Police Clearance Certificate in Nepal 2082/83 (2026)

Yes. The online application through the official Nepal Police portal carries no government fee. An in-person District Police Office application typically carries a small fee, which varies.

Get the PCC, then have it attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and legalised by the destination country's embassy. Nepal does not issue an apostille.

Apply through the official Nepal Police portal at opcr.nepalpolice.gov.np: create an application, upload your citizenship certificate, passport copy and a recent photo, state the purpose, and submit. The online application carries no government fee, and once processed you can download a digitally signed certificate. This route is the most practical for Nepalis living abroad and for NRNs who cannot visit a police office in person.

The core documents are your Nepali citizenship certificate, a copy of your passport, a recent passport-size photograph, and the stated purpose of the request, such as foreign employment, a visa or study. Applicants abroad apply with their citizenship and passport through the online portal. Because the exact checklist can vary by applicant category and office, confirm the current requirements on the portal or with the CID before you submit.

The online application through the Nepal Police portal carries no government fee. An in-person application at a District Police Office typically carries a small fee — commonly around NPR 500, though it varies by district and for faster handling. A certificate for use abroad then incurs separate attestation fees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the destination embassy. Confirm the current fees with the office, as they vary.

Processing typically takes a few working days for an online application and longer for an in-person one, depending on the verification involved. Because timeframes depend on the office and the applicant's circumstances, treat any figure as an estimate rather than a guarantee. If you have a deadline — for a visa or job — apply well in advance and build in time for the separate attestation steps if the certificate is for use abroad.

A PCC is generally treated as valid for three to six months, but there is no single fixed statutory validity in Nepal. The receiving authority — an embassy, employer or immigration office — decides how recent the certificate must be, and many require one issued within the last three months. So plan the timing around the deadline of the body that asked for it, and obtain the certificate close enough to that deadline that it is still accepted.

Yes. Nepalis living abroad and NRNs can apply for a PCC online through the official Nepal Police portal using their citizenship and passport, and download a digitally signed certificate without travelling to Nepal. For use in the country of residence, the certificate then has to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the relevant embassy attestation. Many applicants arrange the attestation through a representative or lawyer in Nepal.

No — Nepal is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so no Nepali authority issues an apostille. For use abroad, a PCC instead goes through an attestation chain: attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nepal, followed by legalisation at the embassy of the destination country. If someone abroad asks for an "apostilled" PCC from Nepal, the correct equivalent is this MoFA-plus-embassy attestation, which a lawyer can arrange.

The online route, through the Nepal Police portal, carries no government fee and produces a digitally signed certificate you can download — ideal if you are abroad. The in-person route, at a District Police Office, typically carries a small fee and produces a printed certificate, and suits applicants who are in Nepal. Both come from Nepal Police's character-verification system; the choice is about convenience and where you are, not a difference in the certificate's validity.

The standard PCC application relies on your identity documents and the police record check, not a biometric enrolment. Some foreign authorities separately require applicants to submit fingerprint cards on their own forms for their own processes, but that is a requirement of the receiving country rather than a step Nepal Police imposes to issue the certificate. If you are told you need fingerprints, confirm with the authority that requested the PCC what exactly they need.

A Police Clearance Certificate is commonly required for foreign employment, visa and immigration applications, permanent residency, study abroad, adoption, and some professional registrations — anywhere a body needs proof that you have no recorded criminal history in Nepal. Because each of these authorities sets its own rules on format, recency and attestation, it is worth checking their exact requirement before you apply, so the certificate you obtain is accepted without a repeat.

The PCC reports your character-verification status based on police records, so an existing record can be reflected in the certificate. If you believe a record is wrong, outdated, or relates to a case that was withdrawn or in which you were acquitted, that is a matter to take up with the police and, if needed, through legal channels to correct the record. A lawyer can help address a disputed or erroneous entry before or alongside the PCC application.

The character-verification function sits with Nepal Police's Crime Investigation Department, and applications can be made online through the central portal or in person at a District Police Office, Metropolitan Police office or the headquarters. For most applicants the online portal is the simplest entry point regardless of where they live. Where an in-person certificate is needed, the local police office handles it, and central handling applies for certain categories — confirm the right channel for your purpose.

Usually yes. For foreign employment and most overseas uses, the destination country expects the PCC to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nepal and then legalised by that country's embassy, because Nepal does not issue an apostille. The exact requirement depends on the country and the employer, so confirm with them, but plan on the MoFA-plus-embassy chain as the default for a PCC that has to be recognised abroad.

Where an in-person application or collection is required and you cannot attend, it is common to authorise a representative — often through a power of attorney — to apply for or collect the certificate and to carry out the attestation steps. The online route reduces the need for this by letting you apply yourself and download the certificate. For applicants abroad, appointing a representative or lawyer in Nepal to handle the attestation chain is the usual practical solution.

MoFA attestation is the step where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nepal certifies the PCC so it can be recognised abroad, typically for a small fee per document. It comes after the PCC is issued and before the destination embassy's legalisation. This attestation is what replaces the apostille that countries in the Hague Convention use, and getting it in the right order — police certificate, then MoFA, then embassy — is essential for the document to be accepted overseas.

The certificate issued through the official Nepal Police portal is digitally signed and is the genuine government-issued document, which is why the online route is widely used, including by applicants abroad. For domestic purposes the downloaded certificate is generally sufficient; for foreign use it still has to go through the MoFA and embassy attestation chain. If a foreign authority questions authenticity, the attestation chain is precisely what establishes that the certificate is genuine and officially recognised.

Involve a lawyer when the PCC is tied to a larger matter — foreign employment, immigration, adoption, or a record you believe is wrong — or when the attestation chain has to be handled while you are abroad. A lawyer arranges the application and the MoFA-plus-embassy attestation, acts for an applicant who cannot travel to Nepal, and addresses a disputed or erroneous police record. This is most valuable when a deadline or a cross-border step makes getting it right the first time important.