How to Get Police Clearance Certificate in Qatar

A Police Clearance Certificate in Qatar, officially called a Good Conduct Certificate, is issued by the Criminal Evidences and Information Department at the Ministry of Interior (MOI). Qatari nationals and residents apply through the MOI e-services portal, Metrash, or in person, for a fee of QR10. What you need to attach depends on why you're requesting it: employment inside Qatar has one document list, while using the certificate abroad, for study or migration, has another. If you've already left Qatar, the process is different again, and runs through a Qatari embassy rather than the MOI portal.

This guide walks through each of those paths separately, since applying the wrong one is the most common way people waste time on this certificate.

At a Glance

Question	Answer
Where do you apply?	MOI e-services portal, Metrash, or in person at the Criminal Evidences and Information Department
Who can apply?	Qatari citizens and residents, in person or through an authorized representative
Official fee	QR10 per application
Main documents	QID copy and a statement of purpose; additional documents depend on why you need the certificate
If you're a former resident abroad	Apply through the Consular Affairs Department at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via a Qatari embassy, not the MOI portal

What Is a Police Clearance Certificate in Qatar?

MOI's own Evidences and Information Department page uses both names in the same sentence: "a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) or Good Conduct Certificate." They refer to the same document, issued by the same department, and the terms are used interchangeably across official Qatar sources. It confirms whether you have a criminal record on file in Qatar, and is commonly requested for employment, study or migration abroad, marriage, and commercial activities.

It is not the same as your QID, your exit permit status, or a visa document. It is a standalone certificate you request specifically, for a specific stated purpose.

Who Can Apply for a Qatar Police Clearance Certificate?

MOI's page is explicit that a request can be submitted "by the concerned party or their authorized representative." Beyond that, what you need depends heavily on which of these four situations you're in:

• Qatari citizens, currently in Qatar
• Current residents (expatriates), holding a valid QID
• Former residents, who previously lived in Qatar but have since left and no longer hold a QID
• Applicants applying from outside Qatar for a certificate to use abroad

The first two apply through the MOI portal, Metrash, or in person. The last two apply through a Qatari embassy instead, covered in its own section below.

Documents Required for Qatar Police Clearance Certificate

MOI splits the document list by purpose, not just by nationality. The two purposes are employment (used inside Qatar) and use outside the country, for study or migration.

Applicant Type	Purpose	Main Documents
Qatari national	Employment	Statement of purpose (naming the entity and reason) and a copy of your QID
Resident (expatriate)	Employment	Statement of purpose, copy of your QID, and a Police Clearance Certificate from your home country's embassy, attested by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities
Qatari national or resident	Use outside Qatar (study, migration)	Copy of your QID
Former resident, now abroad	Use outside Qatar (study, migration)	Certified copy of fingerprints, copy of passport, copy of your previous residence permit, and two 4×6 photos, submitted via a Qatari embassy

How to Get Police Clearance Certificate in Qatar Online

Applying Through the MOI E-Services Portal

This is the main online route, confirmed directly on Hukoomi, Qatar's official government services platform. It uses the same MOI smart card login as other e-services, separate from the QID lookup covered in our Qatar ID status check guide.

1. Log in with your smart card to the MOI e-services portal.
2. Select the transaction type: Personal for the smart card owner, or Company Name for an authorized representative.
3. Click Certificates and Reports, then Good Conduct Certificate.
4. Select Application Request, choose the purpose of the certificate, and enter the required details.
5. Attach the documents required for that purpose, either by scanning them or uploading from your device.
6. Enter your debit or credit card details to pay the QR10 fee, then submit.

After submission, a payment receipt is available for download. To check on it later, use the Application Follow up option rather than starting a new application; if anything is missing, you can select the existing application and attach it there.

Applying Through Metrash

Hukoomi confirms this service is also available through Metrash, alongside the e-services portal and the offline paper route. Menu names inside the app can change between updates, so if you don't see it immediately, the e-services portal is the more stable route to fall back on.

Applying Offline

Download and fill out the paper application form, then submit it, with the documents your purpose requires, to the Criminal Evidences and Information Department. This service is also offered at the Criminal Evidences and Information Office at the Ministry of Labour, but only for employment and study purposes.

Qatar PCC Requirements for Current Residents

If you're an expatriate currently living in Qatar with a valid QID, which route you follow depends on what the certificate is for. For an employer inside Qatar, you'll generally need your home country's own police clearance certificate as a supporting document, attested through Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, unless you fall into one of the exempted groups above. If the certificate is for something outside Qatar instead, study or migration, a copy of your QID is what MOI lists as the main requirement, without the home-country certificate.

How Former Qatar Residents Can Get a PCC

This is the situation most other guides skip over. If you previously lived in Qatar, no longer hold a QID, and are applying from wherever you live now, the MOI e-services portal isn't the route, since it requires a Qatari smart card login.

Instead, MOI directs former residents to submit the request through the Consular Affairs Department at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via a Qatari embassy in the country where you now live. The documents required are different from the in-country application too:

• A certified and endorsed copy of your fingerprints
• A copy of your passport
• A copy of your previous Qatar residence permit
• Two personal photographs, 4×6 cm

Applicable fees still apply, though MOI's page doesn't publish a separate figure for this embassy route, so confirm the exact amount with the Qatari embassy handling your request.

How to Get Qatar PCC From Outside Qatar

Whether you go through the MOI portal or a Qatari embassy from outside Qatar depends entirely on whether you still hold a valid QID:

Your situation	Where to apply	Main documents
Still hold a valid QID (residency not cancelled)	MOI e-services portal, using your smart card, even while physically abroad	Copy of your QID
QID cancelled, residency ended (former resident)	A Qatari embassy, via the Consular Affairs Department at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Fingerprints, passport copy, previous residence permit copy, two 4×6 photos

Once submitted through either route, MOI states that inquiries about a Police Clearance Certificate can be made through the MOI website and the Metrash app.

Qatar Police Clearance Certificate Fee

The official fee for the main application service is QR10, confirmed on Hukoomi. The status-inquiry service to check an existing application is free. MOI's page on the former-resident embassy route notes only that "payment of applicable fees is required," without publishing a specific figure for that route, so treat any additional embassy, attestation, or courier costs as something to confirm directly with the Qatari embassy or Ministry of Foreign Affairs handling your case rather than a fixed amount.

How Long Does Qatar PCC Take?

Neither Hukoomi nor MOI's own page publishes a standard processing time for the Police Clearance Certificate, for either the in-country or the former-resident embassy route. Rather than repeat a number that isn't officially confirmed, check your own application's progress directly: current residents can use the Certificate of Good Conduct Inquiry option under Inquiry on the MOI e-services portal, free of charge, which shows the certificate number, year, issuance date and status once available.

Qatar PCC for Employment

For an employment-purpose application, most relevant if you're going through the Qatar work visa process for a new employer, you'll state the purpose and the specific entity requesting it. Qatari nationals attach a QID copy; expatriate residents generally also attach an attested police clearance certificate from their own country, unless they're exempt for having been born in Qatar, having arrived before age 16, or having lived in Qatar continuously for more than 10 years.

Qatar PCC for Immigration or Visa

MOI groups this with study and migration under "use outside the country." If you still hold a valid QID, a copy of it is the main document. If your Qatar residency has already ended, this falls under the former-resident embassy route described above, with fingerprints, a passport copy, your previous residence permit, and photographs rather than a QID.

Qatar PCC for Study Abroad

Study-abroad requests fall under the same "use outside the country" category as migration requests, not under the employment category. The documents follow whichever of the two situations above applies to you: still-resident with a QID, or former resident applying through an embassy.

Common Qatar PCC Problems and How to Avoid Them

MOI and Hukoomi don't publish an official list of rejection reasons, but their own process details point to the checks worth doing before you submit:

• Wrong purpose selected, since the document list changes depending on whether you choose employment or use-outside-Qatar
• Missing embassy attestation, if you're an expatriate resident applying for employment purposes and don't qualify for one of the three exemptions
• Expired QID, which affects your ability to log in and apply through the smart-card e-services portal at all
• Photos not matching the 4×6 size, for the former-resident embassy route specifically
• Submitting a new application instead of using Application Follow up, when you actually need to attach a missing document to an existing request

Qatar PCC Checklist Before You Apply

• Decide your purpose first: employment inside Qatar, or use outside Qatar for study or migration
• Confirm whether you still hold a valid QID, or whether you're applying as a former resident
• If employment and not exempt, arrange your home country's police clearance certificate and get it attested through Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs before applying
• If applying from abroad as a former resident, gather fingerprints, passport copy, previous residence permit copy, and two 4×6 photos
• Have a payment method ready for the QR10 fee, or confirm the embassy fee if applying from outside Qatar
• Keep your payment receipt after submitting

Official Qatar Resources

This guide is independent and informational; QatarVia does not issue Police Clearance Certificates. For the official application, current terms, and any updates, use Hukoomi's Good Conduct Certificate service page or MOI's own Evidences and Information Department page, or call the department directly on 2346666.