An acquittal (being found not guilty by a judge) allows you to apply for RCMP CPIC record destruction almost immediately. A withdrawn charge (where the Crown drops the case) also leaves you without a conviction, but police policies generally require you to wait 5 months to 1 year before you are legally permitted to ask for your fingerprints to be destroyed.
Walking out of a Canadian courthouse after beating a criminal charge is a moment of immense relief. However, many citizens in cities like Edmonton, Toronto, and Victoria mistakenly believe that if they are not convicted, their police record completely disappears on its own. This is a dangerous myth. Every time you are arrested and fingerprinted for a federal offence, that data is instantly uploaded to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database managed by the RCMP.
Whether you were found not guilty after a grueling trial or the Crown prosecutor simply dropped the charges on the first day, your fingerprints and mugshot remain in the federal system. 📍 The specific way your case ended—your official disposition—dictates exactly when and how you can force the government to delete your data. Understanding the difference between an acquittal and a withdrawn charge is crucial to cleaning up your background check. If you want to ensure your employment prospects are not ruined by a past arrest, hiring a local lawyer from our directory to handle the destruction process is highly recommended.
Step-by-Step Process for Destroying Non-Conviction Records in Canada
Because neither an acquittal nor a withdrawn charge is a conviction, you do not apply to the Parole Board of Canada for a Record Suspension. Instead, you must petition the local police. Here is the standard process.
Step 1: Verify Your Exact Court Disposition
You must know the exact legal terminology of how your case concluded. An “Acquittal” means a judge or jury heard the evidence and formally pronounced you not guilty. A “Withdrawn” or “Dismissed” charge means the Crown prosecutor decided there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and pulled the charge before or during the trial. A “Stay of Proceedings” means the Crown paused the case indefinitely.
Step 2: Observe the Mandatory Waiting Period
The RCMP and local police strictly enforce waiting periods to ensure you are not immediately re-arrested. 📅 For an absolute Acquittal, you can generally apply for destruction immediately (or after the 30-day Crown appeal period expires). For a Withdrawn charge, most police services require a minimum wait of 5 months to 1 year. For a Stay of Proceedings, the law mandates a strict 1-year waiting period, as the Crown technically has 365 days to restart the prosecution.
Step 3: Obtain Certified Court Documents
Once your waiting period is over, visit the clerk’s counter at the courthouse where your matter was resolved. Request a certified copy of the Information (the original charging document) showing the exact date and type of disposition. The police will not process your destruction request without this official proof.
Step 4: Apply to the Arresting Police Force
Submit a formal “Request for Fingerprint and Photograph Destruction” to the specific local police agency that initially arrested you. 👮 You cannot send this directly to the RCMP in Ottawa. The local police (e.g., the Winnipeg Police Service or the Peel Regional Police) must review your file first to ensure you have no other outstanding charges or convictions.
Step 5: RCMP Purges the CPIC Database
If the local police chief approves your request, they will securely transmit a destruction order to the RCMP. The RCMP will then permanently delete your fingerprints, photographs, and the arrest record from the federal CPIC system, leaving you with a completely clean background check.
How Much Does Non-Conviction Destruction Cost in Canada?
Unlike the $50 federal fee for a Record Suspension, destroying a non-conviction record is a localized process. Here are the expected costs in Canadian dollars (CAD):
| Local Police Administrative Fee | $0 to $150 CAD. This varies wildly by municipality. The Toronto Police Service, for example, currently processes these for free. |
| Court Document Fees | $15 to $35 CAD to obtain the certified court disposition from the provincial courthouse. |
| Lawyer or Agency Fees | $500 to $1,500 CAD if you prefer a legal professional to handle the paperwork, track deadlines, and communicate with the police. |
How Long Does the Process Take?
The timeline requires immense patience. ⏱ After your mandatory waiting period ends (which can be up to a year for withdrawn charges), the local police generally take 2 to 6 months to review your application. Once forwarded to the federal level, the RCMP currently experiences significant backlogs and may take an additional 6 to 12 months to finalize the CPIC deletion. In total, expect the administrative process to take roughly a year from the day you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What happens if I also signed a Peace Bond?
If your charges were withdrawn because you agreed to sign a Section 810 Peace Bond, you cannot apply for fingerprint destruction until the entire duration of the Peace Bond (usually 12 months) has completely expired.
Will a withdrawn charge show up on a job background check?
It depends on the depth of the check. A basic criminal record check usually only shows convictions. However, an Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC) or a Vulnerable Sector Check can legally display withdrawn charges and non-convictions until you force the RCMP to destroy them.
Can the police refuse to destroy my fingerprints?
Yes. The local police can deny your request if there are compelling public interest reasons to keep your file, such as if you have a massive history of arrests without convictions, or if the withdrawn charge involved severe violence against a vulnerable person.
Do I need a pardon if my charges were dropped?
No. A Record Suspension (formerly a pardon) is only for individuals who were formally convicted or plead guilty. For dropped charges, you only need a non-conviction fingerprint destruction.
Can US Border Patrol see my withdrawn charges?
Yes, if they run your passport before your CPIC record is destroyed. US Customs relies on the CPIC database. Even if the charge was withdrawn, the American border guard can see the original arrest and may aggressively question you or deny you entry.
Leave a Reply