How Long May Police Retain Records?
Ontario and Canadian law | Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026
There is no single retention period for every police record. The answer depends on the record, court outcome, police service and governing law. A withdrawn charge or acquittal does not automatically erase the entire investigation file.
Identify which record you mean
Fingerprints and photographs taken after a charge.
A national criminal-record entry maintained by the RCMP.
Local occurrence reports, investigative notes and related police files.
Information disclosed on an employment or volunteer police record check.
These are different records and processes. Destruction of one category does not necessarily remove the others.
Non-conviction identification records
The RCMP’s guidance on managing criminal records directs people seeking destruction after a non-conviction to the police service or detachment that laid the charge. Eligibility and approval are not automatic. Obtain the court disposition and ask what application, waiting period and supporting material are required.
Peel Regional Police’s destruction and appeal policy illustrates that the outcome, pending matters and public-safety considerations can affect eligibility. Its process concerns identification records; it does not erase all occurrence or investigative records. Consult the applicable service’s current policy rather than assuming another service’s timetable applies.
Discharges are not the same as convictions
For absolute and conditional discharges received on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP states that the national record is automatically sealed after one year from an absolute-discharge sentence or three years from a conditional-discharge sentence. Older discharges have a request process. National sealing does not establish that every local record has been destroyed, and youth records require separate treatment.
Retention and disclosure are different
Ontario’s Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 distinguishes criminal record checks, criminal record and judicial matters checks, and vulnerable sector checks. Disclosure depends on the type, statutory limits and any applicable exemption—not simply on whether police hold a record. Non-conviction information is subject to tightly limited disclosure criteria for vulnerable sector checks. Youth-record access is governed separately.
Ask the provider to correct errors or omissions. If exceptional non-conviction information is proposed for disclosure, ask about the statutory reconsideration process. Correction, reconsideration, identification-record destruction and a record suspension are not interchangeable remedies.
Before applying or relying on a result
Obtain the precise court outcome, date and any order or condition.
Identify the police service that laid the charge and the kind of record or check involved.
Request the current application requirements, eligibility rules and review process.
Keep copies of correspondence and any written decision.
Get advice if employment, professional licensing, immigration or travel may be affected.
Do not assume Canadian sealing or destruction removes information already held by a foreign authority. It does not guarantee admission to another country.
Related guidance
For advice about your circumstances, contact our office. General information only, not legal advice.