An indictable offence is considered a serious offence in Canada, but, in most cases, you can still apply for a Record Suspension.

A Record Suspension is an application that seals your record in Canada, so that you can apply for jobs, apartments, business licences and other opportunities with confidence.

How does an indictable offence affect my application?

If you have an indictable offence on your record, you will need to wait longer than someone with a summary offence. A summary offence is considered less serious. First you must complete all aspects of your sentence including fines, probation and jail time. Once you do that, the waiting period starts. You must wait 10 years before you can apply.

Once you apply, your offence will also cause a delay. The Parole Board of Canada takes one year to process indictable offence, compared to six months for summary offences.

Can an indictable offence make you ineligible to apply?

Yes, you can be ineligible to apply if you have more than three indictable offences with sentences of two years or more. A person will also be ineligible if they have Schedule 1 offences against a minor on their record in most cases.

How do you know if you have an indictable offence?

Some offences are always indictable, but most are hybrid. This makes it difficult for people to know if they have an indictable or summary offence on their record.

Hybrid offences are criminal offences that can either be tried as summary or indictable. If you don’t know which option the Crown proceeded under, you need to get copies of your court documents. AllCleared can help you with that or you can request them on your own.

Sometimes people are disappointed when the court document comes back and it turns out the offence was indictable. This means that they need to wait 10 years to apply for a pardon. Sometimes the information cannot be obtained. This may because the court documents were lost or destroyed or they don’t contain the information. In this case, you would need to wait 10 years.

Some people in BC and Ontario may be able to qualify for a reduced wait time if they were convicted prior to 2012.

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for a pardon in Canada, contact our client advisors today for a free consultation at 1-866-972-7366.