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If you were charged with or convicted of a criminal offence, there are several ways it may have been dealt with by the Justice system.

All of the qualifying periods identified below commence from the date of the final disposition of each criminal charge.

If fingerprints were taken for a Criminal Code offence a request can be made to Ottawa, through the arresting police agency, to have the fingerprints returned for destruction. Ottawa will remove the information from the Criminal Record. A period of time must elapse before Ottawa will acknowledge the request.

Acquitted - two month waiting period.
Withdrawn - one year waiting period
Dismissed - one year waiting period
Stay of proceedings - one year waiting period
Alternate Measure Program - two year waiting period

Policy on the Purging of Criminal Records

Absolute Discharge
All absolute discharges received on or after July 24, 1992, are removed from the criminal record after a period of one (1) year from the date of sentence. Absolute discharges received before July 24, 1992, are purged upon written request from the individual.

Conditional Discharge
All conditional discharges received on or after July 24, 1992, are removed from the criminal record three (3) years following the date of the sentence. Conditional discharges registered before July 24, 1992, are purged upon written request from the individual. Download the Request to Purge Absolute and/or Conditional Discharge form (Adobe Acrobat Reader needed) and complete and send to:

Requests must contain all of the following information:

your full name (including any maiden names or aliases),
date of birth,
full return mailing address,
phone number (include area code), and
the particulars of the offence(s) that apply (include the offence, whether Absolute or Conditional Discharge, and date of disposition).

In the case of the Young Offender, the criminal record is destroyed from Ottawa automatically upon the expiry of the qualification period.

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