Sending an Israeli Police criminal record abroad

How does the transfer of an Israeli PCC abroad work? What is important to know in advance, how do you get the right conduct certificate to submit abroad and not in Israel, and what approvals should you take care of? A law firm specializing in immigration procedures and obtaining visas abroad explains the issue.

Conversely, we also specialize in helping issue a foreign PCC for use within Israel.

Receiving a PCC

Every person has the right to access their own criminal record and receive a copy of it.

To get a criminal records check in Israel, you must go to the nearest police station and fill out a dedicated request form. (However, before doing so, it’s a good idea to phone the police station and make sure that they provide this service.) Alternatively, you may submit a request online, via the Government of Israel’s services and information website. To get the certificate, you must identify by presenting your ID card and another identifying certificate (a driver’s license or passport).

If you do not have an Israeli ID card, you may identify by presenting your passport, and no other certificate is required. However, you will need to do this at a police station and not online.

As of 2020, clients may personally receive a criminal information certificate for use within Israel; however, if they wish to use their certificate abroad, the certificate will be sent by the Israel Police directly to the relevant embassy or consulate.

Sending a Police Criminal Information Certificate Directly to the Relevant Authorities Abroad

Israelis who live outside of Israel may receive a copy of their police certificate via the Israeli embassy in their country (from the embassy website or in person at the embassy offices).

The certificate may be sent to Israel’s diplomatic mission or embassy abroad via the Israel Police.

All of Israel’s foreign Diplomatic Missions abroad offer Israeli citizens and residents abroad the service of submitting a request for a police clearance check from the Israel Police under the Crime Register and Rehabilitation of Offenders Law. The Missions do not provide the criminal record to the client, but, rather, only to the official authority who requires it.

Note that sending a PCC to a foreign country’s consulate embassy in Israel is not the same as sending it to an Israeli embassy in said country. The PCC will not have an apostille attached, and unless you were specifically instructed to send the certificate to the consulate, this might be an error resulting in having to re-issue it.

If you are having trouble contacting the Israeli government or using the website, you can receive a PCC or submit a request for the PCC to be sent abroad via a power of attorney.

Translating a PCC for Use Abroad

It is not possible to receive a PCC within Israel in a language other than Hebrew. Therefore, if you wish to present a certificate issued for use within Israel to a non-Hebrew-speaking authority, you must first create a notarial translation of it into the language of that authority and add an apostille stamp of the magistrate’s court so that the notarial translation will be recognized in the foreign country.

In addition, (depending on the foreign authority who requires the criminal record check,) the original document may need to be apostilized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Hague Convention stipulates that the signature of an official authority from one of the states participating in the Convention grants the signed document international recognition and, in effect, serves as an international apostille stamp.

If you intend to send the Criminal Records check to Israel’s Diplomatic Mission abroad via the Israel Police, you will be required to pay for the apostilization at the Israel Postal Bank and attach the receipt to your PCC request.

Quick and Professional Services—Our Law Firm

Our law firm can help you obtain notarial certification for your criminal information certificate and translate documents for you from Hebrew into any language and vice versa.

Our staff provides courteous, fast, and professional service, and will answer any question and inquiry you may have, at a reasonable price.