Police clearance certificates: prepare the correct documents before applying
Use official SAPS instructions for fingerprints, supporting documents and collection arrangements.
Prepare a complete fingerprint and document pack when applying for a South African Police Clearance Certificate for travel, work abroad or emigration.
The official SAPS instructions require a completed application, a certified identity-document or passport copy, and proof of payment. Applicants in South Africa must have their fingerprints taken by SAPS on the prescribed form.
Applicants abroad should follow the published overseas fingerprint and submission instructions. Documentary proof is required if additional surnames must appear on the certificate.
SAPS says copies or scans of fingerprints will not be processed. Check the complete official requirements before sending documents; this guide does not reproduce banking details or provide a substitute application form.
Plan collection as well as submission. Proof of identity is required, and the instructions say certificates not collected within three months after finalisation will be destroyed.
The page carries a backlog notice as well as an estimated processing period. Neither establishes an individual completion date. Confirm arrangements directly before making time-sensitive travel plans.
Instructions checked on 10 November 2026. No application, personal status search or payment was made for this report.
Contextual archive photograph of South Africa's flag, taken on 31 October 2008; not a police station, applicant or clearance certificate. Photo: Chris Eason / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_South_Africa.jpg . Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ . Cropped and resized for display.