NBI Quality Control Interview After a HIT: What to Expect

The NBI’s quality control (QC) interview is a short identity check for applicants whose names got a HIT. It usually happens when you come back on the return date written on your receipt. An NBI officer confirms a few personal details to make sure you aren’t the person in the matching record, and sometimes asks you to sign a sworn statement saying so.

For most people it takes a few minutes and ends with the clearance being released. You don’t need a lawyer or a new appointment. Bring your claim stub, your IDs and, ideally, your PSA birth certificate.

Who goes through it	Applicants whose name matched a record (a HIT)
When	On the return date on your receipt, usually 5–10 working days after your first visit
Where	The branch where you applied, at the verification window or a separate interview area
How long	Usually a few minutes if the record belongs to someone else
Bring	Claim stub, two valid IDs, your PSA birth certificate, and court papers if the record might be yours
Cost	No NBI fee

We are not the NBI. This is an independent guide, not legal advice. If the record involves a real case against you, talk to a lawyer before your interview.

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What “for quality control” means

When your name gets a HIT, your application is set aside so a person can review the match. Quality control is that review. It’s the NBI’s way of making sure a clearance isn’t issued to someone with a record, and that someone without a record isn’t blamed for a namesake’s case. If you haven’t read it yet, our guide to what a HIT on your NBI clearance means explains why HITs happen.

Being sent to quality control isn’t an accusation. Most people who go through it simply share a name with someone in the records.

When and where the interview happens

You don’t book it. On your first visit, staff write or stamp a return date on your receipt, and that’s your appointment. Go back to the same branch on that date.

At smaller branches, the check usually happens at the verification or releasing window. Larger offices may call applicants with HITs into a separate area, sometimes in small groups. Either way, you’ll be called by name, so stay within earshot.

What the officer asks

The questions are about who you are, not about the case itself. Expect things like:

• Your full name, birth date and birthplace
• Your parents’ full names, including your mother’s maiden name
• Your current and past addresses
• Your job or school
• Whether you know the person named in the record, or have ever been involved in a case

Answer plainly and truthfully. If something doesn’t match what’s in your application, such as an old address, explain it rather than guessing.

If you’re asked to sign an affidavit of denial

When the record clearly belongs to a namesake, some offices ask you to sign an affidavit of denial. It’s a sworn statement that you aren’t the person named in the record. Some NBI offices have the form and a lawyer on site to administer the oath; elsewhere you may be asked to have it notarized and bring it back.

Only sign it if it’s true. A false sworn statement is a crime in itself. Our guide to the affidavit of denial for NBI clearance explains what goes in it and how to get one notarized.

What to bring on your return date

1. Your claim stub, the receipt with the return date on it.
2. Your two original valid IDs, ideally the same ones you showed on your first visit.
3. Your PSA birth certificate. It isn’t always asked for, but it proves your birth details and your parents’ names in one document. If you don’t have a copy, here’s how to get a PSA birth certificate online.
4. Certified court or prosecutor documents, if the record could be a past case of yours.

If the record turns out to be yours

Then the officer needs proof of how the case ended: usually a certified true copy of the decision or dismissal order and a certificate of finality from the court, or the prosecutor’s resolution and a certification that it’s final. Until you provide them, your clearance stays on hold.

Our guide to a HIT on a dismissed case explains where to get each document. If the case is still open or there may be a warrant, get legal advice before you go back.

Can someone else go to the interview for you?

Usually not. The interview is about confirming your identity, so the NBI needs to see and talk to you. If you can’t make the return date, go as soon as you can afterwards with your claim stub, or call the branch to ask what to do.

This is different from collecting a clearance that has already been cleared. Some branches release those to a representative with an authorization letter.

Tips for a smooth interview

• Arrive early on your return date. Interviews can be done in batches.
• Know your details cold: your parents’ full names, your mother’s maiden name and your past addresses.
• Bring documents for any case you’ve ever had, even a complaint that was dismissed years ago.
• Stay calm and be straightforward. The officer’s job is to tell you apart from someone else.
• Check the clearance before you leave, especially the remarks and the spelling of your name.

FAQs: NBI quality control interview