Lost Your NBI Clearance? Reprint, Reapply and How Many to Request

Why it cannot simply be reprinted

Direct answer: it is issued per application, with the issue date, purpose and security features tied to that application. It is not a downloadable file sitting in your account.

Two consequences follow. The replacement carries a new issue date, which recipients usually prefer, but which disrupts a timeline built around a particular date. And the process runs again, with the online route available only if a usable prior record exists — conditions in validity, reapplication and online renewal.

So the real answer to "how do I replace it" is: establish whether you qualify for the online route, then either use it or run the full process as in booking online.

How many to request: count who wants an original

Direct answer: one application normally produces one certificate, which is not enough when an employer, an immigration filing, a bank and a school all want an original.

Before applying, list three columns: who is asking, whether they want an original or a copy, and whether they will keep it. The third column is the one that catches people, because many offices keep originals and the next one still wants theirs. If you need more than one, make separate applications under the rules in force.

Do not discover the shortfall at the second office → let Yixing work out how many you need

Scans, photographs and photocopies

Direct answer: the recipient decides, and you cannot assume. Some accept a clear scan for preliminary review but require the original for filing; others only ever take originals.

Three practical habits. Scan it yourself on the day of collection, which helps with reference numbers and follow-up even where the scan is not accepted — field meanings are in what the certificate says. Ask whether an original will be returned before handing it over, and keep a record of the handover. And do not circulate the scan casually, because it carries your full identity details and is exactly the sort of file used for impersonation.

Lost and expired are different problems

Direct answer: losing it means no paper; expiry means the paper is no longer accepted, and the two are handled differently.

On the expiry side, what usually decides acceptability is not the printed date but the range of issue dates the recipient will take — discussed in the validity page and document validity generally.

If your document still needs authentication and translation, reissuing it means rescheduling those too, in the order given in using it abroad.

Yixing (SEC registration CS202009551, BI accreditation CA-202624381-1) lists who needs an original before deciding how many to obtain and when, which is considerably cheaper than replacing one.

Decide the number from the list of recipients, not from habit → have Yixing set the count and the timing