Criminal Record Clearing and Procedures
A criminal record is an official document that contains information about a person’s previous crimes and sentences. This document can be requested by public institutions, the private sector and in international travels for various purposes.
Cleaning a Criminal Record
In some cases, it is possible to delete the information in the criminal record or to record it in the archive. This is known as clearing a criminal record. There are certain conditions for a criminal record to be cleared:
Completion of the execution of the sentence: All sentences such as imprisonment, fines and judicial fines must be served.
End of security measures: Security measures such as the supervision period, prohibition and not going abroad must have ended.
Expiration of the statute of limitations: There is a certain statute of limitations for some crimes. After this period has expired, the criminal record can be erased.
General amnesty: Criminal records are erased for crimes that fall within the scope of general amnesty.
Effective repentance: Criminal records can be erased for certain crimes within the framework of effective repentance provisions.
Withdrawal of complaint: In crimes subject to special complaint, the criminal record can be erased if the complainant withdraws his/her complaint.
Cleaning of Criminal Records
The following steps must be followed to clear the criminal record:
Application to the competent authority: The request for clearance must be made in writing to the General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics or the authorized criminal courts of peace.
Submission of necessary documents: Necessary documents such as application petition, copy of population, criminal record record, execution certificate, document indicating the end of security measures must be submitted.
Review and evaluation: The application and documents are examined and evaluated by the competent authorities.
Decision making: In case the request for clearance is accepted or rejected, the decision is notified to the applicant.
Criminal Record Archive Record
In some cases, information in the criminal record cannot be deleted, but can be archived. Information recorded in the archive record can only be requested by public institutions in certain cases.
Things to Consider Regarding Criminal Record Clearing
Each crime and each situation is evaluated differently for the purpose of clearing the criminal record.
It would be beneficial to get legal assistance from a lawyer for the clearing process.
There is no guarantee that the criminal record will be cleared. The application may be rejected by the authorized authorities.
