How to Cancel a Police Record in Guatemala (2026)

This page is about cancelling (clearing) an entry on your Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) police record. If you only need the certificate itself, use our police background check guide. The Ministry of the Interior (MINGOB) describes cancellation as a separate procedure. You file a paper dossier with the PNC’s Gabinete Criminalístico (Criminalistics Bureau). MINGOB also calls this process limpieza (clearing).

Everything below comes from MINGOB’s police-records page and the PNC homepage, both checked on 15 October 2026. Where those sources are silent, we say so.

Quick summary

Who this procedure is for

MINGOB built its cancellation instructions around a person whose case has ended. The central document is a court certificate that describes the “resolución final de su situación jurídica” (the final resolution of your legal situation). MINGOB also covers offenses that have prescribed, meaning they are time-barred.

The PNC homepage lists cancellation together with the correction of homónimos (namesakes), under the label Cancelación de Antecedentes Policiales y corrección de homónimos. That is the case where a certificate shows a record that belongs to someone with your name.

MINGOB does not publish a complete list of who qualifies. If your situation does not fit either case, ask the Gabinete Criminalístico before you build the dossier.

Step 1: Update your personal details

MINGOB tells you to update your details before you request the police-record slip. Its wording is “Actualizar datos personales, antes de solicitar la boleta de antecedentes policiales”. The stated purpose is “para descartar otros antecedentes o nombres con homónimos”, which means ruling out other records or namesakes.

MINGOB says this update happens at the Gabinete itself: “La actualización y entrega de expedientes será en Sede del Gabinete Criminalistico”. That is the same office where you later deliver the dossier.

Step 2: Write the application

MINGOB says the application must be addressed to the “Jefe del Gabinete Criminalístico de la Policia Nacional Civil”. It can be “firmada por el interesado o por un Notario”, so either you or a notary signs it. It must include your “dirección exacta de su residencia y número de teléfono”, meaning your exact home address and phone number.

Step 3: Gather the attachments

MINGOB lists these attachments to the application, in this order:

On the court certificate, MINGOB’s wording is precise. It must be issued by the “Juzgado que tuvo conocimiento del caso”, the court that handled your case. It must describe the final resolution and confirm “que no existan recursos y notificaciones pendientes”, meaning there are no pending appeals or notifications.

MINGOB’s exception is: “si el delito ha prescrito, no es necesario presentar la certificación emitida por el Juzgado”. In other words, a prescribed offense does not need the court certificate.

For the record slips, see our guides to the police certificate and the criminal record certificate. For the difference between the two, see penales vs. policiacos.

Step 4: Assemble and deliver the folder

MINGOB asks for a folder with “documentos originales y duplicados”, so originals plus duplicates. It must use a “fastener en buen estado” (a fastener in good condition). The pages must be “perforados y colocados en el orden descrito en paso No. 02”, meaning punched and arranged in the order MINGOB gives in its step 2.

Deliver the folder at the Gabinete Criminalístico headquarters. MINGOB gives the address as “19 avenida 11-00 zona 06, ciudad capital”.

Cost, hours and contact

• Cost: MINGOB says the procedure is “totalmente GRATUITO” (entirely free).
• Hours: MINGOB says public service runs “de 08:00 a 17:00 horas de los 365 días del año”.
• Phone: MINGOB lists mobile number 3049 0140.

What MINGOB does not publish

We looked for the following and did not find it in MINGOB’s or the PNC’s published material:

• Processing time. MINGOB gives opening hours, not how long a decision takes. For certificate turnaround (not cancellation), see how long background records take.
• Legal basis. MINGOB’s instructions do not name the decree or article that governs cancellation.
• Full eligibility rules. Only the final-resolution and prescription cases are described.
• The result. MINGOB does not describe what document you receive or how you collect it. One way to check the outcome yourself is to request a new police certificate afterwards. That is our suggestion, not an official step.
• Reversal. We found no procedure for reinstating or reversing a cancellation.
• Working online form. The PNC homepage links to a Google form, which returned an access error (HTTP 403) when we checked it on 15 October 2026. An older MINGOB announcement about the Gabinete taking over cancellations returned “Contenido no disponible o movido de lugar” (not found).

Cancelling from abroad

MINGOB publishes an overseas route for requesting the certificate. It does not establish one for cancellation. We found no consulate or power-of-attorney (mandato) procedure for filing the dossier from outside Guatemala.

If you live outside Guatemala, contact the Gabinete Criminalístico (mobile 3049 0140, per MINGOB) before you plan your filing.

For certificates from the US, see Guatemala background records from the USA. For foreign use of a certificate, see apostille of background records.

Related guides

• Police background check (antecedentes policiacos)
• Criminal record certificate (antecedentes penales)
• Antecedentes penales vs. policiacos
• PNC hub

Sources: MINGOB, mingob.gob.gt/antecedentes-policiales-en-linea-sede-central-y-comisarias/ (fetched 15 Oct 2026); PNC, pnc.gob.gt (fetched 15 Oct 2026).