Ecuador criminal record certificate for USCIS (free)

Many people in Ecuador still call it the récord policial, but the official name is the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales (criminal record certificate). It is issued by the Ministerio del Interior, Ecuador’s Ministry of the Interior, using National Police records. If a relative in Ecuador says they already have “the récord,” they almost always mean this certificate.

What the document looks like

The Ministerio del Interior issues it online only, as a PDF downloaded from its certificate portal. There is no paper version with an ink stamp and no counter that prints it. It shows:

• The holder’s full name, as recorded in Ecuador’s identity database.
• The national ID number (cédula), or the passport number for foreign nationals.
• The result of the search, stating whether the person has a criminal record.
• An expiration date, printed in the lower left corner.
• An institutional electronic signature, which is what makes it valid.

The certificate is free. According to the official procedure page on gob.ec, it is valid for 3 months from the date of issue.

The Ecuador-specific catch: the electronic signature lives in the PDF

The electronic signature can be checked in the digital file. Once the page is printed and scanned, the signature becomes just another image. That is why we work from the original PDF downloaded from the portal whenever possible.

The second point is validity, which depends on the process. In Ecuador the certificate is valid for 3 months, but the State Department Reciprocity Schedule says it’s accepted for two years in the immigrant visa process. For anything else, check the date in the lower left corner before you order the translation.

The third point is the “Posee Antecedentes” box. According to the State Department, if it says “SI” (yes), you bring the complete court records to the consular interview, with an English translation. A lawyer requests those records from each criminal or civil court. The certificate also leaves out pending cases; it only shows cases with a sentence.

The fourth point is names. The certificate copies the data exactly as it is recorded in Ecuador. Sometimes that doesn’t match your U.S. passport or your USCIS form. For example:

• Passport: “Ana Lucía Guamán Quishpe.”
• Certificate: “ANA LUCIA GUAMAN QUISHPE,” in capital letters with no accent marks.
• Form: “Ana Guaman,” with no middle name and no second surname.

Our translation keeps the name exactly as the certificate shows it. If it differs from your other documents, explain the difference in your filing or ask your attorney. The translation mirrors the original; it doesn’t correct it.

How to get it from the United States

Because the process is online, you don’t need to travel or appoint someone in Ecuador. The steps on certificados.ministeriodelinterior.gob.ec are:

• Accept the terms and conditions.
• Enter your cédula number without hyphens. Foreign nationals choose passport, then the country and number.
• Type the reason for the request, at least ten characters long.
• Download the certificate as a PDF.

If you are a foreign national and the portal says “person not found,” your passport isn’t registered in Ecuador’s migration system. The Ministerio del Interior says that registration happens at Ecuador’s migration offices. For questions, the official email for this service is [email protected].

If the certificate is also going to another country

Ecuador is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. If the certificate is going to Spain or another member country, it is usually apostilled before it is translated. You handle that step yourself with Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry (Cancillería), which offers an online electronic apostille for public documents that carry an electronic signature, like this one.

The apostille is delivered digitally with a QR verification code. Fidelis doesn’t handle apostilles. We translate the certificate once it is apostilled, and we translate the apostille along with it.

For USCIS, check which documents your form asks for. For consular processing, the State Department Reciprocity Schedule for Ecuador says to send a copy of the certificate to the National Visa Center (NVC). The certificate is only issued to people 18 and older.

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Official source

Review the applicable federal requirement directly at 8 CFR § 103.2(b)(3) on eCFR .

Fidelis Certified Translations is an independent translation service and is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by USCIS or any U.S. government agency. Final acceptance of any document rests solely with the receiving agency or institution.