Pardon (Record Suspension) in Canada: Eligibility, the $50 Fee and How to Apply

A pardon, now officially called a record suspension, is ordered by the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) under the Criminal Records Act. It keeps your criminal record separate and apart from other criminal records and removes it from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. You apply directly to the PBC. You do not need a lawyer or a paid pardon service, and the PBC says it gives no preferential treatment to any application.

The PBC fee is $50, and it has been since January 1, 2022. For a first offence on or after March 13, 2012, you can apply 5 years after your sentence ends for a summary offence, or 10 years after for an indictable offence. Once the PBC accepts your application as eligible and complete, it aims to decide within 6 months for summary offences and 12 months for indictable offences.

Pardon vs record suspension: the same process

"Record suspension" replaced "pardon" in the Criminal Records Act for first offences committed on or after March 13, 2012. The PBC still calls the result a "pardon" if your first offence came before that date. Either way you use the same application guide and forms, and you send them to the same office.

Who can apply

According to the PBC application guide, you may apply if you:

• were convicted as an adult of an offence under a federal act or regulation of Canada; or
• were convicted in another country and transferred to Canada under the Transfer of Offenders Act or the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

You do not need a record suspension if you:

• only received an absolute or conditional discharge. Under the Criminal Records Act, a discharge is not disclosed without the Minister's approval, and it is removed from CPIC, 1 year after an absolute discharge or 3 years after a conditional discharge is ordered; or
• were only convicted in a youth court or youth justice court. Those records are destroyed or archived once the time periods under the Young Offenders Act or Youth Criminal Justice Act run out.

Provincial offences, such as most traffic tickets, are not federal convictions. The Criminal Records Act does not cover them.

Waiting periods depend on when you committed your first offence

The waiting period starts only after you have completed every part of your sentence. That includes all fines, surcharges, costs, restitution and compensation orders, all imprisonment and conditional sentences (including parole and statutory release), and any probation. A driving or weapons prohibition does not have to expire first.

Since March 19, 2020, the PBC has stopped applying the 2010 and 2012 changes to the Criminal Records Act retroactively. It now uses the rules that were in force on the date of your first offence. That is the date you committed it, not the date you were sentenced.

Two rules from the PBC guide catch people out:

• Hybrid offences count by how the Crown actually proceeded, summary or indictable. If the court cannot confirm the method of trial, the longer waiting period applies.
• Victim surcharges imposed between October 24, 2013 and December 13, 2018 do not count when the PBC works out your eligibility.

To estimate your date under the current (post-2012) periods, use our record suspension waiting-period calculator. It does not apply the older pre-2012 periods.

Who is not eligible

If your first offence was committed on or after March 13, 2012, you are not eligible if you:

• were convicted of more than three indictable offences, each with a prison sentence of 2 years or more; or
• were convicted of a Schedule 1 offence (a sexual offence involving a child), unless you meet the exception in section 4(3) of the Criminal Records Act. To meet it, the PBC must be satisfied that you were not in a position of trust or authority towards the victim and the victim did not depend on you, that you did not use, threaten or attempt violence, intimidation or coercion, and that you were less than five years older than the victim. You use the Schedule 1 Exception Form and must provide official proof of the victim's age.

For indictable offences, the Board must also be satisfied that a record suspension would give you a measurable benefit, would sustain your rehabilitation, and would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. For every offence, you must have been of good conduct during the waiting period, with no new conviction under a federal act.

Simple possession of cannabis: no fee, no waiting period

If your only conviction is for simple possession of cannabis, the PBC charges no fee and sets no waiting period. You still have to finish the rest of your sentence, such as probation, but unpaid cannabis fines and victim surcharges do not block your application. You apply with the PBC's separate Cannabis Record Suspension Guide. You will need official court or police documents that show the substance was cannabis.

If you have a cannabis possession conviction and other offences, use the regular guide. The cannabis conviction is left out of the waiting-period calculation, but the regular rules apply to everything else.

There is a separate rule for other simple drug possession convictions. Section 10.6 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, added in 2022, requires records of simple possession convictions to be kept separate and apart from other conviction records. This happens automatically, so you do not need to apply.

The application fee and other costs

You can pay the PBC by credit card, Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard (using the Processing Fee Form), certified cheque, money order or bank draft made out to the Receiver General of Canada. The PBC does not accept personal cheques or cash. If the fee is missing or wrong, your application is returned.

How to apply: the 10 steps in the PBC guide

The PBC's Record Suspension Application Guide sets out these steps:

1. Fill in the Record Suspension Application Form. Answer every question; the PBC returns incomplete forms. It asks for your address history for the past 10 years.
2. Get your criminal record from the RCMP. You need your fingerprints taken by a police service or an accredited fingerprinting company that submits them electronically, and the submission must say it is for a record suspension. Include the record (or the Certification of No Criminal Record) the RCMP sends you. If a conviction is missing from it, get a Proof of Conviction from the court or arresting police service. Convictions outside Canada must also be reported.
3. Get your court information. Each court that sentenced you completes the Court Information Form. It must show proof and date of last payment of fines, surcharges and restitution, plus the method of trial, signature and an official seal.
4. Get your Military Conduct Sheet, if you are a current or former member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
5. Get Local Police Records Checks from the police service where you live now, and from every city or town where you lived for 3 months or more in the last 5 years, using the PBC's Local Police Records Check Form. Each one is valid for 12 months from the date it is issued.
6. Include a photocopy of government-issued ID showing your name, date of birth and signature.
7. Fill in the Schedule 1 Exception Form, if it applies to you (see above).
8. Fill in the Measurable Benefit/Sustained Rehabilitation Form if your first offence was on or after June 29, 2010.
9. Pay the $50 application processing fee.
10. Sign the Record Suspension Applicant Consent & Privacy Form. It is valid for 12 months from the date you sign it.

Send the originals of all documents except your ID, with the fee, to:

Parole Board of Canada, Clemency and Record Suspension Division, 410 Laurier Avenue West, 5th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R1.

Keep photocopies of everything you send. If you have questions, the PBC's information line is 1-800-874-2652 (toll-free).

How long does a pardon take?

The PBC's published processing times begin only when it accepts your application as eligible and complete. Time spent gathering documents, or waiting after an incomplete application is returned, is not included.

A refusal takes longer because the Criminal Records Act requires the PBC to tell you in writing that it proposes to refuse, and you are entitled to make representations. If you are refused, you must wait one year before you can apply again.

The RCMP publishes its own times for the fingerprint check in step 2. For electronic submissions, it takes 3 business days or less when there is no match to a criminal record, and 120 business days when manual processing is needed or there is a possible match. Anyone applying for a pardon has a record, so expect the longer time. The PBC does not publish how long courts and local police take to complete their forms.

What a record suspension does

• Removes your record from CPIC. The PBC says a CPIC search will not show that you have a criminal record or a record suspension.
• Keeps federal records separate. Federal departments and agencies cannot disclose the record without the Minister of Public Safety's approval. The Act only binds federal records, but the PBC says most provincial and municipal criminal justice agencies also restrict access once they are told a suspension has been ordered.
• Removes federal disqualifications that came from the conviction, with some exceptions in the Act (for example, certain Criminal Code prohibition orders and sex-offender registration provisions).
• Protects you in federal employment. Federal government, Crown corporation, Canadian Forces and federally regulated employers may not use application forms that ask you to disclose a suspended conviction. Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, a conviction that has been pardoned or suspended is a prohibited ground of discrimination.

What a record suspension does not do

• It does not erase the conviction. The record is set aside, not destroyed. Erasure, called expungement, exists only for a short list of historically unjust convictions. See record suspension vs expungement.
• It does not get you into the United States. Global Affairs Canada says a pardon issued by Canadian authorities is not recognized under U.S. law. If you are inadmissible, you can apply to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for a temporary waiver. The PBC suggests contacting the U.S. port of entry before you travel.
• It does not lift driving or weapons prohibition orders.
• It does not hide suspended sexual offence records on a vulnerable sector check (see below).
• It can be revoked. This can happen after a new conviction, if the PBC finds you are no longer of good conduct, or if you made a false or misleading statement or hid information in your application. It also ceases to have effect if you were not eligible when it was ordered. The records then go back into CPIC.

You also do not need a record suspension to get a Canadian passport, according to the PBC guide.

Will a suspended record show on a criminal record check?

Standard criminal record check: the RCMP describes a name-based criminal record check as a search of active criminal files, using your name and date of birth. A record suspension removes the record from CPIC, so a suspended conviction should not appear on a standard name-based check.

Vulnerable sector check: the Criminal Records Act requires the RCMP to flag suspended records of sexual offences listed in Schedule 2 of the Act. A vulnerable sector check is for positions of trust or authority over children or vulnerable people, and it searches those flagged files as well as active ones. The record itself is released only with the approval of the Minister of Public Safety.

For more scenarios, see do pardoned records show on a background check? and vulnerable sector check vs criminal record check.

Need a criminal record check before your pardon comes through?

Even after you are eligible, it takes time to gather your documents, and then up to 6 or 12 months of PBC processing after acceptance. If an employer, landlord or volunteer organization asks for a criminal record check in the meantime, you can order a standard criminal record check online from SafeHire. It is a name and date of birth search of the RCMP's CPIC database, done with a police service. It costs $64.99, or $74.99 with rush, and you don't need an appointment. Order a criminal record check.

Before you order, keep in mind:

• Until your record suspension is ordered, a standard check can show convictions that have not been suspended.
• A SafeHire check cannot be used in your pardon application. The PBC requires a fingerprint-based criminal record from the RCMP (step 2).
• SafeHire does not process pardons or record suspensions, and does not offer vulnerable sector checks.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a pardon cost in Canada?

The PBC application fee is $50, and has been since January 1, 2022. You also pay for your own fingerprints (the RCMP's federal fee is $25, plus whatever the fingerprinting provider charges), court documents and local police checks. Cannabis-only simple possession applications have no PBC fee.

How long do I have to wait before applying?

That depends on the date of your first offence. On or after March 13, 2012: 5 years for summary offences and 10 years for indictable offences. Earlier first offences have shorter periods (see the table above). The clock starts when your whole sentence is complete, including fines and probation.

Can I apply for a pardon myself?

Yes. The PBC says you do not need a lawyer or representative, and that it gives no preferential treatment to any application.

Can I get a pardon for impaired driving?

Impaired driving is a federal Criminal Code offence, so it falls under the same rules: 5 or 10 years depending on how it was prosecuted (for a first offence on or after March 13, 2012). A record suspension does not lift a driving prohibition, but the prohibition does not have to expire before your waiting period starts. Related: will a DUI show on a background check?

What if my application is refused?

The PBC must tell you in writing that it proposes to refuse, and you can make representations. If it refuses, you can reapply after one year.

Does a record suspension work for travel to the US?

No. Global Affairs Canada says a Canadian pardon is not recognized under U.S. law. You may need a U.S. waiver of inadmissibility from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

What is the success rate?

The PBC does not publish a success rate on its application pages.

Sources

• Parole Board of Canada, What is a record suspension?: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions/what-is-a-record-suspension.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Official PBC Record Suspension Application Guide and Forms (fee, processing times): https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions/official-pbc-application-guide-and-forms.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Record Suspension Application Guide (PDF, forms revised 2026-08): https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pbc-clcc/Forms/record-suspension/46-013-PBC-RS.pdf (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Determining your eligibility for record suspension or pardon: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions/determining-your-eligibility-for-record-suspension.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Application fee reduction: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions/record-suspension-pardon-application-fee-reduction.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Applying for a cannabis record suspension: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/corporate/publications-and-forms/applying-for-a-cannabis-record-suspension.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Parole Board of Canada, Got a question about your application?: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions/got-a-question-about-your-application.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Criminal Records Act (ss. 2.3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 6, 6.1, 6.3, 7, 8): https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-47/FullText.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, s. 10.6: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/FullText.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• Canadian Human Rights Act, s. 3(1): https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-6/FullText.html (checked 2026-10-17)
• RCMP, Dissemination of Criminal Record Information policy: https://rcmp.ca/en/criminal-records/police-dissemination-criminal-record-information-policy (checked 2026-10-17)
• RCMP, Processing times and fees: https://rcmp.ca/en/criminal-records/criminal-record-checks/processing-times-and-fees (checked 2026-10-17)
• Global Affairs Canada, United States travel advice (entry requirements): https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-states (checked 2026-10-17)