By the Sevetu team
On this page
Why bother, and when it matters most
Police verification is the one check on a domestic worker that a household cannot do itself and does not have to pay a private company for. It confirms identity and address against police records and flags a criminal record on file. It is free or nearly free everywhere in India, and almost nobody does it, because the form is hard to find.
Do it for anyone who will live in your home, anyone who will be alone with a child or an elderly parent, and anyone who will drive your car. For a part-time maid who comes for an hour a day it is still worth it, but those three roles are where the cost of skipping it is highest.
One rule throughout: the worker's original documents stay with the worker. You file the form with copies. An employer or agent who holds a worker's Aadhaar card is the oldest abuse in this industry, and a police verification does not need it.
What it checks, and what it cannot
It checks
That the person exists under that name at that address, and whether the police in that jurisdiction hold a criminal record against them. Where the permanent address is in another state, the form is forwarded there, which is why it can take weeks.
It cannot tell you
Whether she is good with children, honest with money, or likely to stay. Nor does it reach records that were never filed. It is a floor under your hiring, not a substitute for meeting, references and a paid trial.
Keep the paper
Whatever the city issues (an acknowledgement, a receipt number, a certificate), keep it with the work agreement. If you ever need to go to the police about the same person, that record is what makes them act quickly.
The official route in each city
Every link below goes to the police force itself. All ten were opened and checked on 9 September 2026; the Mumbai and Gurugram pages were read in full.1 Government pages move; if one does, search the force's own site for the service named.
Bangalore: Karnataka State Police
Route: the Police Verification Certificate for domestic servants and housekeeping.
Karnataka runs this as a fully online service: you apply with an OTP, upload the documents, and the digitally signed certificate is delivered by email. It is also available through Seva Sindhu and KarnatakaOne.
Karnataka State Police official portal → · Hiring in Bangalore
Delhi: Delhi Police
Route: Domestic Help Registration, on the Delhi Police Citizen Services portal.
Delhi Police accepts domestic help registration through its citizen services portal and does not charge a fee for it.
Mumbai: Mumbai Police
Route: the online Domestic Servant Intimation form.
The Mumbai Police form asks for the helper's photograph, an identity proof such as Aadhaar, a driving licence, PAN, voter ID or passport, a residential proof, and the employer's own name, contact number and address.
Hyderabad: Telangana Police
Route: the i-Verify police verification service.
Telangana Police runs an online police verification and clearance service for citizens and employers, and Hyderabad City Police separately captures domestic-help details through its Hawk Eye app.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Police
Route: Domestic Help verification, on the Tamil Nadu Police eServices portal.
Tamil Nadu Police lets you start a domestic help verification online without visiting a station first: you enter your mobile number, verify the OTP, fill in the employer details and upload a government photo ID.
Pune: Maharashtra Police
Route: Domestic Help Verification, on the Maharashtra Police Citizen Portal.
You create a citizen account on the Maharashtra Police portal, choose Domestic Help Verification, enter the helper's and the employer's details, upload a photograph and ID documents, and pay the processing fee.
Gurgaon: Gurugram Police
Route: Tenant / Servant / Vendor Verification.
Gurugram Police offers two routes: download and submit the form at your police station with a copy to your RWA president, or file it online through the Haryana citizen portal linked from that page.
Kolkata: Kolkata Police
Route: the Domestic Help profile form, through the Bondhu citizen portal and app.
Kolkata Police publishes a Domestic Help Profile Form and also collects the same details through the Bondhu Kolkata Police citizen app.
Noida: Uttar Pradesh Police
Route: employee and tenant verification, through the UPCOP app and the UP Police citizen portal.
Gautam Buddh Nagar households can file employee and tenant verification online through UP Police citizen services, without a station visit unless the case is flagged.
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Police
Route: servant and employee verification, on the Gujarat Police Citizen Portal.
The Gujarat Police citizen portal takes servant, employee and tenant verification applications online, with the helper's photograph and identity proof uploaded to the form.
What you will need
- A passport-size photograph of the worker
- Copy of an identity proof (Aadhaar, voter ID, driving licence)
- Permanent address, with a proof if the form asks
- Current local address and phone number
- Your own name, address and contact as employer
- A local reference or previous employer, on some forms
The Mumbai form is a fair guide to what any city will ask: the worker's photograph, an identity proof, native and current address, and the employer's details.2 File it in the first week, not after the first problem. Give the worker a copy of what you submitted; it protects her as much as you, because a registered worker with a clean record is the one a future employer trusts.
How this differs from Sevetu's Verified badge
A Verified badge on a Sevetu profile means the person completed an identity (KYC) check against Aadhaar or another government ID inside the app. It answers one question: is this person who they say they are? It does not check police records, addresses, references or qualifications, and we will never describe it as if it did.
Police verification answers the next question, and only you can file it, because you are the employer. Use both. What Sevetu does and does not check →
Questions people ask
Rules vary by state and city, and several police forces (Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram among them) formally ask households to register domestic help and tenants. In practice it is rarely enforced against households, but it is free or nearly free, and for a live-in worker, childcare or a driver it is worth doing.
Identity, current and permanent address, and whether the person has a criminal record on file with the police in that jurisdiction. It is a record check, not a character reference, and it does not reach records held by police in another state unless that force checks there.
Usually a passport-size photograph of the worker, an identity proof such as Aadhaar or voter ID, a permanent address proof, and your own name and address as the employer. Some forms also ask for a local reference or the name of the village sarpanch. Each city's form lists exactly what it needs.
Anything from a few days to several weeks, depending on the city and whether the permanent address is in another state. Online applications are faster to file; the verification behind them still depends on a local police station.
No. Sevetu runs an identity (KYC) check against Aadhaar or a government ID, which confirms who a person is and gives the profile a Verified badge. It is not a police, criminal-background or address check, and we never describe it as one. The routes on this page are how you do that part yourself.
Private background-check companies sell a service that combines identity, address and a court-record search. It can be useful and faster, but it is not a police verification, and "police verified" on an agency brochure is not the same as a certificate from the police in your hand.
Ask why before assuming the worst. Many workers have had documents held by past employers or agents and are wary. Explain that the form is filed by you, that you will keep copies, and that the original documents stay with her. A worker who still refuses is telling you something; so is an employer who demands the originals.
No. A police record check tells you the person has no record on file. Meeting in person, speaking to one previous family and doing a paid trial tell you whether she is right for your home. Do all three.
Sources
- The ten official portals linked in the city cards above: Karnataka State Police, Delhi Police, Mumbai Police, Telangana Police, Tamil Nadu Police, Maharashtra Police, Gurugram Police, Kolkata Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and Gujarat Police. Each returned HTTP 200 on 9 September 2026.
- Mumbai Police, Domestic Servant Intimation online form, fields as displayed on 28 September 2026. mumbaipolice.gov.in
Written by the Sevetu teamSevetu is a hiring marketplace for household work in India, operated by Fiel Private Limited. These guides come from the questions families and workers ask us. Nothing here is sponsored, and where a number has no defensible source we say so instead of inventing one. About Sevetu
