulate of the Russian Federation or issue a trust document to a third party. If people have lived abroad for more than six months, in order to obtain a visa they will have to obtain a certificate in the new state.

For foreign citizens

If a foreign citizen submits documentation for a residence permit or Russian citizenship, he must provide a certificate of no criminal record. In this case, the police send a request for information to the GIAC database of the Russian Federation and through international channels.

It is often easier for foreigners to obtain a certificate through the consulate of the embassy. The request is sent to the law enforcement agencies of your state, a certificate is issued there and sent to the Russian Embassy using diplomatic mail.

If the document is drawn up in the national language, a translation is required, which is certified by a notary. Registration of this certificate and shipment takes several months. In the same way, a citizen of the Russian Federation can obtain a certificate if he is in another country. You must contact the Russian consulate or the consular department of a country with which the Russian Federation has diplomatic relations.

Why is a certificate required?

Before registration, you need to determine why the paper is needed. Typically, a certificate is issued for:

1. Production and renewal of passports.
2. Registration of a residence permit, its extension.
3. Obtaining a visa or work permit abroad.
4. Participation in the tender.
5. Permits to carry firearms.
6. Obtaining permission to work with illegal narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
7. At the request of creditors.
8. Registration of guardianship, adoption.
9. Employment in security, intelligence services, and civil service.
10. Residence in other countries.

This certificate is necessary in different situations. Therefore, it is important to know about its validity period, as well as how to properly draw up the document and what needs to be provided for this. The paper looks like a standard certificate, which sets out the facts about a specific person. You can order it in any convenient way.

Restrictions on convicted persons

Persons who have a criminal record are subject to certain requirements:

1. It is required to submit information about a change of job or place of residence to the Department of Internal Affairs.
2. When called by the Department of Internal Affairs, you must appear at the designated time and provide explanations regarding the implementation of the supervision rules.
3. If the work involves leaving the city, then you must notify the police department about this every time.

There are also personal restrictions depending on marital status, lifestyle and other factors. Restrictions are imposed in the following forms:

1. Prohibition of leaving the house at night.
2. Restriction on leaving the city.
3. Prohibition of appearance in certain areas of the city.
4. Compliance with the schedule for appearance at the police station.

Persons who have not yet been convicted cannot enroll in some educational institutions, for example, schools of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They are subject to restrictions on the storage and purchase of firearms. Travel abroad is limited. You still cannot serve in some units and troops, or work in some institutions.

Thus, the article talks about the validity period and certificate of no criminal record. The procedure for registering it is simple, as is receiving it. Moreover, it is absolutely free.

Case Study

The children's trainer at the sports center had a criminal record for hooliganism, which was expunged. Due to inattention, the center’s management did not require a certificate to be provided when concluding the contract. During a routine check, the criminal record was revealed. Will the coach be fired?

Alas, dismissal will be mandatory, but the children's center will not break the law, because Article 83 of the Labor Code does not allow it to work with children.