FAQs
How Do I Get a DUI Off My Record in Canada?
Many people with a DUI conviction in Canada have no other criminal record and have never had any other brushes with the law.
However, in background checks, their criminal record is just as real as someone with multiple offences or who has committed a more serious crime.
It is unfair to be punished all your life for something you regret and caused no harm to anyone, so how do you remove the DUI from your criminal record?
The good news is that DUIs are among the most pardoned offences in Canada.
How can a DUI record affect you in Canada?
The term “DUI” does not exist in the Criminal Code of Canada. In Canada, DUIs are known as one of the following:
If you are arrested, charged or convicted of any of these offences, the details will appear on your criminal record via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system. This database provides authorized users with access to criminal record information, including biographical information, criminal charges and court decisions.
In other words, even if you weren’t convicted of the DUI, details or your arrest and charge will still be visible on the database to authorized users. So, you still have a criminal record, with fingerprint records and details of the DUI charge even if you don’t have a criminal conviction.
Such information can be a problem when background checks are conducted by employers, voluntary work organizations or other interested parties. It may also cause difficulties when crossing the border into the United States, as U.S. customs and border control officials have access to the CPIC system (though, generally speaking, a single DUI on your record should not bar entry).
Unless you actively take steps to remove your record, it will effectively remain for life—at least 80 years. Even if you have an unblemished criminal record for the rest of your life, the DUI will still show on RCMP criminal record checks or local police checks.
How to expunge a DUI in Canada
The only way to get a DUI conviction off your record in Canada is to obtain a DUI pardon. More accurately, this is now called a record suspension.
A formal record suspension from the Parole Board of Canada will mean that your DUI criminal record is removed from the criminal record databases and no longer visible in criminal background checks. It’s more accurate to say that the records are “sealed” rather than “removed” because Canadian law enforcement authorities and Crown Prosecution attorneys will still have access to the original arrest and charging records. They also have the right to share this information with law enforcement agencies overseas.
If you were never convicted of the crime, the only way to remove all traces of your DUI arrest from the criminal database to apply for a file destruction. This will delete fingerprints, photographs, and other traces of your DUI arrest and ensure that background checks come back “clean”.
All record suspensions are handled by the Parole Board of Canada. Provided you are eligible, you will need to submit an application to the Board and then wait for a considerable period for a decision. A key factor in the Board’s decision will be whether you can provide evidence of your rehabilitation and have served any punishments.
This process takes longer than most people realize (12-20 months in most cases), so it should be started at least one year before you are eligible for a pardon.
To request the destruction of non-conviction information (if you were charged but never convicted), you need to apply to the police service or RCMP detachment that laid the original charge. If the request is approved, the RCMP will manage the destruction of the information.
Who is eligible for a pardon in Canada?
To be eligible for a record suspension in Canada, you must have completed your sentence, which includes paying all fines, as well as a mandatory waiting period.
The waiting period can be three, five or ten years, depending on how the courts handled your DUI charge. For summary offences (less serious offences), the waiting period is five years after completion of the sentence. For pardons involving more serious indictment offences, the waiting period is 10 years.
Individuals with more than one criminal offence on their records or who have committed new offences since the DUI are frequently denied record suspension requests.
Can all DUIs be pardoned?
All DUIs are eligible for record suspension in Canada if the individual complies with the eligibility criteria outlined above.
Which other crimes can be removed from your criminal record in Canada?
The following types of summary offences are frequently pardoned in Canada besides DUI:
- Minor drug offences like possession of marijuana under 30 grams
- Solicitation of prostitution
- Being found in a common bawdy house
It is much more challenging to secure a pardon for an indictable offence or of you have multiple convictions in Canada.
Call us to arrange a confidential consultation
To speak with Cory Wilson or arrange a free, no-obligation consultation with Wilson Criminal Defence, call 403-978-6052 or email us here.