Did you know? Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada tells applicants not to request a criminal record check unless they receive a letter asking for one. People order it anyway, out of caution, and end up holding a certificate that expires before it is needed — or the wrong product entirely.
There are two different checks in circulation, and only one of them satisfies most immigration requirements. A name-based search through the RCMP’s Canadian Police Information Centre is quick and cheap. A fingerprint-based certified criminal record check confirms identity biometrically, and that is what gets asked for when the stakes are high.
This guide explains the difference, when fingerprints are required, how to obtain an RCMP criminal record check from inside or outside Canada, what to bring, and how to get the result authenticated if a foreign authority needs it.
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 Versus Fingerprint-Based
The CPIC Check
A name-based check compares your name and date of birth against the RCMP’s Canadian Police Information Centre. It is fast and suits employment, volunteering, licensing and general travel. Its weakness is structural: names repeat. If a name-based criminal record check cannot confirm identity definitively, the applicant is asked to provide fingerprints anyway.
The Certified Check
A certified check searches the National Repository of Criminal Records using biometrics. Fingerprints cannot be shared or mistaken, which is why this version is used where identity matters — immigration, adoption, security clearances and foreign police certificate requests. The consent form for this product is distinct from the CPIC consent form.
A third category, the vulnerable sector check, is only available from your local police service. Accredited fingerprinting companies cannot provide it.
When RCMP Fingerprints Are Required for Immigration
You do not submit a Canadian police certificate with a permanent residence application. IRCC requests one during processing if it is needed, and the rule of thumb it applies is residence: where an applicant has lived in Canada more than six months since the age of 18, the RCMP may be asked to run a fingerprint-based check.
Two details matter:
- Do not apply early. Wait for the letter. An unrequested check wastes money and may expire.
- Citizenship files are stricter. Where prints are required for a citizenship application, they must be collected inside Canada.
This is also separate from biometrics. Giving biometrics — fingerprints and a photo — as part of an immigration application is a different process with a different purpose, even though the word overlaps.
How to Apply From Inside Canada
Two routes exist. Your local police service takes fingerprints and processes applications, including vulnerable sector checks. Alternatively, a private company accredited by the RCMP can take digital fingerprints and submit them electronically. Some police services direct applicants to an accredited company as a matter of course.
What to Bring
- Two pieces of valid government-issued identification, at least one with a photo, name and date of birth
- The reason for the request, in writing where an organization supplied a letter
- Your CIC file number, where the check relates to an immigration or citizenship file
- The mailing address for results
Digital capture replaces ink. The scanner checks image quality as the prints are taken, so poor impressions are corrected immediately rather than discovered as a rejection weeks later. Fingerprints are then submitted electronically to Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services, the RCMP branch that maintains the national repository.
Fees and Timing
The federal processing fee is 25 Canadian dollars per check, waived in certain categories, plus whatever the police service or accredited agency charges for taking the prints. Submissions with no match are fastest; anything requiring manual review takes considerably longer. Results are mailed, so add delivery time.
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.
Applying for Criminal Record Check From Abroad
We can help you!
You’ll get a fingerprint-based certificate issued by the RCMP. We digitize your ink-and-roll fingerprints and submit them electronically — you can be anywhere in the world.
In order to process the RCMP CRC certificate we need to receive from the clients their fingerprints taken on C-216C form or similar and other completed forms provided in the Application Package below.
Use the “General” option for most countries and the “Personal Use” option if you need the CRC Certificate for immigration to USA.
General
1. Application Package
Start here. The package contains the full document checklist, Form #2, Form #3 and the RCMP identification requirements.
Everything must be completed without errors — mistakes and missing information delay processing.
▼ Application Package (General)
2. Form #1 (C-216C)
Have your fingerprints taken on the official RCMP C-216C form using the ink-and-roll method only — digital or live-scan printouts are not accepted.
We need two (2) complete sets, with all fields filled in and the name, signature and stamp of the official who took them.
Fingerprints must be clear and high-quality — not smudged, faded, or blurred. All ridge details must be clearly visible on the form. Failure to provide clear, high-quality fingerprints may result in the RCMP rejecting the submission.
Fingerprints outside Canada can be taken by the following entities:
- Police Service
- Embassy / Consulate
- Government Department
- Notary Public
- Foreign private fingerprinting company with an MOU with a local police force or government department
Under “Reason for application”, tick the option that matches your case — Visa/Waiver, Canadian Citizenship, Employment, Adoption, and so on.
▼ Example of Correct Impressions
3. Form #2 (Third Party Consent)
Found inside the Application Package.
This form authorizes the RCMP to release your results to us.
Complete it, sign and date it, and place one fingerprint in the box — the form is not valid without it.
4. Form #3 (Applicant Information)
Found inside the Application Package.
Print clearly in CAPITAL LETTERS and double-check your name, date of birth and address — any typo here can delay or invalidate the search.
5. Consent Form
This is the official RCMP consent form that authorizes CCRTIS to search the National Repository of Criminal Records and release the results.
Read each section, tick every checkbox, then sign and date it.
Select the application type that matches your case — for most travel and work purposes this is Visa / Border Crossing / Foreign Travel / Work.
Without this consent the RCMP cannot process your application.
▼ Consent for Certified Criminal Record Checks – Immigration and Travel (RCMP 6674e)
6. LSC Order Form
This is our service order. Fill in your contact details, tick “Canadian Criminal Record Check/Background Check Certificate” under Services Required, and sign the form to confirm you agree to the terms.
Please print clearly and include a working email address and phone number — we use them to send your invoice and any updates.
7. Send
First, email us scans of all completed forms plus PDF scans of your two government-issued IDs (at least one with a photo) and photographs of those IDs taken from different angles. The full list of acceptable ID is on the last page of the Application Package.
We’ll review everything and confirm it meets RCMP requirements. Ship the originals only after we approve your scans.
Include two recent passport-size colour photos with your name and the date written on the back.
Courier to:
Legalization Service Centre Canada, 440 Laurier Ave W, Suite 200, Office 218, Ottawa, ON K1R 7X6
When your originals arrive we’ll arrange a short video call to verify your IDs, then digitize your fingerprints and submit them to the RCMP electronically.
8. Pay and Receive
Upon receiving your documents, we will email you the invoice for payment.
The fee is $125CAD per certificate + $25CAD RCMP fee (if applicable). Return shipping (as selected in the Order Form) and applicable taxes are extra.
We accept payments by credit card / PayPal (+3.5%), Interac e-Transfer, money order or certified cheque.
After we receive the CRC certificate from RCMP we will courier it to the address you provided in the LSC Order Form.
Processing time to obtain the CRC certificate from the RCMP is approximately 5–20 business days. This is an estimate and may change at any time without prior notice. If there is a criminal record found, the processing time can be longer.
We can also arrange an apostille for your RCMP CRC certificate in Canada for an additional fee.
Personal Use
1. Application Package
Start here. The package contains the full document checklist, Form #2 and the RCMP identification requirements.
Everything must be completed without errors — mistakes and missing information delay processing.
▼ Application Package (Personal Use)
2. Form #1 (C-216C)
Have your fingerprints taken on the official RCMP C-216C form using the ink-and-roll method only — digital or live-scan printouts are not accepted.
We need two (2) complete sets, with all fields filled in and the name, signature and stamp of the official who took them.
Fingerprints must be clear and high-quality — not smudged, faded, or blurred. All ridge details must be clearly visible on the form. Failure to provide clear, high-quality fingerprints may result in the RCMP rejecting the submission.
Fingerprints outside Canada can be taken by the following entities:
- Police Service
- Embassy / Consulate
- Government Department
- Notary Public
- Foreign private fingerprinting company with an MOU with a local police force or government department
Under “Reason for application”, tick Privacy Act.
▼ Example of Correct Impressions
3. Form #2 (Applicant Information)
Found inside the Application Package.
Print clearly in CAPITAL LETTERS and double-check your name, date of birth and address — any typo here can delay or invalidate the search.
This is the address the RCMP will mail your certificate to — make sure it’s correct and that you can reliably receive regular mail there.
4. Consent Form
This is the official RCMP consent form that authorizes CCRTIS to search the National Repository of Criminal Records and release the results.
Read each section, tick every checkbox, then sign and date it.
Select Criminal Record Check for Personal Use – Other.
Without this consent the RCMP cannot process your application.
▼ Consent for Certified Criminal Record Checks – Other Purposes (RCMP 6676e)
5. LSC Order Form
This is our service order. Fill in your contact details, tick “Canadian Criminal Record Check/Background Check Certificate” under Services Required, and sign the form to confirm you agree to the terms.
Please print clearly and include a working email address and phone number — we use them to send your invoice and any updates.
You can leave Sections 5 and 6 (return shipping) blank — the RCMP mails your certificate directly to you.
6. Send
First, email us scans of all completed forms plus PDF scans of your two government-issued IDs (at least one with a photo) and photographs of those IDs taken from different angles. The full list of acceptable ID is on the last page of the Application Package.
We’ll review everything and confirm it meets RCMP requirements. Ship the originals only after we approve your scans.
Include two recent passport-size colour photos with your name and the date written on the back.
Courier to:
Legalization Service Centre Canada, 440 Laurier Ave W, Suite 200, Office 218, Ottawa, ON K1R 7X6
When your originals arrive we’ll arrange a short video call to verify your IDs, then digitize your fingerprints and submit them to the RCMP electronically.
7. Pay and Receive
Upon receiving your documents, we will email you the invoice for payment.
The fee is $125CAD per certificate + applicable taxes.
We accept payments by credit card / PayPal (+3.5%), Interac e-Transfer, money order or certified cheque.
The certificate for Personal Use will be sent by RCMP directly to your address provided in the Form #2 by regular mail only.
Processing time to obtain the CRC certificate from the RCMP is approximately 5–20 business days. This is an estimate and may change at any time without prior notice. If there is a criminal record found, the processing time can be longer.
Getting the RCMP Criminal Record Check Result Abroad
A certificate that satisfies a Canadian process rarely satisfies a foreign one on its own. Depending on the destination, the result may need:
- An apostille, where the receiving country belongs to the Hague Convention
- Authentication followed by consular legalization, where it does not — the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait among them
Because a criminal record check is a federal document, Global Affairs Canada handles it, with processing around 20 business days by mail. Notarization is sometimes required first, particularly where a copy rather than the original will travel. Confirm the requirement with the receiving institution in writing before the certificate is issued — the wording they accept is rarely negotiable afterwards.
Common Reasons Applications Fail
- Applying before IRCC has asked, so the certificate expires mid-process
- The name-based version supplied where a certified one was required
- Expired identification, or a name that does not match the documents
- A missing CIC file number
- Ink cards that are smudged, incomplete or on the wrong form
If Something Is Found
A record does not automatically end an application. What matters is what the offence was, how long ago it happened, and whether it has been suspended. A record suspension — formerly a pardon — removes a conviction from the searchable repository for most purposes, and applicants with old convictions are usually better served by pursuing one than by hoping a search comes back clean.
Where results arrive that you believe are wrong, the RCMP operates a correction process. Errors are rare but not unknown, and they generally trace back to a name shared with someone else — precisely the failure mode that fingerprints exist to eliminate.
Need Help With Fingerprinting?
Since 2009, Legalization Service Centre has assisted clients with Canadian police checks, apostille, authentication and legalization. Based in Ottawa, close to both the RCMP and Global Affairs Canada, our team handles fingerprint submissions and the certification that follows as a single file.
Keep a Record of What You Submitted
Photograph or scan the consent form, the identification you presented and the courier receipt before anything leaves your hands. If a certificate goes missing in the post, or an examiner queries a detail months later, that file answers the question in minutes rather than requiring you to reconstruct the appointment from memory.
Get Your Documents Ready for International Use
Order the right product, wait until it is asked for, arrive with the correct identification, and find out early whether the finished certificate will need an apostille or full legalization. Those four decisions account for almost all the time people lose.
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.