Criminal Records Check (CRB Check)
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) provides a Police Certificate (also commonly called Criminal Clearance Certificate or Police Record) at a cost to both Jamaican nationals and foreign nationals who have resided in Jamaica.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The following must accompany each application for a Jamaican Police Certificate:
- Cover letter, addressed to the Senior Superintendent of Police and signed by the applicant, requesting the Certificate and stating the reason the Police Certificate is needed, e.g. for a work permit or permanent residence application etc.
- A full set of fingerprints which should be taken by the authorised police department in the country in which one currently resides. The set of fingerprints must be stamped and signed by an authorised individual in the police department or any other authorised Agency.
- A certified copy of the applicant’s valid passport bio-data page. The certification should be done at the nearest Jamaican Embassy, High Commission, Consulate General or Honorary Consulate. The High Commission charges a fee of £15.00 per signature plus administrative charges for this service. If you are not able to visit the High Commission, then a Notary Public may be used.
- Two (2) recent passport size photographs which must not be signed or sealed.
- An International Money Order in either United States Dollars (USD$), Pound Sterling (£) or Canadian Dollars (CAD$), depending on the applicant’s location. This should be drawn in the amount equivalent to the Jamaican processing fees (stated below) and made payable to the Commissioner of Police:
The application should be addressed to:
Senior Superintendent of Police
JCF Records & Identification Office
54-56 Duke Street
Kingston C.S.O.
Jamaica, W.I.
SERVICES OFFERED BY THE JAMAICA CONSTABULARY FORCE
(Technical Services Division):-
- The following processing times do not include the time taken to transmit the document and begins on the day the application is received by the Technical Services Division.
- Normal Service - Twenty-one (21) Working Days – JMD$3,000.
- Express Service - Five (5) Working Days– JMD $6,000.
- Next Day Service - JMD $8,000
NB: Please note that all applications originating from the Cayman Islands must be paid for by an International Money Order or Bank Draft drawn on a United States of America based bank in United States Dollars.
CONTENT OF POLICE CERTIFICATE
The Police Certificate bears the background of each applicant and indicates whether or not an individual has any convictions recorded against him/her in Jamaica.
It should be noted that an individual is able to apply to the Ministry of Justice in Jamaica, to have a conviction expunged from his or her record, provided that he/she has not been convicted of an offence during his/her rehabilitation period set out by the Criminal Record Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. This is not an automatic process.
There are several different rehabilitation periods which are applicable to an individual and are dependent on the sentencing imposed by the Court, whether custodial or non-custodial. These are as follows:
- Ten (10) years
- Seven (7) years
- Five (5) years
- Three (3) years
It must be noted that there is a different rehabilitation period for persons under eighteen (18) years old. For further information, please contact the Ministry of Justice at +1(876) 906-4923-31 or Contact Us/Feedback.