Criminal Record Certificate (Police Clearance Certificate) in Greece

A criminal record certificate in Greece is what visa officers, employers and migration offices also call a police clearance certificate, a criminal record check, a criminal background check or a certificate of good conduct. In Greek it is the αντίγραφο ποινικού μητρώου, a copy of your entry in the national criminal register (ποινικό μητρώο, often typed as poiniko mitroo), and it comes in a general-use version (γενικής χρήσης) and a judicial-use version (δικαστικής χρήσης). Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Police Clearance Certificate / Criminal Record Check”. English-speaking lawyers in Greece obtain the Greek certificate for you and prepare foreign ones for use in Greece.

Two directions

• A Greek certificate for use abroad or in Greece: people who lived, worked or studied in Greece and now need proof of a clean record for a visa, a job, a licence, an adoption or a citizenship application elsewhere; residents applying for a Greek residence permit, a work licence or Greek citizenship.
• A foreign certificate for a Greek procedure: newcomers whose residence, work or Golden Visa file asks for the criminal record of their country of nationality and of the countries where they lived, with apostille and certified translation.

How the Greek certificate is issued

Despite the English name, in Greece the document does not come from the police. The register is kept by the justice system: for people born in Greece the record sits with the prosecutor’s office of their place of birth, for people born abroad with a central service of the Ministry of Justice in Athens, which is why most foreigners’ certificates are issued from the capital. Holders of Greek Taxisnet codes obtain the general-use copy instantly through gov.gr, and Greek authorities verify it online by its code. A person without Greek credentials applies at a Citizens Service Centre (ΚΕΠ) or the prosecutor’s office, in person or through a lawyer with written authority. The judicial-use version, which shows more and is required by courts and some authorities, is not issued through the online route.

Points to check

The certificate is valid for a limited period, so it is ordered close to the date of filing. For use outside Greece it needs an apostille and, usually, a certified translation into the language of the receiving country; there is also demand for the certificate in English, which is met by the translation, not by the register. Greek migration offices often ask foreigners for the certificates of several countries, each legalised in its own way, and the list of what is required has changed more than once; a lawyer confirms the current one. A certificate shows convictions only; whether a case or a warrant is pending is a separate question, see arrest warrant check. This page is general information, not legal advice.

What a lawyer does

Applies for the right version of the Greek certificate, collects it, obtains the apostille and translation and delivers it; for foreign certificates, checks that the apostille and translation meet Greek requirements and files them with the application. If you are abroad the lawyer acts under a power of attorney and can certify the copies you need (certified copies). For a work visa or residence file the certificate is one of several documents the same lawyer assembles.

Questions and answers

Can a foreigner get the Greek certificate online?

Only with Greek Taxisnet codes. Otherwise the application is made in person or through a lawyer.

General use or judicial use, which one do I need?

Employers, licensing bodies and migration offices normally ask for the general-use copy; courts and some authorities for the judicial-use one.

Will Greece accept my FBI, ACRO or other national certificate?

Yes, with an apostille or consular legalisation and a certified Greek translation; the lawyer checks the current requirements of the office concerned.

Does the certificate show a pending case?

No. It records convictions. For an open case the lawyer makes a separate enquiry.