Criminal Record Pardons:

Question: What are the step-by-step application procedures to get a criminal record suspension (pardon) in Ontario, and what documents are usually needed?

Answer:   DefendCharges.Lawyer can help you understand the criminal record suspension application procedures in Ontario and prepare a complete, document-ready package with the right court records, fingerprint checks, and any other supporting paperwork so your request is properly submitted after the required waiting period. The general timeline is often a few months to gather documents and a few more months for the decision, so plan for roughly up to a year depending on complexity. To be eligible, you generally need to be law-abiding since the end of your most recent sentence and have no outstanding fines or fees owing to the government, and you must also wait five (5) years after completing a summary conviction sentence or ten (10) years after completing an indictable sentence. There are additional restrictions for certain sexual offences and for people with multiple serious indictable convictions involving prison terms, which can limit or prevent eligibility in some cases. If you want a practical checklist tailored to your situation, call (647) 977-5997 to discuss your options with a lawyer at DefendCharges.Lawyer.

Criminal Record Suspension Application Procedures

Everybody has a background with the good, the bad, and even the ugly, details; however, the consequences for mistakes should eventually cease.  For those persons with a criminal record, after a debt to society is paid, the lingering affects of the criminal record often continue with impairment to free travel, restrictions in employment opportunities, and more. A criminal record suspension, formerly known as a pardon, seeks to end the freedom impairing affects of a criminal record.

The Law

It was in March 2012 that the Safe Streets and Communities Act, S.C. 2012, Chapter 1 went into effect thereby making various amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, as well as the Criminal Records Act, R.S.C. c. C-47, among other laws. The various changes included amendments to the guidelines and procedures involved in obtaining a criminal record pardon; and indeed, a significant change was amendment of the term pardon to the new term that is now known and referred to as a record suspension.  Among the various amendments, the waiting periods for obtaining a record suspension now require that five (5) years have passed since the applicant was last convicted of a summary conviction offence or ten (10) years have passed since the applicant was last convicted of an indictable offence.

Expected Process

Applying for a record suspension may involve various complexities depending on the individual situation of the applicant as the application process requires various supportive documents be obtained from various sources and submitted collectively as a complete package with the primary application documents.  The various supportive documents include court records from the jurisdictions in which convictions were registered, finger print checks, among other things.  The process of gathering the required documents and preparing the properly complete package often takes a few months; and after the package of application document are submitted, a decision may take a few more months.  Overall, the entire process may take up to a year, and maybe more for highly complex situations.

Application Guidelines

When applying for a criminal record suspension you must be in law-abiding status subsequent to the end of your most recent sentence and be without any outstanding fines or fees due to the government such as monies owed for driving offences (traffic tickets), among other things.

Additionally, you must await expiry of the applicable waiting period.  The waiting period is five (5) years after completion of summary conviction sentences or ten (10) years after completion of a sentence for an indictable offence conviction.

Furthermore, persons previous convicted for sexual offences may have limitations applicable to a record suspension.  Persons previously convicted of three, or more, indictable offences involving prison sentences of two (2) years or more, as well as persons previously convicted for sexual offences inflicted upon minor persons are unable to obtain a record suspension (a few very rare exceptions may apply).