Use of criminal record certificates in connection with appointments is necessary. Thus, the hospital doctor’s position was not covered by the provisions of the Act on Child Certificates, but the Ombudsman found it acceptable that the hospital had nonetheless requested a child certificate. However, the Ombudsman criticised the way in which the hospital had handled the matter, as the doctor was not informed about the requirement for a child certificate when he called to get more information about the Region’s guidelines on criminal record and child certificates. The requirement for a child certificate was not stated in the job advertisement, and the doctor was given no information about the requirement at the job interview either. The Ombudsman regarded this as an error. He pointed out that if particular importance is to be attached to the information contained in a child certificate in the assessment of an applicant, this should be mentioned in the job advertisement – it should at least be clear that a child certificate will be demanded and that appointment is subject to the information in this certificate. Duty to take notes also in relation to criminal record certificates In the case of the man who applied for a job as a substitute teacher, the local authority explained that it kept criminal record certificates on its personnel files for as long as the information in the certificates could be obtained by requesting a new certificate. However, private criminal record certificates were returned to applicants after review. They were not entered electronically in the local authority’s records nor did the local authority make an electronic copy. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, the local authority should record its correspondence with the National Commission of the Danish Police and applicants about criminal record certificates. He recommended that the local authority consider changing its practice in this respect. He also reminded the local authority of its obligation to take notes considering that it did not make a copy of private criminal record certificates. If an authority does not keep a copy of a criminal record certificate, it is obliged to make a note of key information in the certificate if it affects the authority’s decision on the case. Persons with criminal records cannot be excluded from the outset The Ombudsman took up the case of the man who applied for a job as a substitute teacher because the newspaper article gave the impression that persons with criminal records were generally excluded from obtaining a job with the 59