No. In South Africa a charge on its own does not create a criminal record. A criminal record is created only once a court convicts you, whether by a guilty plea or a verdict of guilty after trial. A withdrawn charge, an acquittal, or a case that never reaches court is not a conviction and cannot lawfully be held against you as one.
There is a practical catch, however. If you were arrested and fingerprinted, the fingerprints and the case details stay on the South African Police Service (SAPS) Criminal Record Centre database. Until the entry is updated to show the outcome, a police clearance certificate can reflect a pending or unresolved case, which sometimes causes problems with employers, visa applications, and background checks.
This article explains how a criminal record is actually created, what happens to your fingerprints when a charge falls away, what a police clearance shows, and how to correct an entry that should no longer be there.
How a Criminal Record Is Created
A criminal record is not created at the police station. It is created at sentencing. When a court finds you guilty, or accepts a guilty plea, the conviction is sent to the SAPS Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria and linked to your fingerprints on the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). From that point, the conviction appears on your criminal record.
Previous convictions matter at sentencing under the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, and serious previous convictions can be proved at trial. That is the record the law cares about, and only a court can create it.
What Happens When There Is No Conviction
Charges can end without a conviction in several ways, and none of them leaves a conviction on your record:
- the prosecution withdraws the charge;
- the prosecution declines to prosecute (a nolle prosequi decision);
- the court acquits you after trial; or
- the charge is diverted, as happens with children and, in limited circumstances, adults in diversion programmes of a child or, in limited circumstances, an adult under diversion programmes.
In each of these situations you have not been convicted, so you can truthfully state that you have no criminal record. An employer or authority that treats a withdrawn charge as a conviction is acting on incomplete information.
But the fingerprint entry made at arrest does not delete itself. The Criminal Record Centre should be updated once the docket shows the final outcome, and in a perfect system that happens automatically. In practice it is often delayed, and a police clearance can come back showing a case as pending when it in fact ended months or years earlier.
What a Police Clearance Certificate Shows
A SAPS police clearance certificate reports your criminal record status based on fingerprints. What it can show includes:
| Outcome | What the database should show | Criminal record? |
|---|---|---|
| Conviction (guilty plea or verdict) | The offence and sentence | Yes |
| Charge withdrawn or not prosecuted | Case closed, no conviction | No |
| Acquittal after trial | Case closed, no conviction | No |
| Charge still before court | Pending case | No, but it may be flagged |
| Discharge with an acquittal (for example under section 174) | Acquittal, no conviction | No |
Pending cases are the grey area. A charge that is still before court is not a conviction, but it can appear on a clearance as unresolved, and some authorities treat that as a red flag until it is finalised.
How to Correct or Clear an Outdated Entry
If a case that ended in a withdrawal or acquittal still shows as pending, the fix is administrative rather than dramatic. You, or an attorney on your behalf, can write to the Criminal Record Centre with proof of the outcome, such as a withdrawal letter or acquittal record, and ask for the entry to be updated. The case number, the court, and the date of outcome should be included.
That process is different from expungement. Expungement under section 273B of the Criminal Procedure Act removes an actual conviction, usually minor offences after ten years have passed without further convictions. It does not apply to you if you were never convicted in the first place, because there is nothing to expunge.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Declaring a conviction you do not have. People sometimes tick the “criminal record” box on a job application because they were once charged. A withdrawn charge is not a conviction. Read the question carefully.
- Assuming the record updates itself. The Criminal Record Centre relies on the docket being finalised. Follow up, and keep the withdrawal letter or acquittal record indefinitely.
- Pleading guilty just to get it over with. A guilty plea, even with a light sentence such as a caution or a fine, creates a real conviction. It is a permanent decision and should never be rushed into for convenience.
- Confusing a pending case with a record. While a trial is running you have no conviction. But be aware that a pending case can surface on clearances until it is finalised.
- Applying for expungement when none is needed. Expungement exists for convictions. If your charge was withdrawn, you need a database correction, not an expungement application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a charge without a conviction go on your criminal record in South Africa?
No. A criminal record is created only when a court convicts you, by guilty plea or verdict. A charge that is withdrawn, not prosecuted, or ends in an acquittal is not a conviction and does not form part of your criminal record, although fingerprints taken at arrest remain on the SAPS database until the entry is updated.
Will a withdrawn charge show on a police clearance certificate?
It should not show as a conviction, but it can appear as a pending case if the Criminal Record Centre has not yet been updated with the outcome. You can ask the Centre, in writing and with proof of the withdrawal, to correct the entry before applying for the clearance.
Can an employer treat a withdrawn charge as a criminal record?
No. A withdrawn charge is not a conviction, and stating that you have no criminal record remains accurate. If a background check flags the old case, a withdrawal letter or letter from the prosecutor confirming the outcome usually resolves the query.
Do fingerprints get deleted after a withdrawal or acquittal?
Not automatically. Fingerprints taken at arrest remain on the SAPS Automated Fingerprint Identification System, but the case outcome should be updated to show there was no conviction. The record of arrest is not itself a criminal record.
Disclaimer. This article is general information about South African criminal records, not legal advice on a specific case. Clearance outcomes and database updates vary with the facts. Confirm your own position with the SAPS Criminal Record Centre or a criminal defence attorney before relying on it.