Did you know? The police check most employers ask for and the check a foreign consulate demands are two different products. One is searched by name and date of birth. The other is searched by fingerprint against the National Repository of Criminal Records, and it is the only version that carries any weight internationally.
Applicants discover the difference at the worst possible moment — usually a week before a visa deadline, holding a document the receiving authority will not look at. Understanding which check you actually need, and who is allowed to take your prints, saves that week.
This article explains how fingerprinting in Ottawa works: the difference between the two types of background checks, who can take your prints in the region, what happens at the appointment, how long results take, and what to do when the finished certificate has to be used in another country.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
Name-Based Screening vs Fingerprint-Based Verification
A name-based check compares your name and date of birth against police databases. It is quick, cheap and perfectly adequate for many domestic jobs — and it is also inconclusive, because names repeat. If the search flags a possible match, you will be asked for prints anyway.
A certified criminal record check works from biometrics instead. Your prints are compared against the RCMP’s central database, which removes that ambiguity entirely. This is the version that immigration authorities, foreign employers and consulates ask for, and the reason they specify it is that identity is confirmed rather than assumed.
Note one limitation from the outset: vulnerable sector checks are not available from private providers. If you need one — typically for work with children or dependent adults — you must go to your local police service.
Who Provides Fingerprinting Services in Ottawa
Two routes exist in the capital region, and they are not interchangeable.
The Police Route
The Ottawa Police Service and other municipal forces process applications and handle vulnerable sector screening. Availability, wait times and whether prints are taken on site vary; some forces direct applicants to an accredited company instead.
An Accredited Private Agency
A private fingerprinting agency can take your prints for civil purposes and submit them electronically for verification against the national repository. Options exist on both sides of the river, so residents of Gatineau frequently book in Ottawa and vice versa. Specialist third-party providers often hold evening or weekend slots that a police counter does not, and many handle the paperwork that follows the appointment as part of the same service.
What Accreditation Actually Means
Not every business offering fingerprinting is authorized to submit anything. To provide these services to the public, a company must be accredited by the Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services, the RCMP branch responsible for the file. That process examines the firm’s security and administrative operations — personnel screening for its company security officer, physical site inspections, and IT security checks — before certification of its devices, systems and network connection grants access to the Real Time Identification system.
Some agencies hold a “direct connect” authorization, meaning transactions travel over a network connected directly rather than through an intermediary. The official list of accredited companies is published and updated monthly, and firms may be added or removed at any time, so verify a provider before you book.
The Fingerprinting Ottawa Process Step by Step
The appointment itself is short. The preparation is what determines whether it succeeds.
Book a Fingerprinting Appointment
Most providers work by appointment rather than walk-ins, partly because each submission is logged against the operator taking it. Booking ahead also means the reason for your application is recorded correctly the first time — a detail that cannot be edited after submission.
Book appointment with LSC here.
What to Bring
- Two pieces of valid government-issued identification, at least one with a photograph
- The reason for the request, in writing where an organization has supplied a letter
- Your CIC file number if the application relates to immigration or citizenship
- The mailing address where results should be sent
Digital Capture
A modern scanner replaces ink and paper. Your fingers are rolled across a glass platen, the software checks image quality in real time, and poor impressions are retaken on the spot — the single biggest advantage over ink, where a rejection is discovered weeks later. Ink forms are still used in specific situations, including prints taken outside of Canada, and an accredited agency can convert those paper forms into a digital submission.
Electronic Submission
Your file is transmitted to the RCMP for searching against that same database. Nothing is handed to you at this stage; the results go to the address on the application.
Why Submissions Get Delayed
- Identification that has expired, or a name that does not match the documents supplied
- The wrong reason recorded on the application, which cannot be corrected afterwards
- A missing file number where immigration or citizenship is involved
- Ink forms taken abroad that are smudged, incomplete or on the wrong form
- An address change between the appointment and the mailing of results
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
When Fingerprint-Based Screening Is Required
Fingerprint-based screening turns up across a wide range of applications:
- Permanent residence, visa and citizenship applications, in Canada and abroad
- Employment and pre-employment background checks, particularly in regulated industries
- Federal security clearances, security screening and reliability assessments
- Adoption, both domestic and international
- Professional licensing and registration with regulatory bodies
- Applications to work, study or retire outside Canada, where a police certificate is standard
- Record suspensions and requests for a Privacy Act report
If you live abroad and need a Canadian criminal record check, the route is the same in structure: get your fingerprints taken locally, then submit them through an accredited company in Canada that converts and transmits the file.
Processing, Results and Using the Certificate Abroad
Fees
Two charges apply. The federal processing fee is set and is waived in certain categories. On top of that sits the fee charged by whoever takes your prints, which differs between forces and private agencies, so ask before booking.
Timelines
Electronic submissions that produce no match are the fastest; anything requiring manual review takes considerably longer. Results are mailed, which adds delivery time — build in a margin rather than assuming the minimum.
Certification for International Use
A certificate destined for a foreign government usually needs more than the RCMP’s seal. Depending on the destination, it may require notarization, an apostille from Global Affairs Canada, or full consular legalization for countries outside the Hague Convention. Confirm the requirement with the receiving institution in writing before the certificate is issued, because the wording they accept is rarely negotiable once the file is closed. Because federal documents fall under Global Affairs Canada, an Ottawa address is convenient — but the paperwork rules are the same wherever you live.
Need Help With Fingerprinting in Ottawa?
Legalization Service Centre is an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company based in Ottawa, submitting digital transactions directly for certified checks and converting ink prints taken anywhere in the world.
Since 2009, we have also assisted clients with apostille, authentication and legalization of Canadian documents, which means the check and the certification that follows it can be handled as one file rather than two.
Get Your Documents Ready for International Use
Fingerprinting is a small step that other people’s deadlines depend on. Booking with a provider that is genuinely accredited, arriving with the right identification, and knowing in advance whether your certificate will need an apostille removes most of the delay from the process.
Whether you need fingerprinting, an apostille, a certified translation, or notarization of supporting documents, Legalization Service Centre can guide you through every stage.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.