In short. SKCK (Surat Keterangan Catatan Kepolisian) is an Indonesian police certificate on whether a person has any offence records. From 20 May 2026 it is issued under police regulation No. 1 of 2026, and the previous regulation No. 6 of 2023 is repealed. A foreigner applies on their own in the police digital services app, and the photo must be on a yellow background. The certificate is valid for 6 months and is issued for one purpose and one country, in Indonesian and English. The applicant must be insured in BPJS Kesehatan, except foreigners who live in Indonesia and do not work or work less than six months. The finished certificate is printed from the app or collected at the nearest police station.
What SKCK is and when it is asked for. Article 3 of the regulation lists the purposes for which the certificate is issued: getting a job, study, a visa, a change of citizenship, naturalisation, a permanent or temporary residence permit (KITAP or KITAS) and others. Whether you need an SKCK and for which country is decided by the organisation that asks for it: an employer, immigration, an educational institution or another country's embassy.
What changed in 2026. Police regulation No. 1 of 2026 was signed on 19 May and came into force on 20 May, and article 20 repealed regulation No. 6 of 2023. The main change: issuing is electronic by default, through the police app (article 4). You go to the station only to collect the certificate if a paper one is more convenient. Manual filing at the counter is allowed only when the app is down and the police office has officially announced it (article 12). The new regulation has no extension: after half a year you submit a new application. If a 2024-2025 guide talks about a queue at the station, fingerprints or extending the certificate, it was written under the old regulation: check against what the app shows.
How to apply, step by step.
- Install the police digital services app and create an account. According to Hukumonline's analysis, this is the Polri Super App. Download it only from the official app stores.
- Open the SKCK section. Under article 5 it shows the cost, the list of documents, the processing times and the places where you can collect the certificate.
- Fill in the details: residential address, personal data from the passport, photo, purpose of the certificate, place and date of collection.
- The photo for a foreigner is on a yellow background. Indonesian citizens use a red background, so do not mix them up.
- Check the certificate in the preview window and confirm that the data are correct. Under article 8, false data bring liability under the law.
- Pay in the app by the chosen method.
- Print the certificate from the app or collect it at the nearest police station. A representative with a power of attorney can collect it, and the form of the power of attorney is attached to the regulation.
BPJS insurance. Article 2 requires the applicant to be an active member of the state health insurance (Jaminan Kesehatan, that is BPJS Kesehatan). Exceptions for foreigners: those who live in Indonesia and do not work, and those who work less than six months. The status is checked through data exchange with BPJS. With manual filing, proof is a screenshot of the membership status, a receipt for the contribution for the current month or another document under BPJS rules (article 14). Which foreigners must join BPJS is covered in a separate guide.
If the app does not work. Then the certificate is issued at the SKCK counter at a police station: an application in the form attached to the regulation, a check of documents, payment, a signature (articles 13-17). The minimum list of documents in article 14 is common to all applicants: of it, a foreigner needs the photo on a yellow background, a passport valid for at least six months if the certificate is needed to travel abroad, and proof of insurance. The paper application form has a separate field about a sponsor for foreigners: who the sponsor is, their address and phone.
How much it costs. The SKCK payment is part of the police tariffs under government regulation No. 76 of 2020. According to the explanation to its article 7, SKCK is among the services whose tariff can be reduced down to zero in special circumstances. The amount to pay is shown by the app in the SKCK section before you submit, as article 5 of the new regulation requires. Pay only in the app or at the station's cashier, as intermediaries have nothing to do with issuing an SKCK.
Our advice: order an SKCK when the task and the country are already known: the certificate is valid for half a year and is issued for one purpose. If the purpose changes, you need a new application. Whether you need an Indonesian SKCK, a certificate from your home country or both, ask the organisation that requires it.
If you need an SKCK for a visa or KITAS and do not want to handle the visa itself, message @buzz_visa.
What this means for you. A police clearance certificate in Indonesia is now arranged from your phone: the police app, a photo on a yellow background, payment there, printing from the app or at the nearest station. Before applying, check whether you are insured in BPJS if you work in Indonesia for half a year or more. The certificate lives for 6 months, so apply for it shortly before you need it.