Checking Criminal Records in Germany

A criminal record can significantly affect an individual’s personal, professional, and legal life. A criminal record can hinder employment opportunities as some jobs, especially in the public sector, require applicants to submit a certificate of good conduct. Having a criminal record can further lead to the possibility of getting certain professional licenses revoked. It can also hinder your ability to travel freely as visa applications may be denied due to some countries, such as the United States and Canada, regularly denying entry to applicants with criminal records.

For non-German citizens, a criminal record can lead to issues with residency permits and delays or even denials of an application for German citizenship. In serious cases, individuals can face deportation. It is advisable to ascertain whether there are existing or imminent convictions that would appear in a Certificate of Good Conduct.

A distinction must be made between the Federal Central Criminal Register and the Certificates of Good Conduct. The Federal Central Criminal Register basically contains all criminal convictions by German courts and certain decisions by administrative authorities, including foreign convictions under certain conditions. The information that can be accessible in a Certificate of Good Conduct depends on the type of Certificate of Good Conduct. A distinction must be made between a ‘simple Certificate of Good Conduct’, one for submission to an authority and an ‘extended Certificate of Good Conduct’.

In principle, the simple Certificate of Good Conduct (“einfaches Führungszeugnis”) only contains convictions that reach a certain minimum level. For example, fines of less than 90 daily rates and prison sentences of less than 3 months are not included. However, this only applies if there is no other prior entry. This simple Certificate of Good Conduct is often submitted to prospective employers. A Certificate of Good Conduct requested for submission to a public authority is forwarded directly to the relevant authority and contains certain decisions made by administrative authorities.

An extended Certificate of Good Conduct must be applied for if a person is considered for a job with children or young people. Such a certificate contains convictions that do not appear on the basic certificate of good conduct because they need to reach the minimum level. These convictions usually concern sexual offences.  

There are time limits after which convictions are no longer listed in the certificate of good conduct. However, this does not mean they have also been deleted from the Federal Central Criminal Register. These time limits can be found in section 34 of the Act on the Central Criminal Register and the Educative Measures Register (BZRG).

In particular, entries relating to fines and custodial sentences of less than 3 months are no longer included in a certificate of good conduct after 3 years. Suspended sentences of more than one year and prison sentences of 3 months or more without probation are disregarded after 5 years. After 10 years, custodial sentences of at least 1 year that were imposed for a sexual offence are left out. Life sentences, however, are never deleted. 

The Federal Central Criminal Register is not the sole database that stores information about criminal convictions. INPOL is the German police information system and has been used since the 1970s. It is an integrated system which allows the German police to update records efficiently and quickly. Once the information has been placed on INPOL, it is available to local police authorities, customs officials and the federal police. These authorities can check whether an individual has a criminal record in Germany, whether the German police want them, what suspected offence they are sought for, and whether they are a recognised gang member.

This mechanism is designed to aid the police forces with investigation work. However, the amount of personal data used means the system must be regularly updated. Data protection laws require the deletion of data after a certain period of time. Under German Law (§ 84 BKAG), individuals have the right to check the INPOL system to find out about the police’s data about them. Please consult with us to request what information and data concerning you is to be found in the INPOL System.

For our lawyers to work on your behalf to check the INPOL system for you, you as the data subject must give us formal written permission to do so. The information provided by INPOL is sensitive, and therefore they have a responsibility to ensure that the personal data is dealt with responsibly. They will only provide this information to the data subject, or those formally acting on that person’s behalf. Therefore, it needs to be shown that we, as your lawyers are acting on your behalf. For our lawyers to represent you, we will need the following:

• an informal request for information,
• a current power of attorney stating the request and signed by the data subject. This will show that we are acting on your behalf,
• legal copies of a valid identity document.

Once we have these documents, we will be able to access your data, and together we can find out whether you have a criminal record preventing your stay in Germany. Consult with us today, and we can outline our processes in this regard. We will ensure that your data is safe and that we will only act in the manner stated by you.

The Schengen Information System works similarly to the INPOL German system but extends to most European countries. The SIS allows police forces around Europe to cooperate and share information, aiming to make Europe safer. It is a search file in which police forces can enter alerts on particular individuals and objects relating to criminal activity. The alert issued will inform authorities across Europe how to act should they find the individual in question. In practice, having an alert attached to your name can result in you not being issued a Schengen Zone visa. 

As the SIS is a standard search file, the investigation and case data are not stored. In other words, the criminal file of the suspect is not stored. However, instructions concerning the arrest and freezing of the evidence are kept. Additional information concerning a suspect can be shared by SIS when there has been a hit on the system. 

Individuals whose data is processed in the SIS have the right of access to personal data about them stored in the SIS and the right of correction or deletion of this data. Our full-service law firm offers to undertake communication with the competent authorities. For non-European citizens, it is vital to check this system when planning a trip to the Schengen Zone, including Germany. With your express permission, our lawyers can act on your behalf in this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly using the contact form below to find out more about how we can assist you.

The different ways a criminal record can be viewed in Germany and when entries can be deleted are rather complex. For individuals who fear an entry into their criminal record or incorrect data in INPOL or the SIS, this can represent an uncertain and particularly intense burden. Our German criminal defence lawyers at Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte are very familiar with the mechanisms of the criminal record in Germany as well as INPOL and the SIS and can advise clients in detail as to the risk of their convictions or data being accessible.