Criminal Record Pardons Information

Last Updated Jan 11th, 2012

1A. What is a Standard Canada Pardon? (aka a Record Suspension)

A Standard Canada pardon is an order by the Parole Board of Canada that removes your criminal record from CPIC (the Canadian Police Information Center's computer system), which makes it unavailable to all other Canadian police detachments and border officials. As well, your record can no longer be accessed by APIs (Advance Passenger Information System) a computer system used by US Customs airport officials. Once pardoned your criminal record information may still be seen by the arresting police detachment on their internal PIRS or PROS system, however such information is usually not accessed if nothing comes up on CPIC.

1B. What are the new waiting periods regarding Pardon eligibility?

New waiting periods are: 10 years for a personal injury or dangerous offence, for which a 2 year or more sentence was imposed, and for all Indictable sexual offences. And, 5 years for a Summary sexual offence. For more information see the PBC Fact Sheet. Note: If you were convicted of an Indictable offence or a sexual and/or personal injury offence you now must write a Personal Letter of Rehabilitation to the PBC.

2. Do you process out-of-province and out-of-country Canadian Pardon applications?

Yes, we can process applications for Canadians living anywhere in the world, as long as the area receives mail and/or courier deliveries.

3A. How much does a Standard Canada Pardon cost?

Our standard fee for processing a Canada Pardon application is:$395.00 plus disbursements = $521.00. Our $395.00 Administration Fee includes: Free Priority Service, Application and Document Processing, Application Tracking, Email Updates, Express Courier Fees, Return Postage, Faxes, Document Scanning, Photocopies, Document Certification Fees, Support Letters, Consultations. Disbursements Fees: $63.00 for each Court and Local Police Record Search ($126.00 Standard Total). Note: When your application is ready to be submitted you will be required to pay the Parole Board Filing Fee, which is currently $150.00 (as of December 29, 2010) but may increase in the future as stated by the Harper Government. Note: There will be a $70.00 biometric fingerprinting fee charged by Alberta Fingerprinting Services (which will speed up the processing of your Certified Record). If you live outside the Edmonton area we will arrange for you to be fingerprinted at the nearest biometric fingerprinting office or your local police station. There you will have to pay between $55.00 and $70.00, including the $25.00 mail-in or $35.00 electronic submission fee. Unfortunately, processing times for ink fingerprints are currently 8 to 10 months. Note: Additional fees will be incurred if you have multiple offences where fines were imposed, or if you have served in the Canadian Military, or if you have lived in more than 1 city within the last 5 years. Additional Court Record, Local Police Record and Military Record Searches are $63.00 each. NOTE: the PBC is proposing to raise their $150.00 filing fee to $631.00. For more information CLICK HERE:

4. How long does it take to process a Pardon application?

For 1 to 3 Summary offences, it is currently taking 6 to 7 months to assemble a Pardon application and then it takes the Parole Board about 12 months to process the application and grant a Pardon. Unfortunately, there is no faster way to do this, no matter how much you pay some other company. Note: We prioritize all applications and do not charge extra for this. If you have 4 or more offences and/or have committed an Indictable offence(s) or you have recent charges on your Local Police Record Check, it may take up to 10 months to assemble your application, and then another 14 months at the Parole Board, unless it is prioritized. Of course being biometrically fingerprinted also speeds up application processing times. For the most up-to-date processing times please see Our Current Processing Times.

5. Can you get the PBC to rush my Pardon application, and if so how much more will I have to pay?

Unfortunately, the Parole Board is no longer prioritizing any Pardon applications for any reason, due to the extremely high volume of prioritization requests that have been received in the last few months. For more information CLICK HERE. NOTE: Companies that still claim to have a Priority Pardon Service that assures a Pardon application will be completed and the Pardon will be granted faster than normal, in our opinion, are committing fraud.

6. Am I guaranteed that I will get a Pardon?

We guarantee that you will get a Canada Pardon as long as you are eligible to receive one. This means the RCMP have not stated that a criminal record does not exist, you have not recently committed any offence(s) that would void your eligibility or indicate that you are still deemed to be a high risk to re-offend, you have completed your 3, 5 or 10 year waiting period, and all fines have been paid and all penalties and/or dispositions have been served, and there are no outstanding warrants for your arrest.

7. Can you help me if I received a Pardon on my own and now wish to enter the U.S.?

Unfortunately, due to the many complications that often arise, we can only provide US Waiver application assistance to you, if required.

8. Does a Pardon allow me to enter the U.S.?

Unfortunately, US Customs does not recognize a Canada Pardon if they become aware of it. If you have never been denied entry, deported or interviewed by US Customs, and US Customs has never accessed your criminal record via CPIC or APIS prior to you being granted a Canada Pardon, and your criminal record was properly sealed, then US Customs will no longer be able to access it on CPIC or APIs However, US Customs officials have several ways of finding out if you have ever committed a criminal offense, or if you were ever arrested and fingerprinted. If you are not properly prepared to answer their wide assortment of questions you could be denied entry, face property seizures, short-term imprisonment, and be banned from entering the US in the future. Our Standard Canada Pardon removes your criminal record from CPIC and APIs, and includes all the information you will need to navigate US Customs. Note: For old summary illegal possession convictions you may also wish to purchase our File Destruction Service to make a formal request to have your local police records destroyed, along with all trace evidence that you were ever arrested, charged, fingerprinted, photographed, went to court, etc. Note: File Destructions for convictions are usually only granted after 10 years or more have passed without any further charges, investigations or convictions, and if you have multiple convictions or Indictable convictions the police like to see at least 15 years of crime-free activity. Note: If you were at one time involved or suspected of international gang related activities, or you have multiple sexual assault charges, a copy of your record could have been sent to the FBI and/or placed on Interpol. Such records cannot be destroyed via File Destruction.

9. When can I apply for a Pardon?

In order to be eligible to receive a Pardon, you must have completed your sentence and then have waited 3, 5 or 10 years, depending on what is on your record, while being “of good conduct” during the same period. Completion means all fines, surcharges, restitution, etc., have been paid, jail time has been served, and all probation has been completed, for all offences. Note: The PBC now demands that all applicants prove that all fines, etc., were paid via Certified Court Records, no matter when the penalty was issued.

10. Can my Pardon application be denied, and if so would I get a refund?

If you are found to be not of good conduct your application can be denied. There are no refunds once an application has been completed and submitted to the PBC.

11. How do I apply for a Pardon?

You can call our office and apply over the telephone or fill out our secure online application form and submit it to us along with your online payment.

12. Does a Pardon allow me to enter other countries?

Almost all other countries except for the US will not ask you self-incriminating questions if they don't see a conviction on CPIC. Of course if you freely admit to being Pardoned or to having a criminal record in the past, you could be questioned at length and possibly denied entry. For more information on traveling abroad when you still have a criminal record you should contact the Consulate General's office.

13. Do you provide free information to people who are applying for a Pardon on their own?

No. This is due to the many time consuming complications that arise which take our staff away from the duties and responsibilities of serving our clients.

14. Can I be Pardoned for sexual and other injury offences?

Yes, after being of good conduct for 5 or 10 years. However, your name will be flagged in the Canada National Repository. This means if you are going to work around vulnerable people such as children, seniors or disabled individuals, you will be required to disclose your past criminal history to the employer before employment.