Got a question about your application?

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) strives to process applications according to the following timelines:

• Summary offence: within 6 months of application acceptance.^{Footnote 1}
• Indictable offence: within 12 months of acceptance.^{Footnote 1}
• For applications where the Board is proposing to refuse a record suspension, it can take up to 24 months for a final decision to be made. If a proposal to refuse is being recommended in your case, you will be advised of this in writing by the PBC.

Please do not contact us for a status update for your application unless the timeline that applies in your case has been exceeded.

The waiting period begins once all of your sentences have been completed (including all sentences of imprisonment, any probation orders^{Footnote 2}, and payment in full of any fines, costs, surcharges^{Footnote 3}, compensation orders and/or restitution).

Important: If you were ordered to pay any fines, costs, surcharges, compensation orders or restitution as part of your sentence, you should pay it in full as soon as possible. The waiting period only starts once full payment has been made. Proof of payment must be provided with your record suspension application.

After completing all of your sentences, you are required to wait a set number of years based on the date when you committed your first offence before applying for a record suspension.

If you committed your first offence (excluding any simple possession of cannabis convictions)^{Footnote 4}...

Before June 29, 2010

The waiting period is: 5 years — an offence prosecuted by indictment. 3 years — an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Between June 29, 2010 and March 12, 2012

The waiting period is: 10 years — Serious personal injury offence (within the meaning of 752 of the Criminal Code); including manslaughter; an offence for which the applicant was sentenced to a prison term of 2 years or more, and an offence referred to in Schedule 1 that was prosecuted by indictment. 5 years — any other offence prosecuted by indictment and an offence referred to in Schedule1 that is punishable on summary conviction. 3 years — an offence other than the ones mentioned above, that is punishable on summary conviction.

On or after March 13, 2012

The waiting period is: 10 years — an offence prosecuted by indictment. 5 years — an offence that is punishable on summary conviction.

For more information, visit our page Who is eligible for a record suspension?

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) charges $50.00 to process a record suspension application.

You are also responsible for any additional fees for getting your fingerprints, criminal record, court documents and police checks.

You can apply directly to the PBC for a record suspension by using the PBC Record Suspension Application Guide. You do not need to use a lawyer or third party service provider.

You can quickly check your eligibility to apply for a record suspension by referring to the PBC Record Suspension Application Guide for specific eligibility criteria (pages 1-2).

Once applications for a record suspension are deemed eligible and complete, the Parole Board of Canada strives to process applications according to the following timelines:

• Applications seeking a record suspension for an offence or offences tried summarily will be processed within 6 months of application acceptance^{Footnote 1}.
• Applications seeking a record suspension for an offence or offences tried by indictment will be processed within 12 months of application acceptance^{Footnote 1}.
• Applications in which the Board is proposing to refuse to order a record suspension may require up to 24 months after application acceptance to complete. The reason for this is that under the Criminal Records Act, the Board must notify the applicant in writing of its proposal to refuse, and advise them that they are entitled to make or have made on their behalf any representations to the Board that they believe relevant.

No. You can apply directly to the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) for a record suspension.

If you choose to use a third-party service provider, you should be aware that these companies charge anywhere between several hundred dollars to more than a thousand dollars for their services, on top of the $50.00 application fee that the PBC charges to process your application.

Using these companies will not give your application a special status, get it processed faster, or guarantee you a record suspension.

For step-by-step instructions on applying for a record suspension, consult the PBC Record Suspension Application Guide.

If you need assistance, contact the PBC's 1-800 # information line at: 1-800-874-2652 (toll free).

Applications that are ineligible or incomplete will be returned to the applicant. You should refer to the letter enclosed with your returned application for specific details on why it was returned to you and what you need to do.

If your application was returned as incomplete, you may re-submit your application once the missing information or documentation has been added to it.

No. Many applicants are in difficult or pressing personal circumstances. Because of this, the PBC's policy is to treat all applications the same, and to process them according to the date they are received.

No, the fee cannot be waived or reduced for anyone.

Yes. Under the PBC’s Remission Policy, which came into effect on April 1, 2021*, if an application is not processed within the timelines outlined in our service standards then a percentage of the application processing fee will be refunded to the applicant.

Processing Fee Remission Policy
Days over established standard	1-30	31-90	91-150	More than 151
Percentage of remission	10%	20%	30%	50%

*Note: The PBC's Remission Policy applies only to applications received between April 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 with a processing fee of $657.77 or $644.88.

Since March 19, 2020, changes made to the Criminal Records Act (CRA) in both 2010 and 2012 are no longer being applied retroactively for applicants who committed their first offence prior to the coming into force of these changes.

This means that new record suspension applications are being processed using the CRA eligibility criteria in place at the time of an applicant’s first offence.

If you have already applied for a record suspension and have not received a decision from the PBC, you do not have to re-submit your application. It will be processed using the appropriate CRA eligibility criteria.

For more information, visit our page Who is eligible for a record suspension?

Record suspension applicants must submit electronic fingerprints to the RCMP to get a copy of their criminal record (fingerprint forms are no longer accepted by the RCMP).

To have your fingerprints taken electronically, contact or visit your local police of jurisdiction or an accredited company with an electronic submission device.

Note that electronic fingerprint submission to the RCMP is not currently available outside of Canada. You may contact accredited companies within Canada who will digitize ink fingerprints and submit them electronically to the RCMP.

Important: The fingerprint form must clearly indicate that you are applying for a record suspension.

This falls under the mandate of the RCMP. The PBC is not involved. For information on the status of your Criminal Record application, refer to the Civil Fingerprinting Screening Services section of the RCMP's website.

Downloadable print-on-demand copies of the Official PBC Record Suspension Application Guide are available from the PBC's website.

You can also request copies by calling the PBC's toll-free information line at 1-800-874-2652, emailing suspension@pbc-clcc.gc.ca, or by visiting your local police service or court office.

You may have difficulty connecting to an operator during peak periods due to the high volume of calls that the PBC receives from applicants at certain times of the day.

Try calling the 1-800 # during non-peak hours, or contacting the Board through its email address at suspension@pbc-clcc.gc.ca. For more information, visit our Need More Help? page.

If you have only received absolute or conditional discharges, you do not need to apply for a record suspension.

If you received an absolute discharge on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP will automatically remove it from its system one year after the court decision. If you received a conditional discharge on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP will automatically remove it 3 years after the court decision. If you received an absolute or conditional discharge before July 24, 1992, contact the RCMP to have the information removed (RCMP Pardon & Purge Services, P.O. Box 8885, Ottawa, ON K1G 3M8).

You may need to apply for a record suspension if you were found guilty as a young person and you were convicted as an adult before the specific period of time defined in youth legislation.

The record suspension may cover both the youth and adult records.

You do not need to apply if you were found guilty only in a youth court or youth justice court, since your record will be destroyed or archived once all applicable time periods have elapsed under the Young Offenders Act or the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Information sharing between Canada and key foreign partners, including the U.S., is vital for ensuring Canada’s safety and security.

Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and border agencies have limited access to each other’s criminal justice and public safety information sharing tools, which includes criminal record information.

Should a record suspension/pardon be awarded in Canada, foreign countries would no longer have access to the suspended criminal record information. However, if any foreign country, including the U.S., accessed your active criminal record before you received a record suspension/pardon, they may have documented this. They may ask questions about your convictions. You should answer these questions honestly.

Other countries may not recognize Canadian record suspensions/pardons. As such, the fact that Canada has ordered a record suspension or granted a pardon for an offence does not guarantee entry into another country. As entry and exit requirements are at the discretion of each individual country, you may need to provide a copy of your suspended criminal record at the port of entry.

If you have received a record suspension/pardon and wish to travel to the U.S., we recommend that you contact the specific port of entry for more information on entry and exit requirements before travelling. For travel to the U.S., a U.S. waiver may be needed.

Before travelling to any country, contact the authorities of the country you wish to visit to find out what you need to do to enter that country.

No. A record suspension has no effect on a prohibition order.

A record suspension (or pardon) can be revoked or cease to have effect if you are:

• Convicted of a new indictable offence, or in some cases, a summary offence;
• Found to no longer be of good conduct;
• Found to have made a false or misleading statement, or hidden information when you applied;
• Found to have been ineligible for a record suspension at the time the record suspension was ordered.

If a record suspension is revoked or ceases to have effect, the record of the offence(s) are added back in to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database.

Yes, a corporation may apply for a record suspension. The eligibility criteria are the same as those for an individual under the Criminal Records Act.