Clearing Your Record

Updated May 19, 2021

More than ever, a criminal record is having adverse affects on the lives of almost 1 in 8 Canadians, and 1 in 3 Americans who carry a record to their name, and the public health crisis, COVID19, is making it more difficult for people to move on from their past. Employment, housing, and volunteer opportunities are now harder to come by and public health orders have slowed down services within fingerprinting and police agencies, courthouses, and the Parole Board of Canada.

Processing Time

Under normal circumstances, it can take approximately 1 year from the start of your application to receive an approval or denial of your record suspension application. However, the Parole Board of Canada currently has limited capacity to process Record Suspension, Expungement and Clemency submissions, and are currently facing a 3 month delay in the processing of all applications.

Getting your Criminal Background Check

The RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS) continues to provide essential services to law enforcement, public safety partners, and Canadians. CCRTIS is still processing criminal, immigration, and civil (non-criminal) fingerprint submissions. Although you may occasionally experience delays for the delivery of Certified Criminal Record Checks.

Many jurisdictions have put in place their own measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as the suspension of services provided to the public. As such, CCRTIS recommends encouraging members of the public to consult their local police of jurisdiction or Accredited Private Fingerprinting Companies to determine the availability of fingerprint based criminal record checks.

Court Delays

As the public health crisis has continued to impact communities differently across Canada, the delays tend to vary as public agencies follow stricter guidelines to protect the health and safety of the public. Essential and urgent matters will be prioritized.

Many courts have removed their Declaration of Emergency, thus have begun to open resume normal services and deal with non-urgent and non-essential matters, but have limited services due to public health orders. Two courthouses that are experiencing major delays currently are Brampton and Barrie courthouses.

Access To Information and Privacy Requests

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests received from the public continue to be processed. The Government of Canada will continue to make reasonable efforts to respond to requests; however, in this exceptional context, they may not be able to respond to clients as they would during normal operating circumstances.

Clear your Criminal Record and Travel to the US

Though travel restrictions have hindered travel to the US, now is the best time to start get started on your US Entry Waiver application, as it can take approximately 6 – 18 months to compile the application. To learn more information about getting a US Travel Waiver, visit our page here.

We understand that COVID-19 has impacted many lives, but we are here to help make things easier for you. Contact us today for a free consultation and we’ll have your record cleared 4 months faster.