“Do you have a criminal record?” seems like a yes-or-no question. On a job application or a rental form in Brampton, it can leave you staring at the screen. Maybe your charges were withdrawn eight years ago. Maybe you got a conditional discharge and were told it would go away. Maybe you were convicted of something in your twenties, paid the fine, and have heard nothing about it since.
The right answer depends on what actually happened in court, what is held in which database, and what exactly the form asks. Many people answer wrongly in both directions: some disclose things they don’t have to, and others assume something has vanished when it hasn’t. Sorting this out is usually a matter of paperwork, patience and a few fixed rules.
Please read this as general information rather than legal advice about your own record. If your history involves immigration, professional licensing or work with vulnerable people, speak with a lawyer before you submit anything.
What “Criminal Record” Really Means
A criminal record, in the strict sense, generally refers to convictions for federal offences, kept in the national repository maintained by the RCMP and connected to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. These entries are tied to fingerprints. Traffic tickets and most provincial offences, such as a Highway Traffic Act speeding conviction, are not criminal convictions, although they may be on your driving abstract.
Other police information sits alongside this. Local services like Peel Regional Police keep their own occurrence reports, and these can record that you were arrested, charged or simply involved in a call for service. Court records exist too. That means there are at least three different places a piece of your history might live, and clearing one does not necessarily clear the others.
Outcomes That Are Not the Same as Convictions
Before you think about a record suspension, work out what your outcome was. Pull your court paperwork if you have it. If you do not, the courthouse at 7755 Hurontario Street can help you locate information about a Peel matter, though there may be a search fee.
Withdrawn or stayed charges, and acquittals. You were not convicted. However, a police file about the charge may still exist, and your fingerprints and photograph might still be held. Many police services have a process to request destruction of them, and it is worth asking the service that laid the charge about its current process and eligibility rules.
Absolute discharge. You were found guilty but not convicted. Under section 6.1 of the Criminal Records Act, the record of the discharge may not be disclosed without ministerial approval once one year has passed since the order, and references are to be removed from CPIC.
Conditional discharge. The same rule applies, but the period is three years. The clock starts at the date of the order, so a period of probation runs inside it.
The Parole Board of Canada says that people who received only absolute or conditional discharges do not need to apply for a record suspension, and it directs them to RCMP Pardon and Purge Services about their files. It is worth confirming that the removal actually happened, since database entries aren’t always cleaned up automatically. Asking for your own fingerprint-based certified check can tell you what the national system shows.
The Police Check Your Employer Asks For
In Ontario, the Police Record Checks Reform Act sets out three types of checks and what each may reveal:
- Criminal record check. Generally limited to convictions and certain findings of guilt.
- Criminal record and judicial matters check. This adds items like outstanding charges, warrants, and certain court orders.
- Vulnerable sector check. The broadest of the three, for those working with children or other vulnerable people. In limited, strictly defined circumstances, it may include non-conviction information.
In most cases, charges that were withdrawn are not supposed to appear on the first two types of checks, and the Act requires your consent before results go to a third party. The person being checked generally gets to see the results first.
Private background screening companies and foreign border databases are a different matter, since they aren’t all governed by the same rules. Read any consent form closely to find out what it covers, and answer the question that is actually asked. “Have you been convicted?” differs from “Have you ever been charged?” If a form asks something you find unclear, get advice before you tick a box, as a false answer can create a separate problem with an employer or a government agency.
Human rights law is also relevant here. Under Ontario’s Human Rights Code, it is generally unlawful for an employer to discriminate because of a “record of offences”, which the Code defines as a provincial offence or a federal offence for which a pardon has been granted and has not been revoked. That protection is narrower than many people assume: it doesn’t cover an unsuspended federal conviction.
What a Record Suspension Does
A record suspension, which used to be called a pardon, is granted by the Parole Board of Canada under the Criminal Records Act. According to the Board, it sets the record aside in the CPIC database, so a standard CPIC search won’t show it. It does not erase the record or the fact the conviction took place, and the Board can revoke it later.
It also has limits you should plan around:
- It does not guarantee entry to another country or a visa. Foreign governments, including the United States, make their own decisions, and may already hold information from before the suspension was granted.
- Sexual offences that have been set aside can still be flagged on vulnerable sector checks.
- It has no effect on driving or weapons prohibition orders.
For non-citizens, IRCC states that a person convicted in Canada who receives a record suspension is no longer inadmissible on that basis. If immigration is part of your reason for applying, look into this carefully, because timing may affect other applications.
Are You Eligible, and When?
You can apply only after every part of your sentence is complete. That includes jail, parole, conditional sentences, probation, fines, victim surcharges, costs and restitution. A single unpaid surcharge from years ago can quietly delay everything, so check with the court office.
The waiting period then runs from the date you finished. For offences on or after March 13, 2012, the periods set out by the Board are as follows.
| How the offence proceeded | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Summary conviction | 5 years |
| Indictment | 10 years |
Older offences can fall under shorter or tiered waiting periods, based on the date of the first offence. Driving or weapons prohibitions do not have to expire before the waiting period starts, which is a small point that catches many people off guard.
Many offences can proceed either way, and if the court cannot confirm how yours proceeded, the longest applicable period will be used. Getting that information directly from the court is often worth the effort.
Some people are not eligible at all. That includes those convicted of a Schedule 1 offence, which mainly covers sexual offences against children, unless they meet a narrow exception. It also includes people convicted of more than three indictable offences that each resulted in a sentence of two years or more.
Building the Application
The Board charges a $50 application fee, and you pay separately for documents. The process is detailed but not mysterious. Download the current application guide from the Parole Board website because forms and requirements are updated, and expect to collect:
- A certified criminal record from the RCMP, obtained by submitting your fingerprints through an accredited service.
- Court information for each conviction, including the date, the sentence and the way the offence proceeded.
- Local police record checks from places where you have lived in the recent past, which for many readers will include Peel Regional Police, and perhaps Toronto or Halton.
- Proof of identity and the Board’s own forms, including, where relevant, a statement on what the suspension would mean for you.
Documents can expire, so don’t begin one piece and leave the others for months. Keep copies of everything you send. A package returned for a missing document can set you back a long way.
How the Board Decides
The Board has what the Act calls exclusive jurisdiction and absolute discretion to order or refuse a suspension. It looks at whether you have been of good conduct and free of new convictions during the waiting period.
For offences that went by indictment, more is required. You must show that the suspension would provide a measurable benefit, sustain your rehabilitation, and not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Vague statements are less useful than concrete ones. Rather than saying “this will help my career,” explain what is at stake: for example, a job offer at a Brampton logistics company that requires a clear check, a licensing application, or volunteer work at your child’s school. Hypothetical as those examples are, specifics of that kind are what the test is looking for.
The Board can also consider the nature, seriousness and duration of the offence, the circumstances surrounding it, and your criminal history. If it proposes to refuse, you generally get a chance to respond in writing before the decision is final, so treat that notice seriously and reply on time.
How a Suspension Can Be Lost
A suspension is not permanent protection. Under the Criminal Records Act, the Board may revoke it if you are later convicted of a summary offence, if there is evidence you are no longer of good conduct, or if you made a false statement or concealed something on the application. It ceases to have effect on a later conviction for an indictable offence or if it turns out you were not eligible in the first place. In other words, honesty on the form counts, and a future charge deserves immediate legal attention for this reason alone.
Do You Need to Pay Someone to Do This?
Not necessarily, and the Parole Board says so directly. You can apply yourself, and the Board warns that companies claiming to guarantee a suspension or speed up its review are making false and misleading claims. Plenty of people complete the process on their own.
Legal advice tends to earn its cost in the more complicated situations: a mix of old and new offences, uncertainty over waiting periods, a past refusal, a pending immigration file, or a question about what you must disclose to an employer or a regulator. If a current charge is what prompted you to read this, the better question may be how to avoid a conviction in the first place, and that’s where our criminal law team can talk through the options. If you would like to review a past record, you are welcome to contact us.
A record can feel like a permanent label. In many cases, it isn’t one. The rules are fixed, and the time limits are knowable. Finding out where you stand is often the most useful step you can take this week.