How do you get a no-criminal-record certificate in China in 2026?

If you have resided in mainland China for at least 180 days in total, apply at the Exit-Entry desk of the public security organ at or above county level where you live or where your residence permit was issued. City practice differs on online booking, same-day printouts, and whether a representative can collect with a power of attorney. Ministry of Public Security replies note that foreigners outside China can often appoint someone inside China to apply at the residence-place desk.

Typical materials include your original passport, current or recent residence permit or permanent-resident card, temporary accommodation registration when the city still asks for it, and the foreigner criminal-record query form. Bring every passport you used during the queried period if the dates span multiple books. Some cities limit how many free personal queries you can run in a calendar year without stating a reasonable purpose.

Common uses sit outside daily China life: another country’s permanent-residence or work file, a home-country job that wants proof of your China years, or a later Chinese permanent-residence pack that asks for local police evidence: Get permanent residence. It does not replace the foreign criminal-record certificate employers demanded for your first work permit: Get a work permit and Apostille documents.

If you are leaving China, collect the certificate while your residence permit and address registration still match a real local desk: Register address and Cancel a work permit. Receiving countries may later ask for notarisation, translation, or an apostille on the Chinese certificate; confirm that chain before you fly. Mandarin-only windows are common: Chinese bureaucracy without Chinese.