Ontario police record checks: what the law lets you see

Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 sets a common process for police record checks in the province. It defines the available check types, limits disclosure, requires consent, and gives the individual the result before an employer or other organization receives it.

The Ontario police record checks guide provides the current provincial summary. The Act contains the full legal rules and exceptions.

The check type controls the result

Ontario defines these police record checks:

• Criminal record check: the criminal record information permitted under the Act.
• Criminal record and judicial matters check: the criminal record information plus the authorized judicial matters, such as outstanding charges, warrants, certain orders, and discharges inside their disclosure periods.
• Vulnerable sector check: the judicial matters scope plus the additional information permitted for an eligible vulnerable sector position.

The provincial guide lists the exact information that may be disclosed and the exclusions. Those details can change through legislation, regulation, or guidance, so the current official page should be checked when an organization writes its policy.

Vulnerable sector eligibility is limited

A vulnerable sector check is available for a position involving trust or authority over children or vulnerable people when the duties meet the legal test. The organization should determine eligibility from the work performed and explain the reason to the applicant.

The applicant follows the process of the police service responsible for the check. A screening provider can help an employer define the wider screening scope, but it cannot turn another product into a vulnerable sector check.

Consent occurs before and after the search

1. 1
   Name the check type

   The organization identifies the authorized police record check and explains the purpose to the individual.
2. 2
   Record written consent

   The individual consents to the specific check before the search is conducted.
3. 3
   Give the result to the individual

   The individual receives the completed result first and can review the disclosure.
4. 4
   Release with further consent

   The result is provided to the requesting organization after the individual gives the required consent.

The candidate-first step belongs in the hiring timeline. HR should allow time for the person to receive and review the result. The order record should show the requested check type and each consent required for release.

Non-conviction information has strict limits

Withdrawn charges, acquittals, police contacts, and mental health contacts are excluded from a criminal record check and a criminal record and judicial matters check. A vulnerable sector check can include non-conviction information only through the Act's exceptional disclosure process.

That test has specific requirements concerning the alleged offence, the alleged victim, and the risk of harm. The official guide should be used for the full current test. An ordinary employment check containing police contacts or withdrawn charges raises a compliance concern that the provider should explain.

What HR should put in the policy

The screening policy should name the check type used for each role, the duties that support it, the consent flow, the people permitted to access the result, the retention period, and the candidate's route for correcting inaccurate information.

Train hiring managers to treat a finding as information for review. The employer still has to apply human rights and employment law, assess relevance to the work, consider the candidate's explanation, and document the decision.

The Ontario check-type guide compares the scope of each product. The discrepancy guide gives HR a practical response sequence when a result needs attention.