A Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) is crucial document that is required for several official and personal tasks. You obtain this document to prove that you have a criminal record and is used by people who want to travel, work or study in some countries. PCC attestation is another process that is added to the other processes to make the certificate more genuine and valid. Let us have an overview on the process of going through the aspects and need for the Police Clearance Certificate attestation.

Understanding the PCC attestation Process

Attestation is the process that involves confirming the genuineness of some documents and or certificates by the right authority. It relates to the certification of the signature, seal and stamp of the originating organisation. When it comes to PCC attestation, it means getting consent in the country of reference from the concerned organization.

PCC Attestation serves several purposes:

Legality: On the same manner, an attested PCC certificate increases its legal recognition and admissibility in the other country. Officially endorsed by government bodies, employers and educational facilities as a document that certifies a person’s criminal record check.

Verification: Verification also plays a critical role of assuring that the originality of PCC certificate had received no alteration. It acts a probe against the acts of fraud and makes the document to appear more genuine.

Convenience: This means that one is saved the time of applying for an attested PCC certificate for multiple purposes. The obtained attested document can then be employed for different purposes and thus can save time.

The process of obtaining PCC attestation involves several steps:

Application: The individual bound to fill an application to the relevant departments in the country where the attestation was done. Where necessary, copies of the original PCC certificate and supporting documents should also be attached in the application.

Verification: The authorities will also have its own set of standards, which they will use to scrutinize the PCC certificate, and the attendant documents.

Issuance of PCC: Thereafter, the Verification and once this is done, the Police Clearance Certificate is then produced. This certificate serves to attest the fact that the person does not have any criminal record or, if there were any records in the past, they have been cleared. The PCC will of course be signed and stamped by the right police or government body.

Attestation by Local Authorities: Nevertheless, the PCC prior to its international use has to be legalized by local authorities. In most cases, this requires the certificate to be attested by the State Home Department or the particular regional authority.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Attestation: Local attestation is followed by the Ministry of External Affairs attestation and in some cases, the document needs to be legalized at the consulate of the issuing country. This confirms that the document is original and has proper process of validation.

Embassy Attestation: Last but not the least, PCC attestation may have to be produced before the embassy or consulate of the country in which it has to be utilised. The embassy will then carry out its check and give final legalization.

Collection: After all attestations have been made, the PCC can be collected and utilized for the purpose maybe to apply for a visa, residency or employment in another country.

The police clearance certificate, therefore, goes through an attestation process legalizing it in every country to enhance its viability. It has the utility of confirming the identity of a person and of legal capacities and in this way, there is no need for additional certificates for diverse functions. The purpose of PCC attestation is to summarize all the necessary steps, so that people, both, personally, as well as professionally, may consider themselves eligible for many opportunities.