Yes, you can translate a Chinese criminal record certificate yourself, and the table below is a field-by-field Chinese criminal record certificate translation template, checked against the standard form China’s Ministry of Public Security introduced in 2021. For your own records, a careful self-translation is usually enough. A UK Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa is different: Home Office guidance asks for a translation from a professional translator or translation company that can be independently verified, with a name, signature and contact details, so one you certify yourself usually won’t pass. For that you need a certified translation of the 无犯罪记录证明, which I produce as an ITI-certified translator: £30 per page of 250 words, a single-page certificate normally back in 2 working days.
The certificate, field by field
Police stations now issue it on the standard form attached to the Ministry’s rules on criminal record checks (公通字〔2021〕19号, in force from 31 December 2021): one reference number, one paragraph, one seal, three printed notes. The form has no sex, date of birth or address field; if yours does, translate them as printed. Use the table as a layout template — replace everything in [square brackets].
| Chinese label or fixed text | English | How to write it | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title: 无犯罪记录证明 | Certificate of No Criminal Record | [literal; the pinyin Wu Fan Zui Ji Lu Zheng Ming may follow in brackets] | Renaming it “Police Clearance Certificate” |
| Number: ×公（×）证字〔year〕××号 | Certificate No. | [every character: pinyin for the Chinese, year, brackets and digits kept; a note on abbreviations such as 京 = Beijing] | Keeping only the digits; Beijing’s format differs: 京公（×）查询〔个人〕字××第××号 |
| 经查 | Upon checking, | [fixed opening words] | Dropping them |
| 被查询人 | Person Checked | [SURNAME Given-name, as in the passport] | Textbook pinyin that does not match the passport |
| 国籍 | Nationality | [中国 → China] | Writing an ethnicity (Han) |
| 证件名称 | Type of ID Document | [居民身份证 → Resident Identity Card; 护照 → Passport] | Merging it with the number |
| 证件号码 | ID Document No. | [all 18 characters, keeping a final X] | Dropping the X |
| （在××××年××月××日至××××年××月××日期间） | (for the period from DD Month YYYY to DD Month YYYY) | [only if printed] | Inventing a period |
| 未发现有犯罪记录 | no criminal record has been found | [keep “has been found”; translate any named offence] | Inflating it to “has a clean record” |
| 业务编号及二维码 | Transaction No. and QR Code | [the number as printed; [QR code] where the code sits] | Leaving both out |
| 单位（盖章） | Issuing Authority (Seal) | [Seal: ×× Police Station, ×× Public Security Sub-bureau, ×× City — the seal’s wording, in place] | Only [red stamp] |
| Issue date | Date of Issue | [DD Month YYYY] | 08/09/2025, read differently in the UK and US |
| 注 1 | Note 1 | [This certificate reflects only the criminal record information held on the information query platform at the time of issue.] | Skipping the notes as small print |
| 注 2 | Note 2 | [Where no period is stated, the check covers all periods.] | Omitting it |
| 注 3 | Note 3 | [This certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue.] | Deleting it as irrelevant |
Why the notes matter. Note 2 tells a caseworker how far back the check goes: with no period printed, it covers the whole record. Beijing’s version adds a fourth note about the certificate being issued in duplicate; translate that too.
Which “platform”. Article 3 of the 2021 rules says the Ministry has set up a criminal-record query platform and results reflect what it held when checked. UK guidance treats regional certificates differently, so my translator’s note names the Ministry’s platform and cites the rule.
Older certificates, notarial ones and refusals. Anything that does not match the table is translated as it stands. A notarial certificate from a 公证处 is a different document (Article 4). Where a record is found, the police issue a refusal notice instead (Article 9).
Download: this template as a Word file (.docx), with the table laid out ready to fill in.
Can you use your own translation? What the UK rules say
Who needs one. Under Appendix Skilled Worker, paragraph SW 16.1, entry clearance applicants sponsored in listed occupation codes “must provide a criminal record certificate from the relevant authority in any country in which they have been present for 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the 10 years before the date of application, and while aged 18 or over”. The codes cover education, healthcare, therapy and social services; SW 34.1 extends it to a partner. gov.uk adds that applicants in other routes “are not currently required to provide criminal record certificates”, and in-UK extensions are not included. Your sponsor tells you when it assigns the certificate of sponsorship.
What the translation must contain. The Home Office’s caseworker guidance on criminal record certificates (version 4.0, November 2025) says a certificate not in English needs “a translated copy of the certificate … which meets the requirements of paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules”. Paragraph 39B(f) asks for “a full translation that can be independently verified”, dated, confirming accuracy, with the translator’s full name, signature and contact details. The Skilled Worker caseworker guidance is plainer: “a fully certified translation from a professional translator or translation company”; where a caseworker cannot verify it, “the document will not be accepted”.
The gov.uk China page. gov.uk’s country guidance calls the document “Certificate of No Criminal Convictions / Wu Fan Zui Ji Lu Zheng Ming” and describes applying through a notary office. That section was last updated in August 2016, before the 2021 rules, and says nothing about translation; the Home Office itself warns the country pages “may not reflect the current position”.
In practice: your own records → a careful self-translation is usually enough (my experience, not a rule). A Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa → the guidance describes a certified translation. An employer vetting you for a school or health role may set its own format.
When it has to be certified: what my version adds
Britain keeps no state register of sworn translators — the Institute of Translation and Interpreting says “there is no such thing as a sworn translator” — so professional standing here usually means membership of a professional body. Qualified ITI members “can affix ITI Certification Seals to certify a translation”, which “renders the translation ‘official'”, and my membership is on a public register a caseworker can check without contacting you.
A certified version covers the same fields and adds:
- Your name fixed against your passport, matching the visa form and sponsorship details.
- “Has been found” kept literal; any offence or period limit stays where it is.
- All three notes translated, with a translator’s note on the Ministry’s platform.
- Numbers, QR code and seal rendered in place, the place abbreviation explained.
- A one-page certification statement built on paragraph 39B(f): date, accuracy, my full name and signature, contact details and ITI credentials, as a signed PDF.
One honest limit: certification vouches for the English, not the certificate. It does not prove the document genuine or extend its validity, and caseworkers still expect the original or a scan alongside it.
What to do next
- Check with your sponsor whether you need it. Entry clearance in a listed education, health or social care role → yes, certified. Your own records → the template is usually enough.
- Apply at the police station where your hukou or residence is registered; areas may also take applications online (Article 5). From abroad, someone can apply for you with your written authorisation (Articles 4 and 6).
- Time it: use the certificate within three months of issue (see the last question below).
- Scan the whole page in colour, with the number, QR code, seal and notes legible, and send your passport name page.
- Expect £30 per page of 250 words; this certificate is usually one page, normally back in 2 working days as a signed PDF. See the background check document translation service.
- If someone asks for notarisation or an apostille, ask who requires it: the Home Office guidance above asks for the original or a scan plus a compliant translation, and mentions neither.
The ID number on the certificate comes from your identity card, which has its own template: how to translate a Chinese identity card yourself. For other documents by visa route, see what UKVI requires from a certified translation.
Frequently asked questions
What is 无犯罪记录证明 in English?
Literally, “Certificate of No Criminal Record”; gov.uk’s China page calls it a “Certificate of No Criminal Convictions”. Translate the title literally and add the pinyin, so a caseworker can match it to the original and to gov.uk’s country page.
The certificate says it is valid for three months. What does the UK accept?
Two clocks. Note 3 is China’s: three months from issue. The UK caseworker guidance normally accepts a certificate from your latest country of residence “issued no earlier than 6 months before the date of application”. Meeting both is the safe course — my advice, not a rule.