NZ Police Vetting Service
Police vetting helps authorised agencies assess an individual’s suitability for a particular role, contributing to public safety and national security. This service is provided by New Zealand Police through the Police Vetting Service (PVS).
An agency wishing to request a Police vet must first be assessed and authorised - based on the nature, functions, activities, and any legal requirements, of the agency. Once authorised, agencies can request a Police vet for a named individual, provided the request meets the criteria outlined below. The Police vet may disclose certain information (if any) held by Police about the individual.
Police vetting criteria
Vetting is provided to authorised agencies who are considering employing or engaging individuals in roles that relate to:
- the care and safety of children, young persons, or other vulnerable persons
- the education of children and young persons
- law enforcement
- national security
- New Zealand citizenship/visa
To check that you meet the above criteria, refer to our registration page.
General Notices
Current Vetting Processing Time: As of the 30th of August 2026, the Police Vetting Service is processing 61.8% of all vetting requests within 20 working days, and 94.3% of all vetting requests within 25 working days.
Contact: If you need to contact the Vetting Service, please email us at queryme@police.govt.nz.
New Zealand Vetting
The Police Vetting Service is currently experiencing very high levels of demand. This combined with high levels of unplanned leave due to seasonal illness has unfortunately meant that we are currently unable to maintain our 20-workng-day service level across all our services. We sincerely apologise for this disruption to our normal service levels. Our team is working hard to bring processing times back to within service level, but at this time we do not have a specific date for when this will be achieved.
Please note that our system is able to automate the processing of approximately 15% of all vetting requests that we receive. This means that the vetting reports for some requests will be released on the same day that the requests are submitted.
Australian Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks
The National Police Checking Service is currently experiencing delays in the processing of Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks. Applicants and employers can still submit checks through New Zealand Police Vetting Service however some check results may be delayed. Please note a delayed check result is not an indicator an applicant has any criminal history to be disclosed. Further information is available at www.acic.gov.au/services/national-police-checking-service
New vetting agency?
Already an authorised agency?
* If this is your first time accessing the Vetting Service, you will need to login with RealMe, then enter a Police ID and Activation code which was emailed to you by the Police Vetting team.
Important:
Responsibility of the authorised agency. Any decision regarding a vetting subject's suitability for a position is the responsibility of the authorised agency. The vetting service does not make a recommendation or decision regarding someone’s suitability for a position. A Police vetting result is a point-in-time check that should form one part of any process for determining a vetting subject's suitability for any professional registration, appointment, employment, or visa.
A Police vet is not a National Security Clearance. For information about obtaining a National Security Clearance, refer to the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS).
The Vetting Bill provides a statutory framework for the Police Vetting Service. For more on this, refer to Legislation and useful links.
Please note - organisations that do not meet our criteria and individuals wishing to obtain their own Conviction History report can request a Criminal Record Check from the Ministry of Justice.
Things we do
- We process vetting requests submitted by authorised agencies.
- We process vetting requests that we agree are required as part of a Children’s Worker Safety Check under the Children's Act 2014.
- We process requests for visas to selected countries.
- We release information to an authorised agency that is relevant to the purpose of the vetting request and has a degree of substantiation.
- We help authorised agencies submit an Australian Criminal History Check (Australian criminal checks will incur a fee.)
Things we don't do
- We don’t process vetting requests from individuals (Ministry of Justice).
- We don’t issue ‘Police Clearance certificates’. We do not have Police Certificate Clearance in New Zealand.
- We don’t make recommendations on the suitability of an individual for employment. (Our role is to provide relevant information to an agency to allow them to make an informed decision.)
- We don’t accept paper copies of forms. Vetting requests must be done online.