Destruction of Fingerprints and Photographs

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) will accept requests for the destruction of photographs and fingerprints from our Records Management System under the following criteria:

You have no criminal convictions; and
You are at least 18 years of age; and
You do not currently have any outstanding charges before the Courts; and
You are not wanted by any police service.

The related charges must have originated from an OPS case to have this destruction request processed. If the charges originated from another police service, please contact that police service for more information.

When can I apply?

Timelines about when you can make a request to have your fingerprints and photographs destroyed:

Charges are withdrawn or dismissed: Applications are accepted four months after the disposition date.
Acquittal: Applications are accepted four months after the disposition date.
Stayed Charges: Applications are accepted one full year from the date the stay was imposed.
Peace Bond (withdrawn): Applications are accepted once the peace bond has expired (typically one year).
Diversion (withdrawn): Applications are accepted two years from the date of expiry of the diversion.
Not Criminally Responsible: If found not criminally responsible, these applications will be accepted five years after the disposition date.

For charges resulting in the following dispositions, as per section 6.2 of the Criminal Records Act, the information shall be sealed and not deleted.

Absolute Discharge: After one year has elapsed from the date of disposition.
Conditional Discharge: After three years have elapsed from the date of the disposition.
Absolute or Conditional Discharge plus a judicial order: After one or three years has elapsed from disposition and after the judicial order has expired.

For Absolute or Conditional Discharges received before July 24, 1992, please visit the RCMP’s website for more information.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act outlines the retention and disclosure of youth records, therefore an application for the destruction of fingerprints, photographs and records of disposition for young persons will not be actioned. These records will be managed as per the YCJA.

Please note, if you were charged with an offence included in Schedules 1 & 2 of the Criminal Records Act, or an offence listed as primary or secondary designated offences defined in s. 487.04 of the Criminal Code your request will be subject to additional review and may be denied. It is our process to deny destruction requests for public safety reasons if the charges are of a serious nature or if the applicant is part of an ongoing investigation.

Once the request is approved by the Ottawa Police Service, a request will be sent to the RCMP to purge their file, if applicable. Once the Ottawa Police Service is notified by the RCMP of the purged file, the Ottawa Police Service will then purge the fingerprints and photographs in our files and notify the applicant of the destruction of both the RCMP and Ottawa Police Service records.

Destruction of the information does not remove the event from the Ottawa Police Service database.

The process can take approximately 6 to 12 months.

If you have a criminal conviction(s), you can apply for a record suspension through the National Parole Board.

Request for Reconsideration

An applicant who applied for the destruction of fingerprints and photographs and was denied may apply for reconsideration by the service.

This process is not suitable for records including Absolute Discharges, Conditional Discharges, or Convictions. Individuals wishing to have convictions removed from their Criminal Records can utilize the Parole Board of Canada's record suspension process.

Please note that our reconsideration panel takes the following criteria into account:

Date of the incident
The age of the applicant at the time of the incident
All information available to the police service that relates to the applicant, including Crown notes
Details of the incident, including any written information provided by the applicant or others who had contact with the individual at the time of the incident, if available
Mitigating or aggravating circumstances
The seriousness or triviality of the alleged offence

The Ottawa Police Service will need to receive a request for reconsideration in writing within 60 days of the date of the response letter to the applicant.

Please submit your request, including any information and/or documentation that you believe may be of assistance to the reconsideration panel, by email at [email protected] or by mail to:

Ottawa Police Service

P.O. Box 9634, Station T

Ottawa, ON K1G 6H5

Attention: Manager Court Liaison

If you have further questions, please email [email protected].

Apply for fingerprint and photograph destruction