UAE police clearance and good conduct certificates

ByKhalid Bin Rashid Published: Last Updated:

The federal route and the Dubai route are separate authorities, and they must not be merged. The federal route is the Ministry of Interior (MOI), for an Issuance of Clear Criminal Record Certificate. The Dubai route is Dubai Police, for a Good Conduct Certificate, also called a Police Clearance Certificate. A Dubai fee, validity period, or step is a Dubai fact only. It is never an MOI fact, and an MOI fact must never be read as a Dubai fact.

A Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), known also as a Good Conduct Certificate, is proof of lack of the person’s criminal record. In the UAE, the certificate is issued by police departments across the UAE, and it indicates that the person is not accused or does not have any criminal precedents. The certificate is available for applicants who are currently residing in the UAE, and for those who are no longer UAE residents. If you need one, start by fixing which authority you are applying through, because the two routes state different channels and different document lists, and only the Dubai route states a fee, a validity period, and a completion time in the official wording used. Attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is a separate, later step, and it applies only where the receiving body requires it. Whether a given receiving body requires attestation is not stated in the official wording used.

UAE police clearance certificate purpose

The certificate is issued upon the beneficiary’s request to be submitted to official bodies for many purposes, which include work, study, immigration, obtaining licences, and others. Dubai Police states the same purpose for its own service: the service provides applicants with a certificate that proves their good conduct in the United Arab Emirates from a security and a criminal perspective, to be presented to official authorities that require such a certificate whether it be for work, study, immigration, obtaining a licence, or other uses.

The certificate can be issued in both Arabic and English. Fees differ according to the language, the applicant’s nationality, and the applicant’s current place of residence, and fees and time of the service are indicated in the service card. No fee figure, language surcharge, or processing time is stated on the u.ae page for the certificate in general. Do not rely on a general fee or time figure from that page. The only fee, validity, and completion figures stated are the Dubai Police figures in the Dubai card section, fenced to Dubai only.

Two certificate routes

For the MOI route, u.ae states that you can apply for the certificate online through the website of the Ministry of Interior and through their smartphone app MOI UAE, available on iTunes and Google Play. You can also visit one of the MOI’s service centres and get the document done after filling the application form and paying applicable fees through the electronic payment cards. No MOI fee figure, validity period, processing time, field list, or step-by-step walkthrough is stated in the official wording used. The MOI service name is stated, with no fee, validity, step, field, or document detail stated alongside it. Do not take a fee, a validity period, or steps from another authority or another source as the MOI position. Confirm the MOI fee, validity, and steps on the live MOI service screen for your case before you act.

For the Dubai route, u.ae states that in Dubai, the service is available through the website of Dubai Police and through the Dubai Police smart app, available on iTunes and Google Play. You can also get it at the Smart Police stations and drive-through centres. The full Dubai service card is stated in the Dubai card section. Every figure there belongs to Dubai Police.

No separate Abu Dhabi route is stated in the official wording used. Abu Dhabi applicants are covered only through the MOI route as stated on u.ae. Do not read a Dubai fee, validity period, or step as an Abu Dhabi rule, and do not assume a separate Abu Dhabi Police or TAMM service from the wording used. Confirm any Abu Dhabi route on the live service screen before you act.

Documents for UAE residents

For applicants residing in the UAE, u.ae lists the following documents:

  • A valid Emirates ID card.
  • A letter from the beneficiary stating that he or she does not have any pending criminal convictions.
  • A recent passport-size photograph.
  • A copy of the applicant’s passport.

That list is the u.ae resident list. It is not the Dubai Police outside-UAE list, and the two lists must not be merged.

Documents for former UAE residents

If you are no longer a resident of the UAE, you need to get your fingerprint card from the country you are residing in and have it attested by the UAE Embassy there. A fingerprint card is an official report from the police department concerned, which verifies the identity of a person based on biometrics and decimal fingerprint.

For former residents, u.ae lists the following documents, to be sent online to the Ministry of Interior or to Dubai Police:

  • Fingerprint card approved by the UAE Embassy.
  • Two recent passport-sized photographs.
  • A copy of your valid passport.
  • A copy of your last UAE visa.
  • The reason for the application.

Dubai Police lists a shorter set of documents for applicants from outside the UAE on its own service page, stated separately in the Dubai card section. The fingerprint-card requirement for the Dubai route appears in the Dubai terms, not in that shorter documents list. Read both lists separately, and do not merge them into one combined list.

Dubai Police service card

This section states the Dubai Police Good Conduct Certificate service card only. Every figure in this section is a Dubai Police figure. None of it is an MOI figure.

Dubai Police states that the certificate is valid for 3 months from the date of issuance. Dubai Police lists the completion time as 5 Working Days. Dubai Police lists the beneficiaries as individuals, citizen, resident, visitor, and outside the UAE.

Dubai Police lists the service fees exactly as follows:

  • Citizen: AED 100. This is the citizen row of the Dubai fee table only. It is never the fee for a resident or for an applicant from outside the country, and it must never be read as an expat fee.
  • Resident: AED 200.
  • From outside the country: AED 300 or $88, exactly as shown on the page. The page does not state whether the $88 figure is an alternative payment currency or a converted equivalent, and neither reading is chosen.

Dubai Police also lists a Knowledge and Innovation fee of AED 20, and an additional fee of AED 100 if the application is made through service centres in person. The payment methods listed are Debit Card, Apple Pay, and Credit Card.

Dubai Police lists the following channels:

  • Dubai Police App for iOS and Android
  • Dubai Police Website
  • Call Center 901
  • DubaiNow
  • Smart Police Stations
  • Police Stations

The hours stated are: digital channels 24/7; Smart Police Stations 24/7; Police Stations 7:30 am to 10:00 pm.

For applicants from outside the UAE, Dubai Police lists the following documents on this page:

  • Personal photo.
  • Passport copy.
  • Copy of previous residence visa.

Dubai Police states the following terms and conditions for this service:

  • You can apply through a valid or expired Emirates ID number.
  • The applicant must not be wanted by any authority or have a criminal record, which would prevent them from obtaining the certificate.
  • If the certificate is requested from outside the UAE, the applicant must have previously entered the UAE.
  • Applicants who do not have an Emirates ID must visit a service center during official working hours in person to have their fingerprints taken, at Al Qusais Police Station, Ports Police Station, Al Rashidiya Police Station, or Jebel Ali Police Station.
  • If the applicant is outside the UAE and does not have a ten-print fingerprint, they must send a ten-print fingerprint copy certified by the UAE Embassy.
  • Fees paid are non-refundable.
  • Misuse of the certificate will lead to legal action taken against you.
  • The applicant is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information submitted.

Dubai card limits

The Dubai Police page does not state a language-specific fee for Arabic versus English. It does not state a status-tracking route, a field list, or a step-by-step walkthrough. It does not state whether the check behind the certificate covers Dubai records only or records across the whole UAE, beyond the purpose wording that the certificate proves good conduct in the United Arab Emirates. It does not state what the certificate shows, or what happens, beyond the term above, if an applicant has a criminal record or a pending case. Do not assume any of those points from another authority or another source. Confirm each point on the live Dubai Police screen for your case before you act.

The official wording used also does not state which certificate, MOI or Dubai Police, a given employer, embassy, or immigration body requires. Do not treat the two certificates as interchangeable. Ask the receiving body which certificate it requires, and apply through that authority.

Attestation as a separate step

Attestation is not part of issuing the certificate. It is a separate step that follows issuance, and it applies only where the receiving body requires it. MOFA states that its attestation service enables customers to obtain the attestation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Mission in the destination country. Attestation certifies the authenticity of the signatures and seals on documents issued within or outside the United Arab Emirates. The appropriate attestation route, Digital Attestation or attestation through an approved courier service provider, is determined automatically based on the issuing authority and document type.

For a document issued in the UAE, MOFA states the following process.

  • Sign in and apply for the service using UAE Pass.
  • Select Attestation Services in the UAE.
  • Confirm that the document was issued in the United Arab Emirates.
  • Select the issuing authority and document type, and the appropriate attestation route will be determined automatically.
  • Then follow the Digital Attestation route or the Courier-Based Attestation route as determined.
  • For Digital Attestation, select the destination country, upload the original digital document, confirm the declaration, pay, and submit, and receive the document by email or through My Requests.
  • For Courier-Based Attestation, provide contact and delivery details, select an approved courier provider and schedule, confirm the declaration, pay, and submit, and the courier contacts you for delivery.

UAE Pass is required to sign in and access the service.

Digital Attestation has limits that matter for a certificate. It is limited to supported digital document types issued by approved UAE government entities. The document must be an original digital document, include a verification mechanism such as a QR code, barcode, electronic link, or reference number, be clear, complete, and unaltered, and be uploaded in PDF format that must not be corrupted or password-protected. A scanned copy, a photograph, or a manually created copy is not considered an original digital document. Whether a Dubai Police or MOI certificate, in either its digital or paper form, is a supported issuing-authority and document-type combination is not stated on the MOFA service page. Do not assume that Digital Attestation supports a police clearance certificate. Confirm the route for your exact document on the live MOFA screen before you act.

MOFA states that the applicable fees depend on the number of documents, the attestation completion option applied, the attestations included, and whether the document is personal or commercial, and that the total amount payable will be displayed before payment. No certificate-specific attestation fee is stated on the MOFA service page, and no certificate-specific fee is stated.

The MOFA FAQ page lists a good conduct certificate among Individual Affairs Documents, alongside educational documents, birth certificates, a marriage certificate, court-issued certificates, an employment contract, bank statements, and others. That listing verifies the document class only. It does not verify a certificate-specific fee, step, or processing time. The same FAQ page states the attestation service charges as Individual Affairs Documents: AED 150, and Commercial Documents: AED 2,000. That AED 150 figure is stated only as the FAQ page’s Individual Affairs charge, never as a confirmed current price for attesting a police clearance certificate, and never without the following flag: the same FAQ page also carries older wording about payment and courier options that predates the current Attestation service page and its automatic route determination. Re-check the current charge on the live MOFA screen before you act, and do not rely on the FAQ figure alone as the price for your document.

MOFA also states a separate attestation route through selected UAE Missions abroad, available only through selected missions. Confirm on the website of the UAE Mission in your country of residence whether the service is available electronically. MOFA states the call centre number +97180044444, also shown as 0097180044444, for attestation enquiries. MOFA states that anyone can attest documents on your behalf, that the original document must not be laminated, and that the document must be attested by the appropriate governing bodies prior to submission.

Points to confirm before acting

Before you act, confirm the following on the live screens for your exact case: which authority, MOI or Dubai Police, the receiving body requires; for the MOI route, the fee, validity period, completion time, fields, documents, and delivery options on the live MOI service screen; for the Dubai route, the fee lines, validity, and completion time on the live Dubai Police screen, and whether any language fee or tracking route is stated there; for a former resident, the fingerprint-card and UAE-Embassy-attestation position for your authority; and for attestation, whether your exact certificate is a supported document type, which route applies to it, and the current charge. If a live screen does not state an item, treat that item as unstated for your case. Re-check the live wording before you act, because a line from one authority does not settle the position for the other authority, and attestation sits apart from issuance.

Related guides

Sources

Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID

Khalid Bin Rashid is a Dubai native and Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID. He writes the UAE guides covering Emirates ID status, renewal, tracking and changes, as well as UAE visa rules, bans and fines, through ICP and GDRFA Dubai.

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