What If You Lost Your China Police Certificate?

First Identify What Was Lost

Before contacting an authority, identify the exact missing document:

• the police or public-security Certificate of No Criminal Record;
• a Chinese notarial certificate concerning no criminal record;
• a translation attached to or issued with the notarial certificate;
• an Apostille or consular legalization;
• the complete authenticated package; or
• an original submitted to another organization and not returned.

These documents are not interchangeable. Public-security authorities conduct criminal-record inquiries and issue police evidence. Notarial institutions issue notarial certificates. China’s competent authentication authorities issue Apostilles, while consular legalization follows a separate route where applicable.

If you are unsure what you previously obtained, compare its title, issuer, seals, certificate number and page structure. Our guide to the difference between a police certificate and a notarial certificate can help identify the document.

Can a Lost China Police Certificate Be Replaced?

No verified national rule guarantees a replacement, duplicate or reprint when a China Police Certificate is lost or damaged.

The national Ministry of Public Security criminal-record inquiry rules regulate applications, inquiries, authorized representation and the documents issued after an inquiry. They also contemplate repeat applications.

However, those rules do not establish a national:

• lost-certificate reporting procedure;
• right to receive a duplicate;
• reprinting service;
• entitlement to obtain an archived police copy; or
• guarantee of identical reissuance following loss.

The rules contain a separate procedure for withdrawing and reissuing an inquiry document that is verified as erroneous. That error-based procedure should not be treated as a replacement route for an accurate document that was later lost.

Contact the original issuing authority first. Depending on its current procedure, it may advise whether another copy or reprint is available, whether a repeat application is required or whether a new inquiry must be conducted. It would also be too broad to rule out every local replacement possibility: an individual local authority may offer a suitable loss-related service.

Replacement, Reprint or New Application: What Is the Difference?

Replacement or reprint

A local authority might provide another version under its own procedure, if such a service exists. The authority must confirm whether the document is a replacement, duplicate, archive-derived copy or reprint and whether it has the status required by the recipient.

Repeat application

The national framework does not prohibit repeat applications, but a later application is still assessed under the applicable current requirements.

A repeat application does not guarantee acceptance, identical dates, identical wording, an identical document number or identical historical coverage. It may require updated identity documents, residence evidence and authorization materials.

New criminal-record inquiry

The authority may conduct a fresh inquiry and issue a new certificate based on that result. The new document may have:

• a new issue date;
• a different certificate number;
• wording based on the current format;
• a result reflecting information available at the new inquiry date; and
• coverage determined by the request, jurisdiction and records that can be verified.

A previous certificate is evidence that an inquiry and issuance occurred, but it is not a guarantee of identical future issuance.

What If You Only Have a Scan or Photocopy?

A scan or photocopy can be valuable even though it is not automatically an official substitute for the lost original. It may show:

• the issuing authority;
• certificate or document number;
• issue date and stated residence period;
• name and passport number used; and
• document title, form and related authentication details.

This information can help when communicating with the police, notarial institution, Global Attest or overseas recipient. It can also help compare a newly issued document with the earlier certificate.

An ordinary scan does not automatically have the same legal status as the original, establish entitlement to another certificate or satisfy every receiving organization. Ask the recipient whether the scan can be used temporarily, whether another original is required and whether a response deadline applies.

What If You Lost the Certificate After Leaving China?

The national framework permits authorized representation generally, but this does not mean every application can be completed remotely. Published local procedures illustrate the variation:

• Beijing’s implementation rules address representative applications and collection.
• Current Shenzhen guidance supports representation subject to its authorization requirements.
• Current Shanghai guidance requires the qualifying foreign applicant to apply in person and describes collection by an authorized representative.
• Published Guangzhou guidance indicates that representation may be possible, but the precise mechanics must be confirmed.
• Current foreign-specific handling in Chengdu could not be verified from sufficiently reliable published guidance.

Representative collection is not representative application. A power of attorney also does not guarantee that the authority will accept the application, retrieve historical records or issue another certificate.

For the broader remote-processing boundary, see obtaining a China Police Certificate after leaving China.

Will a New China PCC Cover the Same Period?

Not necessarily. A scan of the former certificate is useful evidence of what was issued previously. Nevertheless, an application made years later may be assessed under different local instructions or with different evidence available.

Potential difficulties may include:

• the old passport is no longer available;
• earlier residence permits cannot be produced;
• accommodation-registration evidence is missing;
• historical records are difficult to retrieve;
• the applicant requests a different period;
• the responsible jurisdiction is unclear; or
• local or recipient requirements have changed.

Reviewing China PCC cases involving an old or expired passport may help when the former certificate was connected to an earlier passport.

A previous PCC is useful evidence that a certificate was issued, but it does not guarantee that the same authority will issue another certificate with identical dates or wording. It also does not establish that historical records have disappeared; their availability must be checked with the relevant authority.

Loss and recency are different problems. A recipient may require a newer certificate even when the old original still exists. Conversely, losing a document does not itself establish that a newly issued certificate is legally required. Check whether a newer China Police Certificate is required under the recipient’s specific rules.

What If You Lost the Notarial Certificate Instead?

A Chinese notarial certificate is distinct from the underlying police evidence. Losing it does not automatically mean the police must conduct another inquiry.

The national Notarial Procedure Rules provide for notarial originals, counterparts and institutional archives. The 2025 Notarial Archives Management Measures also regulate archive retention and a party’s access to certain materials in their own notarial file.

These rules support contacting the issuing notarial institution, but they do not clearly provide a nationwide right to receive a replacement notarial certificate after loss. The institution must determine whether it can provide another counterpart, provide an archive-related document, use its file to support further handling, require a new notarial application or require current police evidence.

Do not assume that another police inquiry is invariably required—or that it can invariably be avoided.

What If the Apostilled or Legalized Package Was Lost?

An Apostille authenticates the formal origin of the public document to which it relates. It does not independently recreate a lost police certificate or notarial certificate.

China’s MFA explanation of an Apostille and the HCCH Apostille Handbook explain that authentication concerns the relevant signature, official capacity and seal or stamp—not the substantive contents of the underlying document.

An online verification record can help verify an issued Apostille. It does not automatically function as a replacement for the missing physical or electronic document package.

If a new police or notarial document is obtained, assess it separately and confirm the recipient’s current authentication instructions. Determine whether Apostille or consular legalization applies. An Apostille attached to the lost document should not be treated as transferable to a newly issued document.

Documents and Information to Review Before Applying Again

Before contacting an authority or service provider, organize:

• scan or photo of the previous PCC, if available;
• issuing city and authority;
• previous certificate number, if known;
• original issue date and stated coverage;
• current and old passports;
• passport number used during the relevant China residence;
• requested residence period and cities lived in;
• available residence permits, visas and accommodation registrations;
• notarial certificate, if any;
• Apostille or legalization record, if any;
• receiving organization’s notice and original instructions; and
• submission or response deadline.

This is a diagnostic review list, not a universal Chinese application checklist. Do not send unredacted passport or identity documents through public messages or unsecured channels.

What If Another China Police Certificate Cannot Be Issued?

If the original authority offers no loss-related option and another certificate cannot be issued for the requested historical period, the next step depends on the receiving organization’s rules.

Preserve evidence of prior issuance, the available scan or photocopy, attempts to obtain another certificate, communications with the police or notarial institution, and available passport and residence records.

The recipient may have a procedure for unavailable documents, explanations or supplementary evidence, but acceptance cannot be assumed. See what to do when another China Police Certificate cannot be issued for the dedicated unavailable-evidence analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions