The German certificate of conduct (Führungszeugnis)

The consulate does not issue this. The Federal Office of Justice does, and any US notary public can notarize your signature on the application.

The Führungszeugnis is the German police clearance certificate, and it is one of the procedures where a consulate appointment buys you nothing. All German police records sit in a single federal register, and the office that keeps it takes applications directly.

Where it comes from

Every German police record is held in the Federal Central Criminal Register, the Bundeszentralregister.

The Federal Office of Justice issues certificates from it, and publishes both the information and the application form in English.

You send the application to them. No German mission in the United States issues this document.

The only step that needs a witness

Your signature on the application has to be certified, and here is the useful part: any US notary public can do it.

A German mission can certify it too, but there is no advantage in travelling for something a notary two blocks away can do for a few dollars.

This is the clearest example on the whole site of a procedure that people assume needs a consulate and does not.

What kind of certificate to ask for

There is more than one type, and employers usually specify. The extended certificate is required for work with children and young people.

If the certificate has to go to a German authority rather than to you, say so on the form: it changes where it is sent.

Allow several weeks by international post in each direction.

Who does what

Step	Who
Issues the certificate	Federal Office of Justice, Bonn
Holds the underlying records	Federal Central Criminal Register
Certifies your signature	Any US notary public
Role of the German consulate	None required

Which case applies to you

My employer wants a German police check

Apply to the Federal Office of Justice directly. Ask the employer whether they need the ordinary or the extended certificate before you send it.

I was told to go to the consulate

That advice is out of date. The signature can be notarized by any US notary public and the application goes to Bonn.

It has to go to a German court

Say so on the application. Certificates for an authority are sent to that authority rather than to the applicant.

I have never lived in Germany

You can still apply, and the certificate will simply show no entries. That is often exactly what the employer wants to see.

Any US notary public can notarize the form. This procedure does not need a consulate appointment at all.

What to have ready

The application form from the Federal Office of Justice
Your signature, notarized by any US notary public
A copy of your passport or ID card
The German address you last lived at, if you ever did
The name and address of the authority, if it is going to one

All procedures

Fees and requirements