No fingerprints are required for a non-certified criminal record check. It only takes a few minutes. If you’d like to do a police background check, you can either use the regional police website, visit a nearby police station in person, or use a private agent.
In many cases, name-based checks aren’t accepted. Here’s an example:
- Suspension of records (pardon)
- Getting a visa or crossing the border
- The adoption process
- For federal jobs, you need a security clearance
- Immigration to Canada or overseas
This means the applicant has to do a certified criminal record check that requires fingerprints (in person). Furthermore, private companies usually run a name-based background check before hiring new employees, but if the check is comprehensive, they run a fingerprint-based one.
We can capture and submit your fingerprints electronically to the RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS). After processing your application, the RCMP will mail your certified criminal record check back to you.
Time to process:
If there is no criminal record:
You’ll need to wait 3 business days for the RCMP to process your application, plus 2-3 weeks for Canada Post to mail it (regular mail).
Manual processing/matches with criminal records:
RCMP needs 120 business days to process your application + Canada Post mailing time.