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Expungement: Step 1- Check if you are eligible to apply

From: Parole Board of Canada

Important

Read all the steps carefully before starting your application.  

Please note that incomplete or missing information could lead to the application being returned to you and/or delay its processing.  

Step 1 - Check if you are eligible to apply

You DO NOT need to apply for expungement if you:

  • have only received an absolute or conditional discharge*; or
  • were only convicted in a youth court or youth justice court**.

* For more information, contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pardon & Purge Services.

** Your record(s) will be destroyed or archived once all applicable time periods have elapsed under the Young Offenders Act or the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Criteria

An expungement can only be ordered if all relevant criteria are met:

  • Gross indeceny, buggery and anal intercourse
  • The activity for which the person was convicted was between persons of the same sex;
  • The person(s) other than the person who was convicted had given their consent* to participate in the activity; and,
  • The persons who participated in the activity were 16 years of age or older at the time of the activity or subject to a “close in age” defence under section 150.1 of the Criminal Code.

* Section 273.1 of the Criminal Code defines consent as the voluntary agreement of a person to engage in the sexual activity in question.

  • Keeping, being found in, or permitting a place to be used as a bawdy house
  • The conviction relates to the convicted person's association with a bawdy house, kept for the practice of acts of indecency and not for the purpose of prostitution**, where consensual sexual activity is viewed or engaged in; and,
  • The person who was convicted did not exchange money for providing or receiving sexual services.
  • Transporting individuals to a bawdy house
  • The conviction relates to a bawdy house kept for the practice of acts of indecency and not for the purpose of prostitution**, where consensual sexual activity is viewed or engaged in.
  • Indecent show, indecent acts, indecent exhibition, immoral, indecent or obscene performance and nudity
  • The activity for which the person was convicted took place in a bawdy house in which acts of indecency are practiced and not for the purpose of prostitution**, where consensual sexual activity is viewed or engaged in; and,
  • The person who was convicted did not exchange money for providing or receiving sexual services.
  • Procuring one’s own miscarriage (abortion); or,
  • Supplying or procuring a drug or an instrument for the purpose of procuring one's own miscarriage (abortion)
  • The convicted person was the woman or female person who obtained the miscarriage (abortion).
  • Procuring the miscarriage (abortion) of a woman or female person (where the convicted person assisted the woman or female person in accessing the means to procure a miscarriage (abortion));
  • Procuring own miscarriage (abortion) (where the convicted person assisted the woman or female person in accessing the means to carry out the miscarriage (abortion)); or,
  • Supplying or procuring a drug or an instrument, for the purpose of procuring miscarriage (abortion) (where the convicted person assisted in supplying or procuring the drug or instrument)
  • The convicted person acted at the request of the pregnant woman or female person.
  • Procuring the miscarriage (abortion) of a woman or female person (where the convicted person used or assisted in the use of the means to procure a miscarriage (abortion)); or,
  • Supplying or procuring a substance or an instrument for the purpose of procuring a miscarriage (abortion) (while in the capacity of a medical doctor, nurse or midwife)
  • The convicted person was a medical doctor, nurse or midwife at the time of the offence; and,
  • The convicted person acted with the consent of the pregnant woman or female person.

Individuals convicted of offences related to selling/advertising the means or a method for preventing a pregnancy or causing an abortion are not subject to any criteria.

** The Schedule to the Expungement Act and the Expungement Application Guide refer to "prostitution" as it was the wording used in the previous Criminal Code definition of “common bawdy house”.

Applying on behalf of a deceased individual

You MAY apply on behalf of a deceased person if you are the person’s:

  • spouse or common-law partner;
  • family member (e.g., child, parent, etc.);
  • executor or the administrator or liquidator of the estate;
  • agent or mandatary, attorney, guardian, trustee, committee, tutor or curator, or any other person who was appointed to act in a similar capacity before the individual’s death; or,
  • any other individual who, in the opinion of the Parole Board of Canada, is an appropriate representative of the person.

Important

If you are applying for an expungement on behalf of a deceased person, you must submit a photocopy of a document which supports your relationship with the person and an official document that certifies that the person is deceased (see Step 6).

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