How to Get a Police Clearance Certificate in Thailand (2026 Guide)

Last updated on September 5, 2026

Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline’s criminal-law team, licensed Thai lawyers practising in Thailand since 2006.

The short answer: apply in person at the Police Clearance Service Center in Bangkok, or from outside Thailand by giving your fingerprints locally and appointing a Thai lawyer with a Power of Attorney. Processing takes about 25 to 30 days. Our licensed Thai lawyers can do the whole thing for you for a flat 4,400 THB, government fee included.

Last reviewed: 1 September 2026. Reviewed against the Police Clearance Service Center’s own published documents at pcscenter.sbpolice.go.th: the Thai document-preparation sheet (ศูนย์บริการออกหนังสือรับรองความประพฤติ) and the English application process for applicants residing abroad. Those give the issuing body, the Lak Si address and telephone number, the 100 baht fee in force since 1 October 2012 with its 160 and 700 baht variants, the 15 to 25 working day processing time, and the document list. This review corrected the issuing bureau and the office address, which were previously given as the Criminal Records Division at Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Pathum Wan, and added the official by-post route for applicants abroad. The online name-based check is reported from a Government Public Relations Department notice and has not been verified against the Division’s own site, which was unreachable from outside Thailand on that date.

A Thai Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), formally หนังสือรับรองความประพฤติ, is the official document from the Royal Thai Police that confirms whether you have a criminal record in Thailand. It is also called a Thai criminal record check or police background check. Foreign embassies, immigration authorities, and employers ask for it for visas, residency, naturalization, adoption, and jobs abroad. This guide explains how to get one in 2026, both inside Thailand and from overseas. It also shows how our licensed Thai lawyers can obtain it for you for a flat 4,400 THB.

At a glance

Question	Short answer
Who issues it?	Royal Thai Police, Police Clearance Service Center, Special Branch Bureau, Lak Si, Bangkok
What it proves	Whether you have a conviction registered in Thailand’s criminal records
Language	Issued in English, officially certified in Thailand
Apply from abroad?	Yes. Fingerprint locally and appoint a Thai lawyer with a Power of Attorney
Validity	No fixed expiry. Most authorities accept it for 3 to 6 months
Our done-for-you fee	4,400 THB per person from abroad, 6,400 THB per person in Thailand (originals by post). Fast-track within 7 days, in Thailand or abroad: 8,400 THB per person (4,400 + 4,000 express fee). Excludes international courier
Processing time	About 25 to 30 days after we receive your documents (express: within 7 days)

Understanding the Police Clearance Certificate in Thailand

The PCC proves one thing. It shows whether you have a conviction recorded in Thailand’s central criminal database. Think of it as the Thai version of an FBI background check or a UK DBS check. It does not report arrests that did not lead to a conviction. It does not reach into other countries’ records. It covers Thailand only.

You will usually be asked for one in these situations:

• Immigration abroad. Australia, Canada (Express Entry and sponsorship), the UK, New Zealand, the US, and Schengen long-stay visas routinely require a Thai criminal record check covering your time in Thailand.
• Thai Permanent Residency and Thai Citizenship. Required at key stages of the application.
• Adoption. Both adoptive parents usually need one.
• Marriage abroad. Many EU jurisdictions ask for a certificate of no impediment plus a criminal record for the foreign spouse of a Thai national.
• Employment. Airlines, finance, education, and government roles often request a PCC.

The two types of certificate you will hear about

1. The Police Clearance Certificate from the Special Branch Bureau, what “PCC” almost always means

This is the standard certificate. It is issued by the Police Clearance Service Center (ศูนย์บริการออกหนังสือรับรองความประพฤติ), which is part of the Royal Thai Police Special Branch Bureau (กองบัญชาการตำรวจสันติบาล). It is the document foreign embassies, immigration authorities and employers want, and it is the one described on this page. If you are unsure which you need, this is it.

Guides written abroad often name the Criminal Records Division instead. That is where the police criminal-records database sits, but the certificate itself is applied for at, and issued by, the Special Branch Bureau’s Police Clearance Service Center. If a checklist tells you to go to the Criminal Records Division, go to the address below.

2. Other police checks you may be offered

Separate, narrower police verifications exist for domestic Thai purposes such as civil-service hiring and firearms licences. Foreign applicants almost never need those. If a foreign authority has asked you for a police check, a criminal record check or a certificate of good conduct, the certificate described on this page is the one to apply for.

Is a Thai police clearance the same as a criminal record check?

Yes. Searches for police check Thailand, criminal record check Thailand and Thai police check all lead to the same document. In Thailand the certificate that foreign employers, embassies and immigration authorities call a police check, a criminal record check or a certificate of good conduct is the Police Clearance Certificate issued by the Police Clearance Service Center of the Royal Thai Police Special Branch Bureau. There is no separate criminal record check product, and no second office that issues one.

This matters because checklists rarely use the official name. If your visa application asks for a background check, a police certificate or a good conduct certificate, you apply for the certificate described on this page, with the same documents and the same fingerprint procedure. The two questions worth asking the authority that requested it are whether they need it legalised, and whether they will only accept one issued within a set number of months.

Is a background check the same as a Thai police clearance?

Yes. A background check, a criminal background check and a certificate of good conduct are the same document here. Employers and visa sections outside the country often write it as background check Thailand, but the Police Clearance Service Center issues only the Police Clearance Certificate described on this page.

Where to apply: the Police Clearance Service Center

Foreigners apply at the Police Clearance Service Center, run by the Royal Thai Police Special Branch Bureau. It is at the Public Service Center, 2nd floor, 27/40 Soi Vibhavadi Rangsit 27, Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210, telephone 0 2551 1999. This is the office that issues the certificate accepted by foreign embassies. It is in northern Bangkok and not at Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Pathum Wan, which is where a number of guides send people. You can apply in person, post the application yourself, or appoint a Thai lawyer to apply for you with a Power of Attorney so you never have to visit in person.

Documents you need

What are the requirements for a Thai police clearance?

You need a passport-style photograph, a copy of your passport, copies of your Thai visa page and the passport pages showing your Thailand entry and exit stamps, a signed Power of Attorney, and an original fingerprint form taken at your local police station. We provide the Power of Attorney and the other application forms for completion. The full list is below.

• A recent passport-style photograph
• A copy of your passport
• A copy of your Thai visa page and the passport pages showing your Thailand entry and exit stamps
• A signed Power of Attorney (we provide the form)
• An original fingerprint form. You can have your fingerprints taken at your local police station
• The other application forms we provide for completion

How to get a Thai police clearance certificate, step by step

How can I get a police clearance certificate in Thailand?

Apply in person at the Police Clearance Service Center of the Special Branch Bureau, 27/40 Soi Vibhavadi Rangsit 27, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210, or post the application there yourself, or appoint a Thai lawyer to file for you with a Power of Attorney so you never attend in person. You submit your passport and copies, photographs, the application forms and a fingerprint card, pay the 100 baht government fee, then collect the certificate or have it posted. The full sequence is below.

1. Gather your documents. Passport and copies, two passport photos, a completed application form, and a fingerprint card.
2. Submit your application and get fingerprinted at the foreigner desk.
3. Pay the government fee in cash at the counter.
4. Collect or have it posted. You receive a receipt with a pickup date, then collect in person or by courier.
5. Legalise it if required. Many foreign authorities ask for legalisation at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs before they accept the certificate.

Can you get a Thai police clearance certificate online?

Status checked 22 August 2026. On 15 July 2026 the Criminal Records Division opened an online criminal-record check that runs on a name, a surname and a 13-digit Thai national ID number, returning the result by email with an electronic signature. It has been widely reported as “Thailand launches online criminal record checks”, and it does not help most readers of this page. The Division’s own notice lists nine categories that cannot use the name-based check and must be done by fingerprint instead. Two of those nine decide the question here: an application for a certificate of good conduct to travel abroad or in English, and any person who is not a Thai national. The requirement is also structural, because the online service is keyed to a Thai national ID number, which a foreign applicant does not have. Source: Government Public Relations Department, 15 July 2026 launch notice. The nine excluded categories come from a Criminal Records Division notice reported on 19 July 2026; the Division’s own site was not reachable from outside Thailand when we checked on 1 September 2026, so that list should be confirmed with the Division directly or by telephone. None of it changes the route on this page: a foreign applicant applies to the Special Branch Bureau’s Police Clearance Service Center by fingerprint.

Not fully. The application needs fingerprints and an identity check, so it cannot be completed entirely online the way an e-visa can. You can start an enquiry online and download the forms. The fingerprint card and signed Power of Attorney still have to be physical documents. The practical “online” route for people outside Thailand is to handle everything remotely through a lawyer. You fingerprint locally, courier the documents, and we file in Bangkok for you. You never set foot in a Thai government office.

How to get a Thai police clearance certificate from abroad

You do not need to fly back to Thailand. The overseas process works like this:

1. Have your fingerprints rolled (all ten fingers) at a local police station, embassy, or notary in your country.
2. Sign a Power of Attorney that authorises a Thai lawyer to apply for you.
3. Courier the signed forms and fingerprint card to your lawyer in Bangkok, who files the application at the Police Clearance Service Center.
4. The certificate is issued and returned to you. Allow extra time if your destination also requires legalisation or embassy authentication.

You can also do this yourself, without a lawyer, and the Service Center says so in its own instructions. Its guidance for applicants residing abroad is to complete the application, testimony memorandum and fingerprint forms, gather the supporting documents and a self-addressed envelope, pay the fee, and post the whole file directly to the Public Service Center of the Special Branch Bureau, 27/40 Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210. It states the check takes 15 to 25 working days where the documents are in order, and that you may either post the application yourself or ask someone in Thailand to submit it for you. Two sets of original fingerprints must be taken at a Royal Thai Embassy or your local police station, and a representative filing for you needs a Power of Attorney carrying a 10 baht revenue stamp.

What you are paying us for is not access to the office, which is open to you directly. It is that the file is prepared correctly the first time, that someone in Bangkok answers the Service Center when it asks a question, and that a rejected fingerprint card or a missing entry stamp does not cost you another round of international post.

How long is a Thai police clearance certificate valid?

The certificate is not stamped with an expiry date. The receiving authority sets the limit. Most immigration departments accept it for 6 months from issue. Some Schengen consulates want one issued within the last 3 months. Check the deadline of the visa, job, or application you need it for. Apply close to that date so it does not expire before you submit it.

What it costs

How much does a police clearance certificate cost in Thailand?

Two costs apply. The Royal Thai Police charges an official fee of 100 baht for the record check itself, unchanged since 1 October 2012; it is 160 baht if someone else files for you at the counter, and an applicant abroad who does not send prepaid return postage transfers 700 baht instead. If you use a lawyer or agent to handle the application you pay a service fee on top of that. Our service fee is 4,400 THB per person from abroad, 6,400 THB per person in Thailand, or 8,400 THB per person fast-track (about 7 days), and it includes the government fee. The full breakdown is below.

Common reasons a PCC application is rejected

• Photos the wrong size. The Service Center is strict about photo dimensions, and asks for two passport-size photographs.
• Smudged fingerprints. Prints must be rolled, not pressed flat.
• Name mismatch. The name on the Power of Attorney must match your passport exactly.
• Missing visa or stamp pages. They need to see your immigration history.
• Broken legalisation chain. For overseas applicants, skipping a notarisation or embassy step is the most common error.

Our done-for-you Police Clearance service, 4,400 THB

Would you rather not deal with the Service Center, the foreigner desk, and the fingerprint room yourself? Our licensed Thai lawyers handle the entire application with the Royal Thai Police for you. ThaiLawOnline has helped foreign and Thai clients with legal and immigration matters in Thailand since 2006.

What is included for 4,400 THB

• We prepare and submit the full application to the Royal Thai Police
• We provide your Power of Attorney and the required application and fingerprint forms
• We follow up with the police until the certificate is issued
• We deliver the original certificate, issued in English and officially certified in Thailand

Fees and timing

• Service fee: 4,400 THB per person if you are outside Thailand, or 6,400 THB per person if you are in Thailand (originals posted to us). Excludes international courier fees for shipping the original certificate abroad (about 2,000 THB at cost)
• Standard processing: about 25 to 30 days after we receive all your documents
• Fast-track option: within about 7 days from scans by email, in Thailand or abroad: 8,400 THB per person (4,400 + 4,000 express fee)

Start your Police Clearance application online (fixed fee, no consultation fee)  |  Call +66 87 225 1340 (EN/FR) or +66 87 414 9288 (TH)

What if I have a Thai criminal record?

The PCC reports any conviction registered in the central criminal database. Have a concern, such as an arrest that did not lead to conviction, or a case dropped at the prosecutor stage? It should not appear, but errors happen and they can be corrected. Speak to a Thai criminal defense lawyer first. Our team is admitted to the Thai Bar and handles drug offences, DUI cases, fraud and scams, and defamation. If you have been detained, see our guides on what to do if a foreigner is arrested in Thailand and on bail in Thailand.

Frequently asked questions

Our fee for a Police Clearance Certificate

These fees come from one source and are the same everywhere on this site. See all our fees.