Types of Criminal Background Checks in Canada

This is the most common type of check used for pre-employment screening, school programs, license and volunteer work, etc.

Name and date of the birth-based check are conducted by the police/law enforcement partners by searching the National Repository of Criminal Records of Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This search may also include other local & national databases and local police records which include the Police Information Portal (PIP).

Since the name and date of the birth based checks are only conducted by using the name and date of birth of an individual, therefore this check has some limitations in verifying the identity of the applicant due to legal name change, different spellings of the first or last name, use of short names or intentional change of name to conceal identity. The basic name and date of birth-based criminal background checks are generally used for local screening purposes. The authorities in other countries rarely accept these types of checks and ask for a fingerprint-based check issued by the RCMP.

Only the police or law enforcement partners have access to the CPIC. To provide basic name and date of birth-based criminal record checks to the clients, the fingerprinting agencies or the other companies sign a memorandum of understanding with the police. These companies submit signed consent forms and required identification documents of the applicant to the police offices which search the database and return the results to the requesting company/agency.

The applicants can also go to specific police offices to apply for their name and date of birth-based checks in person and some police offices also offer online services.