Canada has three standard levels of criminal record check: the basic criminal record check (CRC), the criminal record and judicial matters check (CRJMC), and the vulnerable sector check (VSC). Most hiring uses the first. The second exists for roles where pending charges genuinely matter, and the third is reserved by law for people working with children and vulnerable persons.
The levels are not interchangeable, and the names get blurred all the time. Ask three providers for "a police check" and you can get three different quotes for three different products. Here's what each level actually searches, what shows up on the result, and how to pick the right one without over-screening.
A criminal record check is a search of the RCMP's national repository of criminal records, accessed through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), using a candidate's full legal name and date of birth. It runs with the candidate's written consent and answers a narrow question: does this person have a criminal conviction on file?
The three levels all start from that same foundation; they differ in how much additional police-held information is disclosed. Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act standardized the three-tier naming used in this post, and most provinces follow a similar structure with local variations.
A basic CRC returns criminal convictions for which a record suspension has not been granted. The result is deliberately simple: clear, or a record located with details.
This is the level behind most employment screening, and for good reason. For the majority of roles, the proportionate question is "does this person have a relevant conviction?", not "tell me everything any police database holds." A consent-first, right-sized screen starts here, and our guide to what a background check actually verifies shows how the criminal check fits alongside identity, employment, and education verification.
A criminal record and judicial matters check includes everything in the basic check, plus outstanding charges, warrants, and certain court orders, along with absolute and conditional discharges that are still inside their disclosure windows (one year and three years respectively).
The honest framing: this level is justified when a pending matter would be material to the role, not just interesting. Think of positions with significant financial authority, regulatory exposure, or access to client assets. If a charge before the courts would change the hiring decision, the CRJMC is the level that surfaces it.
A vulnerable sector check is the deepest level and the most misunderstood. It includes everything in the judicial matters check, adds a search for sexually-based offences for which a record suspension was granted, and can disclose police-held non-conviction information in narrow, exceptional circumstances.
Two restrictions matter more than the contents:
A screening provider can confirm whether a role qualifies, guide the candidate through the police application, and fold the result into a complete report. What no provider can do is run a vulnerable sector check directly. If you see one offered as an instant online product, that is a different check wearing the wrong name.
| Criminal record check (CRC) | Judicial matters check (CRJMC) | Vulnerable sector check (VSC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convictions (no record suspension) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outstanding charges and warrants | No | Yes | Yes |
| Discharges within disclosure window | No | Yes | Yes |
| Suspended sexual offence records | No | No | Yes |
| Exceptional non-conviction disclosure | No | No | In narrow cases |
| Who can request it | Employer-initiated screen, with consent | Employer-initiated screen, with consent | Candidate, via local police, for eligible roles only |
| Typical use | Most employment and membership screening | Roles where pending matters are material | Work with children or vulnerable persons |
A name-based search matches on name and date of birth, which is exactly its limit: a common name, or a name and birth date that resemble an existing record, can produce a possible match that the search itself cannot resolve. Fingerprints settle identity definitively, which is why a certified criminal record check (the kind needed for immigration, citizenship, some professional licences, and international placements) is fingerprint-based and processed by the RCMP.
For everyday hiring, the name-based check is the standard, and the fingerprint route is the escalation path when a result needs certifying or a match needs resolving. It does add days to the process; our guide to how long a background check takes covers realistic turnaround for both.
The limits are designed in, and knowing them is part of reading a result correctly:
None of this is a flaw. Canadian screening law balances an employer's need to know against a person's ability to move on, and a result that respects those limits is a result you can defend.
Match the level to the role, not to a worst-case imagination. A basic criminal record check inside a proper screen covers most hires. A judicial matters check earns its place when pending charges would genuinely change the decision. A vulnerable sector check isn't a choice at all: the role either qualifies and requires it, or it doesn't.
The bigger lever is usually everything around the criminal check. A conviction search verifies one fact; identity, employment history, education, and references build the picture you actually hire on. For roles carrying financial authority or public trust, the fuller screen is the defensible one, and our guide to choosing a background check package walks through matching depth to risk tier by tier.
If you're weighing which level a role justifies, that's a conversation we have every day, and we're happy to talk it through before you order anything.
Place an order in the portal, or talk to us about a screening program.
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