Certificate of Good Conduct: who asks and how long it lasts

What the certificate proves

The Police Clearance Certificate, known to most people as the Certificate of Good Conduct, is issued by the DCI after your fingerprints are checked against criminal records. It states whether you have a criminal record in Kenya on the date it was issued. It does not say anything about your character beyond that, and it does not cover records in other countries.

The application is made on eCitizen and paid there. After payment you print the fingerprint form and have your prints taken at a DCI office or a Huduma Centre that offers the service. The prints are then checked, and the certificate is issued to your account once the check is complete.

Because it relies on fingerprints rather than names, it is hard to fake and hard to get wrong. Two people with the same name cannot be confused, and a person cannot borrow someone else's clean record. That reliability is why so many organisations trust it.

Certificates are issued digitally and can be verified, so an employer or embassy can confirm that the certificate you hand over is genuine. Download your copy and keep it safe; the copy on your eCitizen account is not kept there forever.

Who asks for it

Employers are the largest group. Public bodies ask for it as part of the integrity checks for public jobs, alongside clearances from KRA, HELB, EACC and a credit reference bureau. Our guide to Chapter Six clearance explains the full set and how to time them.

Private employers ask for it in roles involving money, children, security, health care, driving or access to homes. Schools, banks, security firms, hospitals and NGOs routinely require one, and some ask staff to renew it every year.

Embassies and immigration authorities ask for it with visa, residence and citizenship applications abroad. Licensing bodies ask for it before issuing certain licences, such as for private security, firearms, driving public service vehicles and some professions. Teachers need it for TSC registration.

Foreigners who have lived in Kenya can also apply, which is common when they move on to another country that asks for police records from every place they lived. Kenyans abroad can apply through the arrangements the DCI offers for people outside the country, though the fingerprint step takes more planning.

Each of these has its own rules about how recent the certificate must be, and those rules are printed in the advert, the visa checklist or the licence requirements. Read them before you assume an older certificate will do.

Certificate of good conduct validity in practice

A certificate is generally treated as valid for one year from the date of issue. After that, most organisations will ask you to apply again. This reflects what the certificate is: a statement about your record on one day. The older that day is, the less it tells the reader about you now.

Many organisations set a shorter window. It is common for embassies and some employers to ask for a certificate issued within the last six months, and some visa processes want one issued within a few months of the application. If the requirement says "recent", read it as "apply again", not as "within the year".

There is also the practical question of the online copy. Once issued, the certificate sits on your eCitizen account for a limited period before it is removed. If you did not download it, you may not be able to produce it later even if it is still within its year. Always save the PDF as soon as it is issued.

Keep the certificate number and the verification details with the PDF. Employers increasingly verify certificates directly, and being able to point them to the check quickly makes you look organised and speeds up your onboarding.

If you know you will need a certificate several times in a year, for example for a job application and then a visa, try to time one application to cover both. A certificate issued just before the first use may still be recent enough for the second.

What slows an application down

Fingerprints are the most common source of delay. If the prints taken are smudged or incomplete, the check cannot be done and new prints are needed. People whose work wears their fingertips, such as builders and farmers, sometimes need more than one attempt. Clean, dry hands at the appointment help.

Details that do not match cause delays too. The name, ID number and date of birth on the application must match your ID exactly. If your ID uses a different spelling from other documents, follow the ID.

A record of any kind, including old or minor matters, means the application needs further review. A case that was withdrawn or ended in an acquittal can still show up and need confirmation of its outcome. If this applies to you, start early and keep any court papers you have.

Busy periods matter as well. When a large public recruitment is announced, thousands of shortlisted people apply at once. Applying as soon as you know you will need a certificate, rather than waiting for the shortlist, avoids that rush. Our good conduct certificate service starts the application and tells you where and when your fingerprints are taken.

Common questions