- Criminal Records Searches -
for Nursing Jobs in Canada
Criminal records searches are required for all nursing jobs in Canada.
The Canadian criminal records database is searched to see if you have been convicted of an offense
that may place the public at risk. Your criminal record background search
must be conducted by the police and not a private or commercial company.
Your criminal records background check is done using the Canadian criminal records database stored in
Criminal Records Information Management Services.
This is a database operated by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).
All police in Canada have access to this information.
Criminal records searches cannot be done without your consent.
You must contact your local police department or the offices of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
When you fill out the application you must include any and all names by which you are known, provide proper identification,
and pay the required fee (approximately $30-$70 depending on the province). You will also be required to
provide identification and must sign in the consent area of the form
indicating that you consent to the search being performed.
Not only does your local RCMP search their own records,
but those of surrounding areas (or places you have lived in the past) including the database of the CPIC.
The type of criminal records research required for nursing jobs in Canada is sometimes
called a level 4 check or vulnerable sector screening.
When the report from the CPIC is
received at the local police office it is reviewed and the nursing organization then receives a report from
local police department that indicates whether or not the criminal records
research was "clear " or "not clear".
No specifics about the offenses returned from the search is released to the nursing organization.
Usually this report is sent electronically.
What happens if the criminal records research performed on me is not clear?
If the criminal records research on you is "not clear", your application for a
nursing license will be rejected and
without it you cannot work in nursing jobs in Canada. In fact, if there is an offense on your criminal records check you may be unable
to work in many jobs in the public sector. This is part of the public accountability framework in Canada used to protect the public.
Under relevant legislation mechanisms are in place in many provinces to review the criminal records returned in order to
determine if the offenses place vulnerable populations (children or mentally fragile patients) at risk.
If these mechanisms determine that the offenses on the record do not place vulnerable populations at risk
then your application for a nursing license may proceed. This review process does, however, take much longer.
Only criminal records searches done by the police will be accepted in Canada. Searches done by a private company will
not be accepted.
A criminal record background check will be done to complete the requirements of your
application for a nursing license.
You should not proceed with a criminal records background check until directed to do so by the nursing regulatory body.
