Poland Criminal Record Check: Process, Requirements, and Coverage

## Who is the source of criminal check data in Poland? The National Criminal Register (NCR) ## What is the process in Poland? - The requesting party will request the check from the ATS or their Zinc account. - Automated instructions are delivered to the candidate to upload a copy of their ID, some personal details in a dynamic web form, and complete two specific consent forms with a wet signature - Zinc submits the request to the authorities - Zinc receives the results (digitally) and provides a signed digital report - The candidate receives a notification to say the process is complete. ## What details are required from the candidate to submit the check? - First Name - Last Name - Birth Date - Consent - **Specific Application Form (ZAPYTANIE O UDZIELENIE INFORMACJI O OSOBIE)** - Candidate's data should be entered electronically or, if by hand, only in CAPITAL, printed, clear letters. - The provided copy must be a scanned copy or a good-quality photograph. - Candidates only fill in the PESEL/Passport Number at the top and then complete Sections 1 to 10— no other sections should be filled in. - The candidate must not sign the Application Form. - Please ensure the form is provided in a portrait PDF format (the page is oriented vertically, like a standard piece of paper, rather than horizontally). - **Specific Authorisation form (AUTHORISATION FOR VERIFICATION OF DATA IN NATIONAL CRIMINAL REGISTRATION or UPOWAŻNIENIE DO WERYFIKACJI DANYCH W KRAJOWYM REJESTRZE KARNYM)** - The form needs to be signed in wet ink (with a pen). - Where it states "following entities", the space after this should be left blank. - The provided copy must be a scanned copy or a good-quality photograph. - Please ensure the form is provided in a portrait PDF format (the page is oriented vertically, like a standard piece of paper, rather than horizontally). Both forms are available for the candidate to download a copy, fill in, and upload it to Zinc within their application. The Specific Application form can be filled in electronically by the candidate but the specific Authorization form needs to be printed and signed by hand. You can find more information about this here. ## What is covered in the criminal check? The copy of the Certificate of Clear Criminal Record (Zaświadczenie o niekaralności) issued by the National Criminal Register maintained by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland, has nationwide coverage, including citizens and foreigners over 16 years of age. The issuance of the certificate is subject to the candidate’s explicit consent along with a specific application form and specific authorisation form and is intended to serve one particular purpose indicated during the application process. The Certificate is requested and collected by our in-country partner who will visit the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland. Our partner has been thoroughly vetted according to our highest Partner Management policies and compliance standards. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland reserves the right to issue or reject the issuance of the certificate after careful assessment and scrutiny of the nature of the request. The Certificate contains information for all the following criminal convictions or offences, except those deleted by rehabilitation laws or considered spent: - Offences against peace, and humanity, and war crimes - Offences against the Republic of Poland - Offences against defence capability - Offences against life and health - Offences against public safety - Offences against safety in traffic - Offences against the environment - Offences against state guarantees - Offences against liberty - Offences against freedom of conscience and religion - Offences against sexual liberty and decency - Offences against the family and guardianship - Offences against honour and personal inviolability - Offences against the rights of the persons pursuing paid work - Offences against the functioning of the state and local government institutions - Offences against the administration of justice - Offences against elections and referenda - Offences against public order - Offences against the protection of information - Offences against the credibility of documents - Offences against property - Offences against business transactions - Offences against the circulation of money and securities - Public sex offenders registry listing the most dangerous sex offenders in Poland Pursuant to Article 106 of the Polish Criminal Code, from the moment of its deletion, the sentence is considered non-existent, and the record of the sentence is deleted from the criminal register except for pronounced against pedophiles, which are not deleted. Records on sentences for criminal or fiscal offences are kept in the register for: - 5 years from the end of a period of probation or payment of a fine - 15 years in case of imprisonment of up to 5 years - 30 years in case of imprisonment of more than 5 years Records of a person committed to a psychiatric institution are retained for 5 years after a person has been released. Records on a juvenile person placed in a remand centre are deleted after a person is released. The legal prescription of a sentence varies, depending on the type of offence committed and the sentence pronounced. The validity of the certificate is not mentioned and depends on the institutions who request this type of certificate that the document is issued no more than 3 months prior to its deposit. **The role of the ECRIS in the processing of the Poland Certificate of Clear Criminal Record** The European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) is a decentralised information system that allows for the exchange of criminal records information between the Member States of the European Union. It aims to facilitate cooperation among national law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities in the EU to promote transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system to prevent criminals from evading justice by moving between Member States, which is essential in ensuring the proper administration of justice and the protection of public safety. As such, each Member State is obliged to consult ECRIS as part of its criminal record check. The ECRIS was established in April 2012, but Poland has been gradually accommodating to its usage. The checks for foreigners in Poland takes more up to 25 days due to the authority requesting ECRIS (EU) criminal record check from the country of origin of the subject. Criminal certificate evidence is available for this verification along with the Zinc report but this needs to be requested by the candidate directly to our Support Team within 60 days of the check being completed. The Polish authorities always use the ECRIS system when the application is for foreigners which requires a bigger turnaround time for the completion of the check. ## What is the period covered by the check? The records are kept based on the legal prescription and rehabilitation periods applicable for each type of conviction provided by the local regulations in Poland. All the records are maintained by The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland. The authority receives the request conducts a detailed review and issues the certificate based on the above. ## Restrictions, Exclusions, Limitations: Poland is part of the EU. ECRIS is applicable; however, if there is a record found from ECRIS, Zinc will not be reporting it, as it does not belong to Poland. Alias name – The Authority conduct the check based on the name available on the ID document. The name available on the certificate will reflect the same. There will be slight delays in case the authority conducts the ECRIS process with EU Member states. Even though the turnaround time is 8 business days, this varies based on the citizenship [for Polish/non-EU Citizens is 5 days, and for EU Citizens/UK Citizens it is 26 days]. The Polish Labour Code (Kodeks Pracy) defines the scope of personal data an employer may request from a job applicant or employee. If an employer requires criminal record information to fulfill a legal right or obligation, the inquiry form submitted to the National Criminal Register must specify, in item 11, the exact legal provision mandating a clean criminal record for the position in question. ## What is the expected turnaround time? [Here](https://zincwork.com/turnaround-times). ## Privacy statement: The details contained in this report should not be used as the sole reason for making a decision. Zinc Work Ltd is not liable for any inaccuracies or incompleteness in the information appearing in this report since it is provided to Zinc Work Ltd by third parties. This report has been produced for the purchaser of the report and Zinc Work Ltd will have no liability to loss.