Authenticating & Legalizing aCriminal Record Check

To use your Canadian criminal record check in a country other than Canada, you will often need to have it authenticated and legalized. To find out whether you need to have your criminal record check authenticated and legalized, you should ask the organization or person to whom you are sending this document.  They are the only ones who can accurately tell you whether they first require that your document be processed.

Note that you may be told that you need to apostille or attest your criminal record check.  In Canada, the terms “apostille” and “attestation” both refer to the authentication and legalization process. If you have any questions about what type of processing your criminal record check requires, contact our friendly staff. We are happy to answer your questions.

We specialize in helping people and organizations just like you, to rapidly navigate the authentication and legalization process. You send your criminal record check to our Ottawa office and we handle all aspects of the authentication and legalization process for you, rapidly returning your processed document.

Contact our friendly specialists for a free consultation to discuss your situation. We will work with you to determine what is required in your specific situation and answer your questions.

How long it will take to authenticate and legalize your criminal record check will depend on how the type of criminal record check and the destination country. There are two types of criminal record checks and not all countries accept both. Be sure to do your research. Additionally, a local name based criminal record check requires notarization, but the RCMP Certified Criminal Record Check with fingerprints does not require notarization.

Our expertise helps ensure that your documents are submitted correctly the first time, for rapid and accurate processing.

For more information on how long the authentication and legalization process will take for your documents contact one of our friendly specialists.

There are three steps to the authentication and legalization process:

Step 1) document preparation – make sure your criminal record check meets the criteria of the entire process.

Step 2) document authentication – your criminal record check is authenticated at Global Affairs Canada.

Step 3) document legalization – your criminal record check is legalized by the embassy or consulate of the destination country.

Click on these terms for further information on each step. Note that the first step of “document preparation” is often not needed when processing a criminal record check. Feel free to contact our friendly specialists to discuss the requirements that apply to your specific situation.

The answer to this question depends on what type of criminal record check you have.  A “basic” criminal record check that is issued at a local police department must be notarized before going through the authentication and legalization process. However, a Certified Criminal Record Check with fingerprints that is issued directly by RCMP headquarters in Ottawa, does not require notarization.

Be careful because not all countries accept local criminal record checks. You should check with the recipient abroad as to which one they want. You should also check with the embassy or consulate involved as they may have their own requirements in regards to the format of the criminal record check.

Contact our friendly staff to clarify whether your criminal record check needs to first be notarized before authentication and legalization.

In some cases it may be possible to authenticate and legalize a copy of your criminal record check instead of the original, but we don’t always recommend it. With criminal record checks, we strongly recommend that you authenticate and legalize your original document whenever possible.

An original Certified Criminal Record Check with fingerprints does not require notarization. Global Affairs Canada will accept it as is for authentication. Whereas, a local criminal record check will require notarization (either on the original, or as a certified true copy) before it can be authenticated.

To find out if a copy of your criminal record check will be acceptable you will need to consult with the person or organization to whom you are sending your document. If you have confirmed that a copy of your criminal record check is acceptable, then the first step is to have a certified true copy made. If you have any questions about authenticating and legalizing a copy of your criminal check don’t hesitate to contact our friendly specialists.

If you are in Canada, you may obtain your criminal record check by either visiting a local police detachment or an agency that has been accredited by the RCMP. If you are outside of Canada, you must use a fingerprinting agency that has been accredited by the RCMP in order to obtain your criminal record check. They will digitize your ink fingerprints and submit the application on your behalf.

You may have the criminal record check sent directly to our office to save time. We can then notify you that it has arrived and begin the authentication and legalization process.

If you need assistance to determine what agencies you may use, you can review this list provided by the RCMP, or feel free to contact our friendly specialists for advice.

We cannot produce a Canadian criminal record check for you, but we can certainly assist you in finding an accredited agency in Canada who can submit your application. To speed up the authentication and legalization process, you may request to have your criminal record check sent directly to our office when it is issued. This way, you won’t have to wait while it is delivered to you to then turn around and re-send it to us for authentication and legalization.

Contact our friendly staff to discuss your options. We specialize in helping you authenticate and legalize your criminal record check, which is often necessary when you are using your document outside of Canada.

RCMP Certified Criminal Record Checks take 7-10 business days to be issued by the RCMP headquarters. They are shipped by Canada Post regular mail to the mailing address you provided on your application. If you have ordered a criminal record check from your local police, the processing time may vary from 1 – 7 days.

You can certainly have the criminal record check sent directly to IDC to save time. Contact us to discuss the authentication and legalization of your criminal record check.

Yes! To save time our clients frequently have their criminal record checks delivered directly to our Ottawa office. As soon as it arrives in our office, we begin the authentication and legalization process on your behalf. Our address is:

International Documents Canada
310 Beechgrove Ave. Suite B
Ottawa, ON   K1Z 6R3

Feel free to contact our friendly specialists if you have any questions. We can also provide you with a free detailed quote.

Yes, in Canada there are two types of criminal record checks.

The first is a basic Criminal Record Check, where only your name and date of birth are used to identify you when the RCMP database is searched. No fingerprints are involved in obtaining a basic Criminal Record Check.

The second type is called a Certified Criminal Record Check, which also uses your fingerprints as an identifier when searching the RCMP database. Certified Criminal Record Checks are considered more reliable because they use fingerprints as an identifier and this is the type of criminal record check most commonly required.

Contact our friendly specialists for information on the authentication and legalization of your criminal record check.

We authenticate a lot of criminal record checks for our clients and have heard these documents called by different names. The official name is a Criminal Record Check or Certified Criminal Record Check. However, we also frequently hear Background Check, Police Check, RCMP Check, and Police Clearance Certificate.  In other countries, they may also be referred to as a Non-Criminal Record Check or Certificate of Good Conduct. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact our friendly specialists who can help you clarify which particular type of document you are dealing with.

You may be told that you need to “apostille” or “attest” your criminal record check. This is because different terms are used globally to describe this process of signature verification on documents intended for us abroad. In Canada, the terms apostille and attestation both refer to the authentication and legalization process. So, if you have been told that you need to apostille your criminal record check, what you will actually be doing is authenticating and legalizing your document.

Contact our friendly specialists for more information on the apostille and attestation process in Canada. Call us toll-free at 1-888-433-1011 or send us an online enquiry.

The pricing for authenticating and legalizing a criminal record check will vary depending on several factors. These variables include whether or not you require notarization, the services and speed of service you choose, and the processing times with the diplomatic mission.

When you contact our friendly staff for your free consultation, we’ll discuss your options and provide you a detailed quote, so you’ll know exactly what is involved. For general information on our pricing visit our pricing page.