Why is a criminal record certificate required when applying for a job?

Legislative restrictions on hiring with a criminal record

Persons with a criminal record are not allowed to work (serve), in particular:

• in the field of pedagogy, upbringing and education (Article 331 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• in the field of child and youth development and sports (Article 351.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• in the field of medical care and social protection of children (Article 351.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• in the field of culture and art with the participation of children (Article 351.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation (Article 14 of the Law “On Service in the Internal Affairs Bodies” dated November 30, 2011 No. 342-FZ);
• in the FSB of the Russian Federation (Article 16 of the Law “On the FSB” dated 04/03/1995 No. 40-FZ);
• in the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation (the restriction is contained in instructions for admission to service);
• in customs authorities (Article 7 of the Law “On Service in Customs Authorities” dated July 21, 1997 No. 114-FZ);
• in the judicial authorities (Article 4 of the Law “On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation” of the Russian Federation dated June 26, 1992 No. 3132-1.);
• “On the prosecutor’s office (Article 40.1 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office” dated January 17, 1992 No. 2202-1);
• in aviation (clause 3 of article 52 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation);
• in the field of clearing (Article 6 of the Law “On Clearing” dated 02/07/2011 No. 7-FZ);
• in ensuring the safety of the fuel and energy complex, transport security (requirements are established by the relevant federal laws).

It should also be borne in mind the effect of the norm common to all government departments established by sub. 2 p. 1 art. 16 of the Law of July 27, 2004 No. 79-FZ. According to this norm, a person cannot be accepted into the civil service (be in the civil service) if he is sentenced to a punishment that excludes the possibility of performing duties in a civil service position, or if he has a criminal record that has not been expunged or expunged.

Certificate of presence/absence of criminal record

It will be required when applying for a job (service) where there are restrictions on this aspect. Information about criminal records is stored in local State Information Centers and State Information Centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. They can be obtained legally only at the request of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, for the necessary certificate, you should contact the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation at your place of residence.

The procedure for issuing a certificate of the presence/absence of a criminal record is established by the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 29, 2019 No. 660. The service is free.

NOTE! If the employer does not request a certificate in a mandatory case, then its absence will be regarded as a violation of labor legislation. Incurs liability under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Although in practice sanctions for such violations are rarely imposed.

For more information about personnel documents and the mandatory availability of them, read the article “Personnel documents that must be in the organization.”

Does a criminal record certificate have an expiration date? Sign up for a free trial access to ConsultantPlus and find out the expert’s answer to this question.

Responsibility for illegal employment of convicted persons

A criminal background check when applying for a job is the responsibility of the employer. For failure to fulfill this obligation and illegal employment of convicted persons, the employer may be held accountable.

Judicial practice confirms the obligation of employers to check applicants for criminal records. For example, the Arbitration Court of the West Siberian District, in its resolution dated February 22, 2018 No. F04-210/2018, held the employer responsible for allowing persons to work in the field of transport security whose criminal records he did not have at the time of concluding the employment contract.

The individual entrepreneur was fined 30,000 rubles under Part 1 of Art. 11.15.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for admission to the position of an employee responsible for compliance with transport safety who has an outstanding criminal record. Such employment is expressly prohibited by clause 1, part 1, art. 10 of the Federal Law of 02/09/2007 No. 16-FZ “On Transport Security”. The individual entrepreneur, when hiring the citizen, did not know about his criminal record.

According to the court, the employer must have reliable information that the person hired does not have an outstanding conviction for committing an intentional crime. To do this, he must request from the employee a certificate of no criminal record (paragraph 7, part 1, article 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The absence of such information by the employer does not relieve him of liability provided for by law.

Thus, an employer can and should require a certificate of no criminal record from a potential employee in cases where it is impossible to allow a person with a criminal record to work.

Expunged criminal record and expunged criminal record

Expunged criminal record is a situation when the sentence or probation period for a suspended sentence has expired. The deadlines are established by Art. 86 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

An expunged criminal record is a criminal record that is annulled by a separate court decision (as if it did not exist).

According to the law, both expungement and expungement of a criminal record must cancel all consequences associated with it. That is, the convicted person must be returned in full all his rights, limited by punishment.

Hence, there is a practice of removing information about a criminal record from the databases of the Ministry of Internal Affairs through a special court decision.

How and where to get

Currently, the required certificate of no criminal record is ordered in three ways:

• by contacting the territorial internal affairs body or the information center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• using the unified portal of public services;
• by contacting the MFC - a multifunctional center for the provision of state and municipal services.

ConsultantPlus experts discussed how to draw up a power of attorney for an individual to obtain a certificate of no criminal record. Use these instructions for free.

The fastest way is remote interaction through a single portal of government services. The choice of the method of applying for the service does not affect the validity of the certificate of no criminal record; in all cases, the document has equal legal force. To obtain a certificate you must provide the following documents:

1. Application (filled out according to the form of a government agency).
2. Copies of pages of an identity document (passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a foreign citizen).
3. Power of attorney (if a representative applies for receipt, the power of attorney directly states the right to receive a criminal record certificate and sign documents related to this).

You can prepare your application yourself. Its form is established by Appendix 1 to Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 27, 2022 No. 660. Filling out is allowed by typewriting or handwriting. Application form:

Depending on the circumstances of the case, additional documents will be required. For example, confirmation of kinship, the fact of guardianship and guardianship - when applying in relation to a minor or person under guardianship. There is no state fee for the provision of services. The provision of public services is refused if the necessary documents are not provided or the application is filled out incorrectly. The Regulations do not provide for the possibility of suspending the preparation of information. Depending on the method of application, the time for registering documents varies. When sending documents through the Federal State Institution “GIAC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia”, registration is carried out within 15 minutes, when applying through the public services portal - from the moment the information is transmitted on the day of receipt. Upon completion of the necessary actions, the applicant is issued a receipt of acceptance and the date of receipt of the result of the service.

Having a criminal record when applying for a job

With the exception of specially provided cases, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not give the employer the right to refuse to hire an applicant with an expunged criminal record. The provisions of Art. 3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in the part that gives the employer certain choices when hiring employees. That is, it is impossible to refuse an applicant directly on the basis of a criminal record, unless this is specifically approved by law. But it is possible to refuse on the basis that another applicant was preferred for a certain job.

An employer may ask for a certificate about the applicant’s relationship with the law in cases where the work will involve:

• with a leadership position;
• with financial responsibility;

Find out more about financial responsibility from the publication “Order on the financial responsibility of an employee - sample 2021”.

• with special clearances and permits (for example, with possession and carrying of weapons, with confidential information);
• with high professional responsibility (for example, in medicine).

NOTE! In normal cases, the employer may specifically ask for a certificate. You can only require the documents listed in Art. 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in the stipulated art. 65 cases.

Contents of a criminal record certificate if a person’s criminal record has been expunged

• if the punishment is not related to an actual prison term, then 1 year;
• when committing a crime of light or moderate gravity - 3 years;
• when punished for a serious act - 8 years;
• for a particularly serious crime – 10 years.

The document on criminal record (non-conviction) has a prescribed form. And it may reflect the presence of punishment for a criminal offense. The certificate is prepared as follows:

1. First, the “document header” is indicated, which contains information about the document number and the applicant’s address.
2. Then write the name of the authority that issues the document.
3. Full name of the applicant.
4. Date of Birth.
5. The presence or absence of criminal punishment. For example, Nikiforov T.P. was convicted 10 years ago (2008) under Art. 228, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
6. Date and signature of the person who issued the certificate.

Any citizen who has received a sentence for a crime worries about having a criminal record. This is really a problem, as it interferes with living fully. Therefore, it is important what will be written on the criminal record certificate if it is cancelled.

After all, such documents are often required by employers, consulates, etc. An information center employee is required to write down all available information, even if we are talking about an expunged criminal record. Where can I get a certificate of expungement of a criminal record in Yekaterinburg? But then it must necessarily reflect the fact that, according to the law, the applicant’s criminal record has been cleared.

Results

A certificate of the presence/absence of a criminal record may be required when applying for a job in areas where special requirements are placed on the moral and psychological qualities of workers. Having a criminal record in the past is seen as a negative aspect. All cases are established by law.

The certificate may also be additionally requested in other cases when the employer makes a decision on hiring.
In such cases, it is impossible to refuse an applicant solely on the basis of failure to provide a certificate or having an expunged criminal record. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

How much is valid

The legislation provides for certain cases in which obtaining a document is necessary, but the rules of law do not explain how long a certificate of good conduct is valid. Most often, confirmation of the absence of problems with the law is required when applying for a job. For many professions, such a restriction in relation to convicted citizens is directly established by law. For example, in accordance with Art. 331 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, persons who have or have had a criminal record for committing a number of crimes are not allowed to engage in teaching activities. But the expiration date of a certificate of no criminal record during employment is decided by the employer himself. Many organizations even stipulate this issue in local regulations. In practice, the validity period of a criminal record certificate for teachers is set by the employer for up to three months. The employer has the right to independently establish the period during which the document is recognized as valid. This provision is enshrined in local regulations. This right is granted to the employer on the basis of Art. 8 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. For this purpose, a separate provision is adopted defining the validity of the police clearance certificate and the period during which it is valid. Persons eligible to receive the document include citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons. The document preparation period is no more than 30 calendar days. It is calculated from the moment of contacting a government agency or an authorized person. In special cases, the period is extended by 30 calendar days. The applicant is notified of this.