Grama Niladhari Certificate Guide — Income, Character & Residence Certificates

Sri Lanka has no single published index of Grama Niladhari certificates. What exists instead is a scatter of rules: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes what it will and will not attest, Sri Lanka Customs publishes two named forms, and each Divisional Secretariat publishes an “Issuing of Certificates” page in its citizens' charter. This tool reads those three sources and answers the question people actually arrive with, which is not “what certificates exist” but “which one does my bank want, and what do I carry to the office.”

The rules behind the answer

1. What a Grama Niladhari may certify. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is explicit: only information about residence and dependants can be substantiated through certificates issued by a Grama Niladhari. That single sentence decides most of the overseas cases — a character certificate is perfectly normal for a local employer, but it is not what a foreign authority will accept as proof of conduct — for that they want a Police Clearance Certificate, which needs no Grama Niladhari paperwork at all.
2. Who signs. A certificate presented for attestation must be on form DS 4, counter-signed by the Divisional Secretary, and carry both the Divisional Secretariat stamp and the Grama Niladhari's name stamp. One missing stamp and the Consular Affairs Division sends it back. GS Forms 01 and 02 print a Divisional Secretary certification block directly on the page, so that signature is never optional there either.
3. Who issues. Not every certificate comes from the Grama Niladhari. An income certificate is recommended by the Grama Niladhari and then issued by the Divisional Secretary. A value certificate for Rs 5,000 or less comes from the Grama Niladhari; above that figure the Divisional Secretariat issues it. The tool shows the issuing authority on each certificate card so you know which counter to join.
4. What to carry. Each certificate carries its own document list, and the lists overlap. The tool merges them, drops the ones that do not apply to you, and shows which certificate each remaining document is for. Income certificates ask for the 3 months of income preceding the current month, an affidavit where monthly income is above Rs 15,000, and a business name registration certificate where the income is from a business.
5. How long it takes.Stages are added up in working days and converted to a calendar date, counting Monday to Friday only. Two independent routines compute that date — one walks the calendar a day at a time, the other solves it as arithmetic on the weekday index — and the card only shows the “cross-checked” note when both agree. Sri Lankan public and Poya holidays are not modelled: there are more than twenty a year and several move with the moon, so read the date as the earliest it could be done.
6. When it goes stale. These certificates carry no legal expiry. The countdown applies the recency window you pick, because the window belongs to the bank, embassy or registrar that asked for the paper. The last acceptable day is the issue date plus the window; on that day the tool still reports the certificate as usable, and only the day after does it read as expired.

One rule is deliberately absent. A 2023 news report said the Divisional Secretary's signature had been made unnecessary for residence-and-character certificates. No circular or gazette confirming that could be found, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still publishes the counter-signature requirement as current. Rather than guess, this page states the counter-signature rule only where a primary source carries it, and stays silent on local acceptance. If you have the circular number, please send it and the page will be updated.

The seven certificates this guide covers, who signs each one, and what it proves.

Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka Customs GS Forms 01 and 02, and Divisional Secretariat citizens' charters. Last verified August 13, 2026.

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Grama Niladhari Certificates (form DS 4, counter-signature and stamp rules)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Document Attestation (Consular Affairs Division counter procedure)
• Sri Lanka Customs — GS Form 01 (Grama Niladhari certification for an individual)
• Sri Lanka Customs — GS Form 02 (Grama Niladhari certification for business premises)
• Sri Lanka Police — Police Clearance Certificate instruction sheet (required documents, 14 working days)
• Divisional Secretariat Beruwala — Issuing of Certificates (income and value certificate requirements)

Every rule on this page was cross-checked against these sources on August 13, 2026. Divisional Secretariat citizens' charters are published per division and the wording varies slightly, so treat the document lists as the common core and expect your own office to add the occasional extra. Working-day estimates for each stage are planning figures, clearly labelled as such in the tool — no nationwide circular sets a turnaround for these certificates.