How to Apply for a Certificate of Clearance in Singapore?
Applicants residing overseas will be required to mail a hardcopy of your fingerprint impressions taken at an authorised institution in your country of residence (such as police stations or embassies), and enclose it with a copy of the eCOC Acknowledgement Slip. The Acknowledgement Slip will be generated when your online application has been completed. Upon verification of the fingerprint impression and eCOC Acknowledgement Slip, the COC will be mailed to your posting address indicated in the online application form.
Non-Singapore Citizens such as Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) may apply for a COC only after submitting an appeal. The outcome of your appeal will be sent to you within 5 working days. You may submit an appeal via the Electronic Police Centre.
Documents Required
Applicants should prepare the following documents beforehand (with all documents translated in English, if written in any other language):
- SingPass and/or Foreign Identification Number (FIN)
- Scanned documentary proof indicating that a COC is required and for what purpose:
- In PDF format not more than 2MB in size
- A letter from the embassy, overseas offer letter for employment/education, etc.
- Scanned biometric page of applicant’s valid passport
- In PDF format not more than 2MB in size
- Front page with photo and particulars only
- Scanned Identification Document (ID), front and back
- In PDF format not more than 2MB in size
- Your NRIC, Work Permit, etc
- Scanned or digital passport-sized photograph
- In jpeg format not more than 60kb in size preferably with the dimension of 400 by 514 pixels
- taken within the last 3 months
- Formal facial expression on a white borderless background
- Displays full face without any obstructing headgear (headwear worn due to racial or religious customs are acceptable but must not hide facial features)
- Fingerprint impressions refer to fingerprints of right and left thumbs, and the 4 fingers of both the right and left hands
Processing time for each application is 10 working days for Singapore Citizens and 15 working days for non citizens.
Important Points to Note
Applicants may collect the certificate in person or through a proxy. An authorisation letter is required for collection by proxy with a valid photo identification for verification.
Apostille / Legalization
How do I legalise/apostille a government document?
- We will directly legalise documents issued by the Singapore Government (e.g. Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate, etc.).
- We will only be able to authenticate computer-generated documents after they have been certified by the issuing department.
- For legalisation of true copies, please submit the original and photocopies together to us.
- We cannot affix our legalisation stamp on laminated documents. If you need to legalise an original document that has been laminated, please request the issuing agency to issue a certified true copy or an extract of the original document for legalisation.
How do I legalise/apostille a non-government document?
- We can only legalise non-government documents after they have been referred to a Notary Public (any law firm offering notarial services) for notarisation and then to the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) for certification.
- We can legalise commercial documents such as Invoices, Bills of Sales, Certificates of Origin, Fumigation certificates, etc. after they have been certified or seen by any of the four Chambers of Commerce (International, Chinese, Indian or Malay) or the Singapore Manufacturers’ Association.
- We cannot affix our legalisation stamp on laminated documents. If you need to legalise an original document that has been laminated, please request the issuing agency to issue a certified true copy or an extract of the original document for legalisation.
- Processing time for each application is 5 working days.
