Canada does not offer routine expungement of criminal records. In Canadian law, expungement exists only under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act, a narrow scheme in which the Parole Board of Canada orders records permanently destroyed, with no fee, for convictions that would be lawful today. What almost everyone searching for expungement actually needs is a record suspension, formerly called a pardon: after a five year wait for summary offences or ten years for indictable ones, counted from the end of the whole sentence including every fine, your record is set apart so routine checks come back clear. A suspension sets the record aside. An expungement destroys it.
- What expungement actually means in Canada
- Expungement vs record suspension, side by side
- The record suspension path: waits and who cannot apply
- Applying: fee, paperwork and timelines
- Cannabis and simple drug possession are different
- Discharges clear themselves
- What a record suspension will not fix
- How you can lose it
- Do you need a lawyer for this?
- FAQ
What Expungement Actually Means in Canada
Expunge means destroy. Under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act, the Parole Board of Canada is the only federal agency that can order it, and when it does, the RCMP destroys or removes the conviction records in its custody and federal departments holding records are directed to do the same. The person is deemed never to have been convicted. There is no application fee, and because most eligible convictions are decades old, sworn statements can stand in for court records that no longer exist. If the person has died, a family member or another appropriate representative can apply on their behalf.
The catch is scope. Expungement is available only for offences listed in the schedule to the Act, which targets convictions that were historically unjust, the core example being consensual same sex activity that the law once criminalized. The schedule has been expanded to add further eligible offences, but it remains a closed list of specific historical wrongs. Your 2011 theft conviction, your impaired driving record, your old assault file: none of that can be expunged in Canada, no matter what an ad promises. For those records, the real instrument is a record suspension, and the rest of this guide walks through it.
Expungement vs Record Suspension, Side by Side
| Expungement | Record suspension (pardon) | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to the record | Permanently destroyed or removed | Kept separate and apart from active records |
| Who qualifies | Only convictions on the schedule of historically unjust offences | Most convictions, after the waiting period, with specific exclusions |
| Legal effect | Deemed never convicted | Conviction should no longer reflect on your character; disqualifications lifted, with listed exceptions |
| Fee | None | $50 Parole Board filing fee, plus document costs |
| Can it be undone? | No, the records are gone | Yes, revocation or cessation after new convictions or misrepresentation |
| Administered by | Parole Board of Canada | Parole Board of Canada |
Websites, including some law firm websites, use the words interchangeably. They are not interchangeable, and the difference shows up exactly where it hurts: at borders, on vulnerable sector checks and when someone reoffends. Honest terminology first, then strategy.
The Record Suspension Path: Waits, Traps and Who Cannot Apply
The Criminal Records Act sets two waiting periods: ten years for an offence prosecuted by indictment and five years for one prosecuted summarily. For hybrid offences, what counts is how the Crown actually proceeded in your case. The wait starts only after the expiration according to law of the whole sentence: the jail term, any parole, the probation period, and payment of every fine, surcharge and restitution order.
That last item is the trap that catches more people than any other. An unpaid $500 fine from 2015 means your waiting period has not even started. Getting out of custody early does not speed anything up either, and time under a long term supervision order does not count toward the wait. Before anything else, we pull the court records and reconstruct the real eligibility date, because guessing wrong costs an application cycle.
Two groups face outright bars. A person convicted of a Schedule 1 offence, which covers sexual offences involving children, cannot apply unless they satisfy the Board on three strict points: no position of trust or authority over the victim and no dependency relationship, no violence, threats or coercion, and an age gap of less than five years. And a person with more than three offences prosecuted by indictment, each with a sentence of two years or more, is permanently ineligible. Everyone else is in the game once the clock runs out.
Applying: Fee, Paperwork and Timelines
The application itself runs through the Parole Board of Canada on its own forms: your criminal record from the RCMP, certified court information for each conviction, local police record checks for everywhere you have lived recently, fingerprints, and the measurable benefit form where you explain what a suspension changes for you. The filing fee has been $50 since January 1, 2022.
The Board publishes service standards, and they are worth knowing so nobody sells you a fantasy timeline: once an application is accepted as complete, summary files are processed within 6 months and indictable files within 12 months, while a file where the Board is proposing to refuse can take up to 24 months because you get a chance to respond before a final decision. Incomplete applications are returned, which restarts everything. Most of the misery in this process is paperwork misery, and it is avoidable.
Cannabis and Simple Drug Possession Are Different
Parliament has carved two special lanes here, and people constantly mix them up.
Lane one: cannabis. If your only conviction is simple possession of cannabis listed in Schedule 3 of the Criminal Records Act, you can apply for a record suspension immediately, with no waiting period and no Parole Board fee.
Lane two: all simple drug possession. The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act now requires records of simple possession convictions to be kept separate and apart automatically. For older convictions, that sequestration applied within two years of the provision coming into force; for new ones, it happens two years after the conviction or the end of the sentence, whichever is later, and the person is deemed never to have been convicted of that offence. No application, no fee, no Board decision. If your record is a single old possession file, find out which lane you are in before paying anyone anything.
Discharges Clear Themselves
If your case ended in a discharge rather than a conviction, you are in a different system entirely and you do not need a record suspension. An absolute discharge is purged from the national police database one year after the finding; a conditional discharge, three years after. That happens automatically under the Criminal Records Act. What is worth checking, years later, is whether it actually happened, because local police records sometimes lag. A quick records check before a job application beats an ugly surprise during one.
What a Record Suspension Will Not Fix
This is the section most marketing pages skip, and it is where real legal advice lives.
- Surviving orders. Weapons prohibitions under sections 109 and 110 of the Criminal Code, orders under section 161, driving prohibitions under section 320.24 and sex offender registry obligations all continue despite the suspension.
- Vulnerable sector checks. Records of sexual offences listed in Schedule 2 can be flagged and disclosed on a vulnerable sector check even after a suspension, for work with children and vulnerable people.
- The United States border. American officials apply American law and keep their own records. A record suspension does not bind them, and anyone with a border history should look at a US entry waiver, something our criminal conviction and immigration consequences page discusses alongside status issues.
- Fragility. The suspension can be revoked or cease to have effect, at which point the record returns to active status.
One genuine upside on the immigration side: for non citizens, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act ties inadmissibility for a Canadian conviction to that conviction, and a record suspension generally removes it as a ground of criminal inadmissibility. Timing matters enormously there, so status holders should plan the sequence with counsel.
How You Can Lose It
A record suspension is conditional good standing, not absolution. The Board can revoke it if you are later convicted of a summary offence, if it learns you made a false or deceptive statement in the application, or if you are found to no longer be of good conduct. It ceases to have effect automatically on a later conviction for more serious offences. When either happens, the old record comes out of the vault and rejoins your active file. The practical advice writes itself: the suspension is worth protecting, and anyone charged after receiving one should tell their defence lawyer immediately, because the stakes of the new file just doubled.
Do You Need a Lawyer for This?
Straight answer: the Parole Board itself says you do not need to pay someone to apply, and that is true. Plenty of people with one old conviction and clean paperwork handle it themselves. Where legal help earns its cost is the messy middle: eligibility math tangled by unpaid fines or hybrid offences, multiple convictions across jurisdictions, missing court records, Schedule 1 exception applications, a proposal to refuse that needs a persuasive response, and any file where immigration status or border history raises the stakes of getting it wrong.
Youth records, one more time, are their own scheme: they are governed by access periods under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and generally seal without any application, which is covered on our Toronto youth criminal defence lawyers page. For adult records, our Toronto record suspension lawyers and Markham record suspension lawyer pages explain the local process, and the firm wide overview lives on our Ontario record suspension lawyers page.
Want a straight answer on whether your record can be cleared, and when?
Free consultation. Offices in Toronto, Thornhill, North York and Oakville. More resources at our criminal defence hub.
Expungement and Record Suspensions: FAQ
Can you get a criminal record expunged in Canada?
Only in one narrow situation. Expungement exists solely under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act, for convictions listed in its schedule, such as historical same sex offences that would be lawful today. There is no fee and the Parole Board of Canada handles it. For every other conviction, the tool Canada actually offers is a record suspension, formerly called a pardon.
What is the difference between expungement and a record suspension?
Expungement permanently destroys the record, and the person is deemed never to have been convicted. A record suspension keeps the record but sets it apart from active criminal records, so routine checks come back clear. A suspension can also be revoked or cease to have effect after new trouble, and certain orders and obligations survive it. Destruction versus set aside is the whole distinction.
How long do you have to wait for a record suspension?
Five years for an offence prosecuted summarily and ten years for one prosecuted by indictment. The clock starts only after the entire sentence is finished: jail, parole, probation and payment of every fine, surcharge and restitution. An unpaid fine silently delays eligibility, which is one of the most common surprises in these applications.
How much does a record suspension cost?
The Parole Board of Canada filing fee has been $50 since January 1, 2022. You will also spend money assembling the file: certified court information, local police record checks and fingerprinting all carry their own costs. Expungement applications, by contrast, have no application fee at all.
Does a record suspension erase my criminal record?
No. It requires the record of the conviction to be kept separate and apart from other criminal records, which is why most background checks then come back clear. It does not destroy anything. Weapons and driving prohibitions and sex offender registry obligations survive it, sexual offence records can still surface on vulnerable sector checks, and a later conviction can bring the old record back into view.
Do cannabis possession convictions still need a pardon?
There are two separate fixes. A conviction for simple cannabis possession listed in Schedule 3 of the Criminal Records Act qualifies for a record suspension with no waiting period and no Parole Board fee. Separately, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act now requires records of simple drug possession convictions to be kept separate and apart automatically, two years after the conviction or the end of the sentence, whichever is later, with the person deemed never convicted of that offence.
Will a record suspension let me travel to the US?
Not necessarily. United States border officials apply American law, they may already have your conviction in their own systems from an earlier crossing, and a Canadian record suspension does not bind them. Anyone who has been refused entry before, or is worried about it, should get advice about United States entry waivers before booking travel.
This article is legal information for Canada and Ontario, not legal advice about your situation. It reflects the Criminal Records Act, the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act and Parole Board of Canada materials as they stood at the time of writing, and these rules change. For advice on your record, call 647-588-3234.