Police Record Check Authentication & Legalization

Authenticating a document means preparing it to be recognized abroad. Authentication and legalization prove that the signature and the seal on your document are genuine.

Since it’s difficult for countries to prove that a document issued in a foreign country is genuine, there is a process that involves both the country that issued the document and the country where the document will be used.

In Canada, this process is called authentication and legalization.

Criminal record check services are provided by three main entities:

• Police service: You will be asked to provide your name and date of birth and if required, also your fingerprints. Police agencies that do not provide fingerprinting services may refer you to an accredited fingerprinting company. The police agency or company then sends your fingerprints to the RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS) for searches of the National Repository of Criminal Records.
• Companies that perform name-based checks: these private companies do not have access to police databases, rather they enter into agreements with municipal police services to conduct name-based criminal record checks of the RCMP’s Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC) system.
• Accredited fingerprinting companies: these companies are authorized to submit fingerprints to the RCMPs CCRTIS for searches of the National Repository of Criminal Records, but the results of these certified criminal record checks do not include information from other national or local databases.

Yes, there are two types of checks:

• Basic Criminal Record Check: your name and date of birth are used as identification. No fingerprints are involved.
• Certified Criminal Record Check: uses fingerprints as an identifier. This kind of police check is considered more reliable. It’s also the police check most commonly required.

Different countries may use different terms when referring to police record checks. The official name in Canada is Criminal Record Check or Certified Criminal Record Check, but other terms, such as Background Check, Police Check, RCMP Check, Police Clearance Certificate, Non-Criminal Record Check, and Certificate of Good Conduct are also used.

Yes, you need to present a Landed Immigrant Status Certified Criminal Record Check to apply for permanent residence. The Canadian Immigration and Citizenship website contains more information on who needs to provide biometric information, and who needs a police certificate, where to get one, and how to submit it. If your certificate is in a language other than English or French, you need to include a translation from a certified translator.

Certificates issued by the RCMP headquarters in Ottawa do not need to be notarized, as long as they are signed by the Director-General of the Canadian Criminal Real Time/Identification Services, and contain the official RCMP dry seal.

Documents issued by a provincial or municipal agency need to be notarized.

Legalization is the final step in a three-step process that includes preparing your document (you may need to notarize your police certificate), getting it authenticated by Global Affairs Canada, and then legalization at the Embassy of the country where you will submit your certificate.

Each Embassy has specific legalization rules. You can check our Embassy pages to learn more.

Different countries use different terms to refer to the authentication and legalization process. Attestation is a term commonly used in the Middle East. Just like authentication, legalization, and apostille, attestation refers to the process of preparing your documents for use outside of Canada.

While you may have been asked for an attestation (or an apostille), the process in Canada is called authentication and legalization and you can find detailed information about each step in the process in the guide above.

Validity dates depend on the program you are applying for. You can find out the duration that applies to your case in the Citizenship and Immigration Instruction Guide.

Global Affairs Canada can authenticate the following documents:

• Criminal Record Check: detailed information on submission requirements is available in the guide above.
• Fingerprint forms / Fingerprint identification: These documents need to be notarized before they can be submitted to Global Affairs Canada.

Global Affairs Canada’s current processing time is 15 days, but this excludes mailing time, and the time it takes for the Embassy or consulate to complete the legalization step. The whole process can easily take from 4 to 6 weeks, more if you do not submit the correct documents.

This excludes the time it takes to obtain a criminal record check. If there is no match to a criminal record, you will receive your certificate in 3 business days or less (excluding mailing time). In cases where manual processing is involved, or if there is a possible match to a criminal record, it can take up to 120 business days.

If you’d prefer to speed up the authentication and legalization part of the process, you can choose to outsource it to experts who can navigate these steps accurately and efficiently. At Document Authentication Canada, we can get a police record check authenticated, legalized and ready for use abroad in just 3 to 5 days. Get in touch with us for a free quote!