A selected Diversity Visa applicant does not automatically need a police certificate from every country ever visited. For applicants aged 16 or older, the U.S. Department of State uses different tests for the country of nationality, the current country of residence, previous countries of residence and any place of arrest. The document must come from the authority specified for that country. A tourist trip alone is not the same as residence.
This guide turns the official country-and-time rules into a practical history review for international applicants. It addresses the selected-applicant document stage, not the initial lottery entry. Your assigned embassy may have further directions, and special facts need individual advice. GlobalVisora is an independent information site, not a police agency or embassy.
Start with every applicant’s own history
The principal applicant, spouse and each child applying for a visa should be reviewed separately. One family member may have lived abroad while another did not. The State Department’s DV supporting-document instructions say applicants aged 16 or older must submit all required police certificates. That does not mean an under-16 applicant can ignore all other identity or civil-document requirements; it means the police-certificate test starts with age.
Make a residence timeline for each applicant: country, dates lived there, nationality at the relevant time, and whether there was ever an arrest. A list of flight layovers and holidays is not a residence timeline. Use real addresses and dates from your own records rather than guessing a country should be excluded because you visited it “only for work.” If the history is borderline or fragmented, follow the official instructions and ask the interviewing post for case-specific guidance.
The four-location test
The State Department’s DV table says that, for an applicant aged at least 16, a certificate is required from the country of nationality if the applicant lived there for more than six months. It also calls for one from a different current country of residence if the applicant lived there for more than six months while aged 16 or older. For a previous country of residence, the threshold shown is more than 12 months while aged 16 or older. A country where the applicant was arrested is treated separately: the table asks for a police certificate from the place of arrest regardless of length of residence and regardless of the age at the time of arrest.
Read those as four distinct questions, not one universal “six-month rule.” Also note the official table uses more than six or twelve months; do not turn a boundary case into a confident answer based only on a rough estimate. The chart’s age language differs by row. If an unusual life history makes a simple calculation uncertain, the correct move is to consult the source and the consular post, not to silently omit a country.
Present and former U.S. residents are specifically told not to obtain U.S. police certificates for U.S. residence under this DV document instruction. That exception does not erase the need to answer security questions honestly or provide court records when required. It also does not turn an arrest in another country into an irrelevant event.
A hypothetical three-country example
Suppose a selected applicant is a national of Country A, lived there into adulthood, now lives in Country B for two years, and previously studied in Country C for 14 months after turning 16. Under the table’s ordinary tests, Country A, B and C would each need review for a required certificate. If the same person spent only a two-week holiday in Country D and was not arrested there, that visit by itself would not meet a residence threshold. These countries are invented labels, not legal conclusions for a real person.
Now suppose that applicant’s spouse lived only in A and B, and their child is 14. Do not copy the principal applicant’s three-country checklist onto both relatives. Evaluate each applicant’s age and personal residence record. The example demonstrates why a family packet is not one shared police certificate. A certificate issued for one person does not establish another person’s history.
Find the correct issuing authority
A “good conduct” or “police clearance” document has different names and procedures around the world. The State Department’s civil-documents directory by country identifies the accepted document and how to obtain it. Select the country whose certificate is needed and read the Police, Court or Prison Records section—not the nonimmigrant visa reciprocity-fee table on the same site. A private background-check report is not necessarily a substitute for the designated police authority’s document.
Some countries require a specific request form, fingerprints or an application through a consulate. Some certificates are unavailable under the official country schedule. Obtain the version the U.S. government recognizes, rather than paying the fastest website that promises a “universal police certificate.” Keep proof of the application route, especially when processing times are uncertain. An intermediary cannot make an unavailable government document available by printing a letter.
How old may a certificate be?
The DV document instructions say police certificates generally expire after two years, with an exception for a certificate from a previous country of residence if the person has not returned since it was issued. The page specifies a new certificate at interview when all three stated conditions apply: the applicant is over 16, the certificate was obtained more than two years ago, and the applicant still lives in the country that issued it. That is a useful review trigger, not a reason to ignore a post-specific request for a more recent document.
Do not order every possible certificate as soon as you enter the lottery. Selection is uncertain and some certificates can age out. After selection, use your residence timeline, official country schedule and interview-post checklist to decide what to request. Our DV interview checklist covers the other materials that belong in the appointment packet.
What if a certificate is unavailable?
The State Department distinguishes a certificate listed as unavailable in its country schedule from a certificate that a particular person simply cannot obtain. If the official schedule says it is unavailable, the DV document page says the applicant need not submit it. If the problem is individual—such as a personal obstacle despite general availability—it instructs the applicant to submit a written explanation with the other documents. The interviewing consular officer may still evaluate the facts. Do not declare a certificate unavailable just because an agent finds the process inconvenient.
A police certificate is also not the same as a court or prison record. If an applicant has a conviction, the State Department separately asks for certified court and prison records as applicable, even if there was a pardon or amnesty. A clean-looking police certificate does not replace truthful disclosure of an arrest or conviction. If there is a complex record, seek competent legal advice before a visa interview rather than hoping the document will conceal it.
Where do the documents go?
For DV-2024 and later selectees, the State Department’s current DV page says supporting documents are not submitted to KCC in advance in the earlier manner; applicants still submit DS-260 and bring required original records, translations and copies to the interview according to instructions. The same page contains some older generic wording elsewhere, so follow its current DV notice and your assigned post’s directions rather than mailing original certificates to KCC. Keep originals secure until the post tells you how to present them.
As of September 25, 2026, DV applications and interviews may continue while a program-wide issuance pause remains in the State Department’s published guidance. A complete police-record packet is therefore preparation, not assurance of issuance. Recheck current policy and the post’s checklist before spending or traveling.
Last verified: September 25, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. The featured image is an AI-generated conceptual globe and folders, not a real police certificate or official country map.