Standard Canadian Criminal Record Check

While a person’s criminal record may contain non-conviction results, this check is limited to actual convictions as per the direction of Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS). This means that any discharges (absolute or conditional, regardless of discharge conditions or date), peace bonds, prohibition orders, release conditions, and probation orders that may appear in a Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) query should not dictate the standard response that is used in this check. Our enhanced check product is intended to capture these non-conviction-related items (see below). 

Notwithstanding the paragraph above, Certn's police partners (CPIC agencies) have the right to exercise their own discretion in extraordinary circumstances.

To produce a standard criminal record report, Certn collects disclosures from the applicant regarding past convictions. Certn’s police partners compare the disclosures to findings from the CPIC database and then communicates to Certn one of three standard responses: negative, incomplete or confirmation. These standard responses are determined by the Dissemination of Criminal Record Information policy. Please see more information below on these standard responses and how they are displayed on Certn’s reports.

Documents Required: none*

Turn Around Time: 15 minutes to 4 hours**

Dependencies: Canadian Criminal Record Checks must be accompanied by an Identity Verification product. Clients must go through Certn’s onboarding process and only organizations with a legitimate reason for conducting criminal checks will be allowed to complete Canadian Criminal Record checks through Certn. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our website.

Possible Results: CLEARED or REVIEW***

*the applicant must disclose the name, date and location of any criminal convictions.

**incorrectly disclosed convictions can result in an extended turn around time for some clients as Certn works with the applicant and police partners to update and confirm information.

***please see below for a detailed description of possible results for Canadian Criminal Record Checks

Screenshot from applicant introduction page:

How does it work?

The applicant discloses the details of their past criminal convictions (if any), as described on this page:

After the applicant completes the disclosure (and the Identity Verification was successfully returned), the information is sent to Certn’s police partners to compare with the CPIC database. Certn’s police partners then return one of three standard responses: negative, incomplete or confirmation. These standard responses are determined by the Dissemination of Criminal Record Information policy.

Criteria Used

A Canadian Criminal Record Check includes a search of the CPIC database. The search looks for: indictable/criminal offenses and hybrid offenses (either summary or indictable) for which the applicant was found guilty.

In some cases Certn’s police partners may also use pending court cases, arrest warrants, and conditional discharges to determine the response.

Negative Response

In this scenario the applicant did not disclose any criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database did not return any results of a criminal conviction.

Incomplete Response

Several scenarios can cause an incomplete result:

1. The applicant did not disclose any criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database returned results of a criminal conviction.
2. The applicant disclosed one or more criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database did not return any results of a criminal conviction.
3. The applicant disclosed one or more criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database returned results of a criminal conviction that do not match the disclosures. This could be due to one of the following:
1. The applicant disclosed some, but not all of the criminal convictions that were found in the CPIC database. 
2. The applicant disclosed all the criminal convictions that were found in the CPIC database and also disclosed additional criminal convictions that were not found in the database. 
4. The applicant disclosed one or more criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database returned results of the criminal conviction(s) but specific details do not match. For example, the date, location or name of conviction listed by the applicant does not match the entry in the CPIC database. Please note that conviction dates must be accurate within 2 years in order to be confirmed.
5. Certn’s police partners are unable to confirm or deny the existence of a record in the CPIC database based on the name and date of birth provided by the applicant. They recommend the applicant complete a fingerprint check to confirm results. 

Possible next steps for an incomplete result:

• Certn recommends that applicants who are unsure of the details of their criminal convictions seek confirmation through a certified criminal record check (or fingerprints check) with their local police service. 
• If an applicant feels they have accurately disclosed their convictions and wishes to dispute their incomplete result, please contact support@certn.co.
• If an applicant feels they know which information was missing or incorrect from their initial disclosure, they can submit a re-disclosure form to Certn to rerun the check in some cases. For more information on this process please contact support@certn.co. 

Confirmation Response

In this scenario, the applicant disclosed one or more criminal convictions and a name-and-date-of-birth based search of the CPIC database confirmed what was disclosed. The applicant accurately disclosed all criminal convictions listed in CPIC based on their name and date of birth. 

Important Information

Certn works with police partners throughout Canada and is compliant with the Dissemination of Criminal Record Information policy. As a third party provider of background checks, Certn requires applicants to disclose their criminal history. Certn does not have access to the details of an applicant’s criminal history outside of what they disclose in the application.

Enhanced Canadian Criminal Record Check

The Enhanced Criminal Record Check includes the Standard Criminal Record Check as described above, as well as a search of the investigative and identification data banks of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and a search of the Police Information Portal (PIP). No disclosure is necessary for the enhanced portion of the check and no details are provided to an applicant’s employer regarding specifically what was found about an applicant. Applicants are required to disclose convictions as per the requirements of the Standard Canadian Criminal Record Check. Certn’s police partners complete an enhanced search in these databases and return one of two standard responses: clear or not clear. 

Documents Required: none*

Turn Around Time: 15 minutes to 4 hours**

Dependencies: Canadian Criminal Record Checks must be accompanied by an Identity Verification product. Clients must go through Certn’s onboarding process and only organizations with a legitimate reason for conducting criminal checks will be allowed to complete Canadian Criminal Record checks through Certn. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our website.

Possible Results: CLEARED or REVIEW***

*the applicant must disclose the name, date and location of any criminal convictions for the standard portion of the Enhanced Canadian Criminal Record Check.

**incorrectly disclosed convictions for the standard portion of the Enhanced Canadian Criminal Record Check can result in an extended turn around time for some clients as Certn works with the applicant and police partners to update information. Note that some enhanced checks may be placed “On Hold” while Certn’s police partner awaits a response from an outside agency for additional information. On Hold applications can vary in turnaround time, but are usually returned within 2-3 business days. Please contact support@certn.co regarding Enhanced checks exceeding this timeframe.

***please see below for a detailed description of possible results for Canadian Criminal Record Checks

How does it work?

The applicant discloses criminal convictions as per the requirements of the Standard Canadian Criminal Record Check. In addition to reviewing the CPIC database, Certn’s police partners will complete an enhanced search of the investigative and identification data banks of CPIC and a search of the Public Safety Portal (previously known as Police Information Portal or PIP).

Please see details above for how the Standard Canadian Criminal Record Check responses are generated. Please see details below for descriptions on how the Enhanced Canadian Criminal Record Check responses are generated.

Criteria Used

All of the searches included in the Canadian Criminal Record Check plus searches of the CPIC investigative data bank, Public Safety Portal (previously known as PIP), and in some cases local police indices and/or court registries. The search looks for any offenses for which the applicant was found guilty, pending charges of any kind, conditional and absolute discharges, wanted and accused person information, pending probation information, pending court orders and undertakings, pending release conditions, pending diversions such as restorative justice, persons of special interest to the police, deportation orders, illegal entry charges from the CBSA, and charges that have been stayed of proceedings.

Clear Response

A name-and-date-of-birth based search of the investigative and identification data banks of CPIC and the PIP did not return any results. 

Not Clear Response

A name-and-date-of-birth based search of the investigative and identification data banks of CPIC and the PIP returned results. These results could include an absolute discharge or a conditional discharge where discharge conditions have not been met, additional convictions that have not yet been populated in the CPIC database, outstanding warrants, criminal charges, peace bonds or probation orders. 

Possible next steps for a not clear result:

• No further details will be provided by Certn or Certn’s police partners regarding the details of the not clear result on the Enhanced Criminal Record Check. 
• Employers may follow-up with the applicant directly regarding the not clear result. Certn will not confirm the details provided by the applicant and so the employer should make decisions based on their own discretion. 
• The applicant may also seek an information check from their local police service (in Ontario this is referred to as a Judicial Matters Check). 
• If an applicant wishes to dispute the not clear result, please contact support@certn.co.