Two different worlds: ACRO certificates prove your UK record to foreign governments, while incoming Skilled Workers in education, health and care roles must bring certificates from every country they've lived in.
Overview
UK police clearance for migration runs through ACRO, the national Criminal Records Office operated by the police service. Its Police Certificate is the document foreign embassies and immigration authorities require from anyone who has lived in the UK and is emigrating or applying for a visa abroad — it states whether you have a UK criminal record (and can include foreign convictions disclosed to the UK), prepared under ACRO's step-down disclosure model, and it also shows impending prosecutions. Applications are made online at acro.police.uk: the standard service costs £55 with a 12-working-day target, the premium service £95 with a 4-working-day target, and certificates are issued on paper only, with postage included. Travelling the other way, the UK imposes its own requirement on certain incoming applicants: Skilled Worker entry-clearance applicants in education, healthcare, therapy and social-services occupations (and their adult dependants) must provide criminal record certificates from any country they lived in for 12 months or more during the previous 10 years. Verified against acro.police.uk and gov.uk as of June 2026.
The ACRO Police Certificate (for Use Abroad)
- What it is: The official statement of whether you hold a UK criminal record, issued by ACRO Criminal Records Office for people emigrating or needing a visa to live and work abroad. Embassies and high commissions name it explicitly in their UK document checklists.
- How to apply: Online at acro.police.uk with a valid passport (or other accepted identity evidence), address history and a passport-style photograph. You do not need to be in the UK to apply — overseas applicants use the same portal, with airmail postage included in the fee.
- Fees and speed: £55 standard (around 12 working days' processing) or £95 premium (around 4 working days); peak periods (spring) run slower. Prices have been at this level since the last increase on 2 January 2020.
- Paper only: Certificates are issued solely as physical documents — there is no digital certificate and no e-Apostille option; if your destination requires legalisation, the paper certificate goes to the FCDO for an apostille (£45).
- What appears: Convictions disclosable under the step-down model, plus impending prosecutions and offences under investigation. ACRO will not discuss certificate content before you receive it.
- What it is NOT for: UK employment vetting or UK immigration — those use DBS checks and overseas certificates respectively.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a UK police certificate for my visa application abroad, and how fast is it?
Apply online at acro.police.uk for a Police Certificate: you will need your passport details, address history and a passport-style photo. The standard service is £55 with a 12-working-day processing target; the premium service is £95 with a 4-working-day target — both include first-class or airmail postage, and certificates exist only on paper. Spring application peaks slow things down, so order early in your destination country's process. If the receiving government wants the certificate legalised, the paper original then goes to the FCDO Legalisation Office for an apostille (£45 standard, plus return postage).
What does 'No Live Trace' on my ACRO certificate mean, and will it cause problems?
'No Live Trace' means convictions or cautions exist on UK police records but have 'stepped down' under ACRO's disclosure model — after set periods based on sentence and age, details stop being printed on the certificate. It is different from 'No Trace' (nothing held at all), and consulates know the difference: some, when they see No Live Trace, ask for further details or a subject access request before deciding. Prepare for that conversation rather than hoping it won't happen — and remember the destination country's own declaration rules may require you to disclose spent convictions even when ACRO no longer prints them.
How long is an ACRO certificate valid?
ACRO itself puts no expiry date on the certificate — it is accurate as of its issue date. Validity windows are imposed by the receiving authority: most embassies and immigration agencies want a certificate issued within the last 3 to 6 months at the point you lodge their application, and some insist it post-date your most recent UK departure. Check the destination's exact wording before ordering, and sequence the £55 (or £95 premium) purchase so the issue date lands inside their window — buying it months before you are ready to file is the most common wasted spend in emigration paperwork.
Do I need a police certificate to apply FOR a UK visa?
Only on specific routes — and never a UK one. The criminal record certificate requirement applies to Skilled Worker entry-clearance applicants sponsored into education, healthcare, therapy and social-services occupations, and to their adult dependants. Caught applicants must produce certificates from every country (excluding the UK) where they lived 12+ months — continuous or cumulative — in the past 10 years while aged 18+, with certified translations where needed. Your sponsor flags the requirement when assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship. Other routes have no certificate requirement, but Part 9 criminality grounds still apply, and lying about convictions is treated far more harshly than declaring them.
My previous country won't issue police certificates — will my UK application fail?
Not automatically. Home Office guidance recognises that some states do not issue certificates to non-residents, charge prohibitively, or simply have no functioning system. Where a certificate is genuinely unobtainable you should say so in the application and evidence your attempts — correspondence with the issuing authority or embassy, screenshots of refusal messages, official statements that the service does not exist. What sinks applications is silence: an unexplained gap in the 10-year coverage looks like concealment. If a country issues only to residents in person, check whether its embassy in the UK or a power-of-attorney process can obtain it before claiming impossibility.
What's the difference between an ACRO certificate and a DBS check?
Direction of travel. The ACRO Police Certificate proves your UK record to foreign governments — it is built for visa and emigration use and is the only product most embassies accept. DBS checks (basic, standard, enhanced) are for employment screening within the UK: a basic check shows unspent convictions and can be self-requested; standard and enhanced checks are reserved for regulated roles and must be initiated by the employer. A subject access request — your full record, free under data protection law — serves neither purpose: embassies generally refuse it as a Police Certificate substitute, and employers cannot lawfully demand it. Buy the product that matches the audience.