Now, you can get police clearance at Post Office Passport Seva Kendras

Applying for the mandatory police clearance certificate to get your passport will become a lot easier now.

People can now apply online for their police clearance certificates at Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) starting from today (Wednesday, September 28). A police clearance certificate is issued to passport applicants by the local police stations after verifying they don’t have any criminal record and to ascertain their residential address.

A press release by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the facility, to include the POPSKs to apply for police clearance certificates, has been done “to address the unanticipated surge in demand for Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs)”.

Also read: Explained: What led MEA to caution Indians in Canada to be vigilant

The Post Office Passport Seva Kendras, a joint initiative by the MEA and the Department of Posts, offer passport-related services to the citizens.

According to the MEA, this step of including the POPSKs as well will significantly add to the availability of PCC appointments slots, and at an earlier date. Further, it will not only help Indian citizens seeking employment abroad, but also meet the demand for other PCC requirements, such as in the case of education, long term visa, emigration etc.

The POPSKs, 428 of them are currently functioning across the country, provide passport-related services at a wider scale to the citizens in smaller towns.