How long do you have to wait to apply for a record suspension (pardon)?

Five years for an offence punished on summary conviction and ten years for an offence prosecuted by indictment, counted from the day your whole sentence is finished, including any jail, probation and fines. The periods come from section 4 of the federal Criminal Records Act, and the Parole Board of Canada decides every application. Some people cannot apply at all, and discharges never need an application.

A record suspension, still often called a pardon, is how a conviction is set aside in Canada. It is the last step for many people who went through a criminal case in Ontario, and the waiting period is the first thing to check.

When does the waiting period start?

Not on the day of the conviction. Section 4(1) says the period runs after the expiration according to law of any sentence imposed, including a sentence of imprisonment, a period of probation and the payment of any fine. In practice, the last part of your sentence to finish sets the start date. The Parole Board's application steps require court information showing proof and date of last payment for any fines, victim surcharges, restitution and compensation, so an unpaid fine pushes the start date back.

For a jail sentence, the date that counts is the day the sentence itself expires, not the day you were let out. Section 4.3 says the expiry is read without taking into account any statutory release or any remission credited to you.

Whether your conviction counts as summary or indictable depends on how the Crown proceeded, not just on the name of the offence. Many common charges, such as assault and theft under $5,000, can go either way. The court information you collect for the application records the method of trial for each conviction. Our page on summary and indictable offences in Ontario explains the difference.

Who cannot apply for a record suspension?

Section 4(2) makes two groups ineligible:

• people convicted of an offence in Schedule 1 of the Act, which lists sexual and exploitation offences involving children, such as sexual interference with a person under 16 and luring a child; and
• people convicted of more than three offences, each prosecuted by indictment, for each of which they were sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more.

There is a narrow exception for a Schedule 1 conviction. The Board can accept the application if the person was not in a position of trust or authority toward the victim, the victim was not in a relationship of dependency with them, no violence, intimidation or coercion was used or threatened, and the person was less than five years older than the victim (s. 4(3)). The applicant has to prove those conditions (s. 4(4)), and the Board asks for official documents proving the victim's age.

How does the application work, step by step?

The Parole Board of Canada sets out the steps on its site. Every form must be complete: the Board says it returns applications with unanswered questions, missing seals or stamps, or copies where originals are required. In summary:

It is your responsibility to report all of your convictions, including any outside Canada; if one is missing from the RCMP record, you must get a proof of conviction from the court or the arresting police service. The consent and privacy form is valid for only 12 months. Ask each court for extra copies of its documents while you are there; the Board notes they may be harder to get once a record suspension is ordered.

Once the file is in, the Board first checks whether you are eligible to apply, and then makes inquiries about your conduct since the conviction (s. 4.2(1)). If it proposes to refuse, it must tell you in writing, and you can answer in writing or, with the Board's permission, at an oral hearing (s. 4.2(2)). A lawyer can prepare those representations with you.

What does the Board have to be satisfied of?

Section 4.1(1) sets the test. For every application, the Board must be satisfied that during the waiting period you were of good conduct and were not convicted of an offence under an Act of Parliament. For an offence prosecuted by indictment, there is more: the record suspension must provide a measurable benefit to you, sustain your rehabilitation in society as a law-abiding citizen, and not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. You carry the burden of showing the measurable benefit and the rehabilitation (s. 4.1(2)).

On the last point, the Board may look at the nature, gravity and duration of the offence, the circumstances around it and your criminal history (s. 4.1(3)). You explain the benefit on the Board's Measurable Benefit and Sustained Rehabilitation form, required when your first offence was committed on or after June 29, 2010. The Board asks you to describe the benefit clearly, so a concrete answer, such as a job, a professional licence or volunteer work that the record blocks, gives it something real to assess.

What does a record suspension change?

According to the Parole Board, a record suspension keeps the criminal record separate and apart from other criminal records and removes it from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database, so a CPIC search will not show a criminal record or a record suspension. The Criminal Records Act applies to federal records, but the Board says most provincial and municipal criminal justice agencies also restrict access once they are told a record suspension has been ordered.

The Act also removes most disqualifications that a conviction triggers under other federal laws (s. 2.3(b)). There are listed exceptions, including weapons prohibition orders under sections 109 and 110 of the Criminal Code and driving prohibitions under section 320.24, which follow a conviction for impaired driving; these keep running on their own terms. Section 8 adds a work protection: application forms for jobs in federal government departments, Crown corporations, the Canadian Forces and federally regulated businesses may not ask about a conviction that has been suspended.

Ontario law lines up with this. Under the Schedule to the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, a conviction for which a pardon or record suspension has been granted is not disclosed on any of the three Ontario police record checks, unless the Criminal Records Act authorizes it. If you were never convicted, for example because your charge was withdrawn, you may not need a record suspension at all: see whether a withdrawn charge appears on a police check.

What a record suspension does not do

The Board lists its limits plainly. A record suspension:

• does not erase the conviction; it sets it aside;
• does not guarantee entry or visa privileges to another country; and
• is flagged in CPIC for people with a sexual offence conviction, so a vulnerable sector check can identify it.

It can also be revoked or stop having effect if the person is convicted of a new indictable offence (or, in some cases, a summary offence), is found to no longer be of good conduct, made a false or misleading statement or hid information on the application, or was not eligible when it was ordered (ss. 7 and 7.2). Before revoking one, the Board must give written notice and a chance to respond (s. 7.1). The record then goes back into CPIC.

Does a record suspension help a permanent resident?

It can matter a great deal. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, inadmissibility for serious criminality or criminality cannot be based on a conviction for which a record suspension has been ordered and has not been revoked or ceased to have effect (s. 36(3)(b)). The same provision protects a person who was finally acquitted. Our page on how a criminal conviction in Ontario can affect permanent resident status explains which convictions trigger the risk in the first place.

Citizenship is similar. The Citizenship Act bars a grant of citizenship after a conviction for an indictable offence in the four years before the application, but that bar is expressly subject to the Criminal Records Act (s. 22(2)). Status questions belong with an immigration lawyer.

If you spent time in Iran or another country during the five years before you apply, the Board's rule covers that: you need a local police records check for each place you lived for 3 months or more, including outside Canada. If a police service abroad will not provide one, the Board accepts a signed letter from that police service stating that you have been law-abiding. A document in a foreign language, such as Persian, must be translated into English or French, and you send both the original and the translation. If you would rather go through the forms in Farsi, see our guide for Persian-speaking people charged in the GTA.

What changes the answer?

• How the Crown proceeded. Summary conviction means 5 years; indictment means 10 (s. 4(1)).
• Unpaid amounts. The clock starts only after every fine, surcharge and restitution order is paid.
• A new conviction during the wait. It defeats the good-conduct test (s. 4.1(1)(a)).
• The type of offence. Schedule 1 offences, and more than three indictable convictions each with two years or more in prison, bar an application (s. 4(2)).
• Old cannabis possession only. A person convicted only of an offence in Schedule 3 can apply before the usual period ends (s. 4(3.1)).
• A discharge rather than a conviction. No application is needed; federal records are closed after 1 year for an absolute discharge and 3 years for a conditional one (s. 6.1). Our guide to what each criminal case outcome means in Ontario sets the options side by side.

For example: working out the earliest date

This is a hypothetical, not a real client or a result. Suppose a woman in North York was convicted in 2020 of theft under $5,000, and the Crown proceeded summarily. Her sentence was 18 months of probation and a fine. Her probation ended in early 2022, but she finished paying the fine in March 2023.

Because the fine was the last part of the sentence to be completed, her five-year period runs from March 2023, so the earliest she can apply is March 2028.

She spent four months with family in Tehran in 2026, so her file will need a local police records check from Toronto and one from the police where she stayed in Iran, or a signed letter from that police service, translated into English. Since each check is valid for only 12 months, she orders them close to her filing date.

What mistakes do people make?

1. Counting from the conviction date. The clock starts when the whole sentence ends, including the last fine payment (s. 4(1)).
2. Counting from an early release. For jail, the full sentence expiry date counts, not statutory release or remission (s. 4.3).
3. Leaving a conviction out. The Board puts the duty to report every conviction on you, and a false or misleading application is a ground for revocation later (s. 7(c)).
4. Ordering documents too early. Local police checks and the consent and privacy form are valid for only 12 months.
5. Forgetting time abroad. A stay of 3 months or more outside Canada in the last 5 years needs its own police check or letter, with a translation.

What can you do this week?

1. List every conviction you have, with the court, the date and the sentence, and add any convictions outside Canada.
2. Find proof of the date you finished each part of your sentence, especially the last fine or surcharge payment.
3. Work out whether each conviction was summary or indictable, and count 5 or 10 years from the end of the sentence.
4. List every place you lived for 3 months or more in the last 5 years, inside and outside Canada.
5. If you are a permanent resident or plan to apply for citizenship, speak to an immigration lawyer about timing.

Frequently asked questions

Is a pardon the same as a record suspension?

For practical purposes, yes. "Record suspension" is the current term in the Criminal Records Act, and Ontario's police record checks law says that "pardon" includes a record suspension.

Can the Board refuse my application?

Yes. After a refusal, you must wait one year before applying again (s. 4.2(4)), so it pays to answer the Board's written notice fully the first time.

Will an employer still see my conviction?

Generally not on a police check, since the record leaves CPIC. The exception is a vulnerable sector check for a sexual offence conviction, which the Board flags.

Do I need a record suspension if my charge was diverted?

No. If the Crown withdrew or stayed the charge after diversion in Toronto, there is no conviction to suspend. Police checks follow Ontario's rules for non-conviction information instead.

Can someone help me in Farsi?

Yes. Our lawyer explains the record, the waiting period and the forms in Farsi or English. A police document from abroad that is not in English or French must be translated, and you send both versions.

Getting help

Gambriani Law PC advises clients in Toronto and across the GTA on what a resolution will leave on their record and how long it will take to clear, in English and Farsi. For how criminal cases run in the city, see our page on criminal defence in Toronto, or call the office at +1 647 970 3370, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This page is general information about the Criminal Records Act and Ontario police checks, not legal advice about your record.