Certificates from the criminal records

Details about decisions on rehabilitation 

Certificate of no ongoing criminal proceedings / certificate of good conduct (criminal record certificate)
“Certificate of non-conviction” – the term is colloquially used for both the certificate of no ongoing criminal proceedings and the criminal record certificate (certificate of good conduct). 
 
  • A certificate of no ongoing criminal proceedings is issued by municipal courts as proof that there are no criminal proceedings against the person concerned for crimes prosecuted ex officio, i.e. that no final and binding investigation order has been issued, no indictment confirmed, no judgement imposing a penalty order, and no non-final judgement delivered in the Republic of Croatia.   
 
  • A criminal record certificate (certificate of good conduct) is issued by the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration as proof that the person concerned has not been convicted of crimes by a final and binding decision.
 

A CERTIFICATE OF NO ONGOING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS can be obtained:

  • through the e-Citizens system
  • at a municipal court.
Issuance of certificates through the e-Citizens system
Issuance of certificates through the e-Citizens system is available for natural persons only.
The application for a certificate can be submitted through the e-Citizens system
  • for purposes not subject to a court fee under the Act on Court Fees:
    • exercise of health, disability or pension insurance rights
    • exercise of social welfare rights
    • employment;
  • for purposes subject to a court fee, e.g.:
    • residence permit and work permit
    • change of name/surname
    • weapon license
    • housing care
    • recognition of foster parent status, etc.
The fee for the certificate is paid through the secure online payment processing system, thus ensuring complete secrecy and protection of sensitive card details and personal data of the payer.

All certificates through the e-Citizens system are issued by the Zagreb Municipal Court and are valid throughout Croatia.

Issuance of certificates at courts

An application for a certificate can be submitted in person or, if not possible, by a person with a power of attorney notarised or authenticated by the Croatian embassy or consular office in the country of one’s residence.
 
The certificate is issued by all municipal courts and their permanent services regardless of one’s permanent address or seat. By way of exception, Zagreb Municipal Court, Zagreb Municipal Labour Court, Zagreb Municipal Misdemeanour Court and Split Municipal Misdemeanour Court do not issue this certificate.

Addresses, contact details and office hours of the courts are available on the website of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration:
https://mpu.gov.hr/pristup-informacijama-6341/ostale-informacije/pravosudna-tijela-rh/opcinski-sudovi-6412/6412
 
Additional information on the issuance of certificates of no criminal proceedings and the necessary documentation for natural and legal persons is available in the Catalogue of Information of the e-Citizens portal, in the text Certificate of no criminal proceedings.
 

CRIMINAL RECORD CERTIFICATE (CERTIFICATE OF GOOD CONDUCT)

Under Article 13(2) of the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation, nobody is entitled to demand from citizens to submit evidence of their conviction(s) or non-conviction.

Certificate of good conduct for realising a right abroad
 
A person is entitled to request data from the criminal record for their own benefit only if they need them to realise a right abroad or in an international organisation.
The certificate can be requested in person or, via post or by an attorney-in-fact, and persons residing abroad may request it through the Croatian embassy or consular office in the country of their residence.
 
To obtain the certificate, a natural person must:
  • fill out the form V.a
  • enclose a 40 HRK government stamp
  • enclose a photocopy of their valid personal ID card or passport (to request a certificate on behalf of another person, it is necessary to enclose a power of attorney notarised or authenticated by the Croatian embassy or consular office in the country of residence of the person concerned).
Application form for a certificate of good conduct for a natural person_form V.a (18kb) (in Croatian)
 

To obtain the certificate, a legal person must:
  • fill out the form V.b
  • enclose a 40 HRK government stamp
  • enclose an excerpt from the Court Register (companies register), not older than six months (a copy from the Court Register is an original document issued by the competent commercial court).
Application form for a certificate of good conduct for a legal person_form V.b (19kb) (in Croatian)

For additional information, you can contact us at +385 (0)1 3714 213 and +385 (0)1 3714 212 from 9:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m.

Additional information on the issuance of the certificate and the necessary documentation is also available in the Catalogue of Information of the e-Citizens portal, in the text Certificates for realising rights abroad

 
Special certificate from the criminal records – requested ex officio by a competent authority, not the party
Under the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation, criminal records are kept for natural and legal persons convicted of criminal offences by a final and binding judgement in the Republic of Croatia, as well as for Croatian nationals and legal persons with a registered seat in Croatia who have been convicted of crimes by a final and binding judgement rendered abroad, if the data have been delivered to the Ministry.
 
The legal basis for requesting the certificate of good conduct from the criminal record is Article 13 (1) of the above Act, which expressly stipulates that the special certificate is issued for special purposes or when this is envisaged by a special law. Special certificates issued for the purposes stipulated by special laws (e.g. issuing a license for international road freight transport) will be requested for you by a competent authority ex officio.

In accordance with the above, a written application for data from the criminal record must indicate the purpose and legal basis for the request, and must be submitted on a standard form III a (natural person) or III b (legal person), both of which form part of the Criminal Records Ordinance.
 
Application form for the special certificate for a natural person_form III.a (in Croatian) 
 
Application form for the special certificate for a legal person_form II.b (in Croatian) 
 
 
Therefore, the issuance of the special certificate cannot be requested by the party themselves, but by a competent authority ex officio.
 

The Ministry issues the special certificate in accordance with the special law which specifies a catalogue of criminal offences for which a person can be checked for the purposes stipulated by the special law.

For additional information, contact us Monday through Thursday 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at: +385 (0)1 3714 224, +385 (0)1 3714 228 and +385 (0)1 3714 213.
Criminal record certificate for realising rights in Croatia
If the law governing the maintenance of the criminal records or a special law envisages requests for data from the criminal records for the purpose of realising rights in the Republic of Croatia, then such data must be requested ex officio by the competent authority deciding a specific case.
 
The Ministry delivers data from the criminal records by issuing general and special certificates from the criminal records.
  • A GENERAL CERTIFICATE contains complete data from the criminal record for a specific person and is issued to competent public authorities in the cases stipulated in Art. 9 and 11 of the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation.
The application for a general certificate is submitted on the form I a for a natural person and form I.b for a legal person.
  • A SPECIAL CERTIFICATE contains partial data from the criminal record for a specific person and is issued to competent public authorities in the cases stipulated in Art. 13 (4) of the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation, and in cases stipulated by a special law.
The application for a special certificate is submitted on the form III a for a natural person and form III b for a legal person.
By way of exception, under Article 14 (2) of the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation, a special certificate is issued to employers, subject to consent of the person concerned, for the purposes of employment in a position which includes regular contact with children.
The application for the issuance of the special certificate from Article 14 (2) of the Act is submitted on Form IV.
How can I request deletion of data from the criminal record, and what is the procedure?
The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration is obliged, upon expiry of periods specified by the Act on the Legal Consequences of Conviction, Criminal Record and Rehabilitation and provided that the convicted person has not been convicted of another criminal offence by a final and binding decision in the meantime, to establish ex officio that rehabilitation has occurred ex lege.
 
If a person so wishes, they may request the establishment of rehabilitation by submitting an application for a decision on rehabilitation. The application can be submitted in person, by post or by an attorney-in-fact to the Criminal Records Department of the Ministry: Ministarstvo pravosuđa i uprave, Odjel za kaznene evidencije, Ulica grada Vukovara 49, Zagreb. The application must contain personal data, including the personal identification number (OIB)

For additional information on rehabilitation and application procedure see the Catalogue of Information of the e-Citizens portal, in the text: Decision on Rehabilitation, or contact the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration Mondays and Wednesdays 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at +385 (0)1 3714 209. 
Does the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration issue criminal record certificates in English?
The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration issues criminal record certificates (certificate of good conduct) for the purpose of realising rights abroad in Croatian only.
How does one obtain a criminal record certificate for the purpose of a public competition for employment in kindergartens and other institutions dealing with children?
A natural person cannot obtain their data from the criminal records for the purposes of employment in Croatia. Instead, courts, public authorities, institutions and other legal persons are authorised to request such data for the purposes of entrusting the person concerned with specific tasks involving work with children or in procedures involving protection of children’s rights and interests.
Several years ago, as a minor, I was charged with a criminal offence and was acquitted, but I still experience inconveniences with the police because of it. How can I request deletion from the record?
Criminal records are kept for persons convicted of criminal offences by a final and binding judgement, while misdemeanour records contain data about final and binding judgements or decisions on misdemeanours, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration enters data in said records solely on the basis of final and binding court decisions and other legal acts upon their receipt from courts.
 
In case of an acquittal there are no data to be entered in the criminal or misdemeanour records.
 
Information on records from the remit of the Ministry of the Interior should be requested from that Ministry.