FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Identity History Summary requests are typically processed by the FBI and the online result will be available within 5 to 10 days once they receive your fingerprint card. Then it will take around 2 weeks for the hard copy of your result to come by mail.

To come to us for the fingerprinting service, you will only need to bring 2 valid government IDs but for the actual check by the FBI, please visit the FBI’s website at: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

At Frontier One, we offer an additional service called the FBI History Checks Package for en extra fee to prepare the necessary documents for you, ensuring a hassle-free experience.

It is still not possible to submit fingerprints digitally from Canada to the FBI; instead, we will issue you a fingerprinting card so that you can mail it to them with all other required documents. Additionally, we also offer a service called the FBI History Checks Package for en extra fee to prepare the necessary documents for you, ensuring a hassle-free experience.

The federal processing fee of $25 CDN will be applied to certain cases. For more information please visit http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/processing-times-and-fees

Your fingerprints are sent to the RCMP immediately after they are captured and electronically sent to the RCMP. Once sent, they no longer exist in our systems. Your personal information is kept on file in our secure filing cabinet for up to 3 months to allow for any follow-ups on the status of your fingerprinting process. After 3 months, all personal information is destroyed using our RCMP-approved shredders.

We have FBI FD-258 cards in stock if you require to capture fingerprints by ink.

Once we receive your package, we will send you an invoice to make a payment online via Credit Card. Or you can do an E-transfer if you have eligible Canadian Bank Card.

No, we can take your fingerprints digitally with our RCMP-certified Livescan machine and print them on either FD-258 or C-216C form for you. This method of taking fingerprints will result in better quality fingerprints.

You will need INK fingerprints if the requested organization only accepts the fingerprints on their specific form (different from FD-258 and C-216C).

Two cards have almost the same information and the FBI will accept both cards. The only difference is the FD-1164 is more popular in the US while the FD-258 is the one currently used in Canada.

No, you normally will not need to fill out anything on the FD-258 or C-216C form besides the information we have already printed on the form for you, unless you have instructions from the FBI or the requesting organization asking you to do so. If so, please fill those required boxes with a black-ink pen.

If you receive a form from your employer to be used for obtaining your Security Clearance or Reliability Check for a Government job or to access the Government assets, which contains a number called ORI, we can definitely help you with it.

There are different fingerprinting services with different costs for various reasons . Please refer to our website for detailed information. Please check our Price List for more information: https://f1fingerprint.ca/price

There is no expiry date for the RCMP criminal background check certificate. However, there may be a validity period set by the relevant authority (usually within 6 months to a year from the issue date). Please check with the requesting authority to confirm the validity of the report.

Even though we accept walk-ins, we highly recommend you schedule an appointment in advance. Clients with appointments will be given priority and we may not be able to serve you if we are fully booked when you walk in. Please book an appointment online at https://f1fingerprint.ca/book-an-appointment/ or call us at (905) 247-3868 (Ontario) or (403) 731-3535 (Alberta) to book your appointment.

Please book an appointment online at https://f1fingerprint.ca/book-an-appointment/ or call us at (905) 247-3868 (Ontario) or (403) 731-3535 (Alberta) to book your appointment.

You will need to carry 2 valid government-issued IDs and any instructions/request letter from the requesting organization (if applicable).

Please note that SIN card and Credit Card are not considered as valid IDs while Health Card can only be used with your consent.

It usually takes around 15 minutes at our office. Our technicians will take the time needed to ensure your fingerprints are of the best possible quality to minimize rejections.

Fingerprinting is a process to confirm an individual’s criminal background check. This is the most accurate and widely-accepted method for criminal background check in either Canada or foreign countries. Fingerprint-based background check is typically required for many purposes: Employment (Federal, Provincial, Municipal or Private Organizations), Foreign Travel, Work Permits, Visas, US Waivers, Canadian Citizenship, Permanent Resident, US Immigration, US Visas, etc.

Fingerprints are captured and sent to the RCMP to conduct your Canadian criminal background check for a specific purpose. Once the process is complete, the fingerprints are destroyed. There is no record of your fingerprints kept either in our systems or with the RCMP’s, once the certificate is issued. As such, you much submit a new set of fingerprints every time you need a RCMP criminal background check.

Regardless of which fingerprinting agency you go to in Canada to have your fingerprints taken, they all are sent to and processed by the RCMP in Ottawa. Since the RCMP receives thousands of electronic requests for the Canadian background check every day, their automatic system treats them all in a first come, first served basis.

Therefore, there is no way to expedite the process and everyone will receive their police report in their mailbox at around the estimated time. An official certificate is mailed using Canada Post regular mail service only. Please allow sufficient time to complete the fingerprinting process to avoid any delays.

Currently, Frontier Onc Inc. is providing fingerprinting services in 10+ locations across Ontario and Alberta. In Ontario: Brampton, Mississauga, Kitchener, St. Catharines, Vaughan, Markham, Burlington, Milton, Hamilton, London, Oakville. In Alberta: Calgary NE, Calgary SE.

Our offices are open from Monday to Saturday to serve you for your fingerprinting inquiries. Hours may vary depending on the location. Please check our locations and hours for more information: https://f1fingerprint.ca/locations-near-me/

RCMP currently does not offer this option. Only a hard copy of your Canadian Police Certificate will be mailed out.

RCMP currently does not provide this service. Results will only be mailed out by regular mail (Canada Post).

Digital fingerprinting is the process of capturing your fingerprints through a certified optical scanner which leaves no ink residues on your fingers. This is a preferred method by most requesting authorities (Immigration, Employment…etc) as the process is quick, convenient and highly accurate.

However, some applications do require a traditional ink-and-roll method in which your fingerprints are captured using actual ink. Frontier One Inc does offer both digital and ink-and-roll services.

NO. We are a private company accredited by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to CAPTURE and SUBMIT your fingerprints to them for civil purposes.?

We DO NOT process fingerprints or have access to the Canadian Criminal Record database.

We ARE NOT associated with any local police, the RCMP or the government other than being authorized to capture and submit fingerprints.

There are generally 2 types of background check that one could complete: Name-based background check and fingerprint-based background check.

• Name-based Background Check: This check is conducted by some agencies and local police. It is done solely based on your name and date of birth to check against the National Criminal Repository Database and the result could be much faster (within 24 hours). However, due to the high risk of possible name & date of birth matching with other individuals with criminal records, many requesting authorities or employers DO NOT accept this type of criminal record check.   
• Fingerprint-based Background Check: This check is conducted by any agencies accredited by the RCMP (including some local police). It is done by capturing your fingerprints and submitting them to the RCMP for processing. Your unique fingerprints, along with your name and date of birth are checked against the National Criminal Repository Database. The RCMP will issue an official certificate indicating whether or not a criminal record was found. The normal processing time is 3 business days (up to 120 days if you ever had a criminal record) and the certificate will be mailed to your chosen address by regular mail. The mailing time could be between 1-2 weeks depending on Canada Post.

Although both types of check can serve the same purpose, the fingerprint-based process is more stringent and widely accepted by most authorities. Please be sure to check with the authority or organization who request the background check before proceeding.

Biometrics is the process of taking your fingerprints at the time of your Immigration application and stored at RCMP’s database for future identification verification purposes. As such, this can only be done by the Government of Canada (i.e. Service Canada). No private agency is permitted to perform this service. This is ONLY collected by Immigration Canada (IRCC) for immigration application.

RCMP criminal background check is the process where your fingerprints are taken and sent to the RCMP systems for conducting criminal background check. This can be for many different purposes including immigration, employment, adoption ..etc. Once the process is complete, your fingerprints are destroyed immediately.

Each process is considered a separate application by the RCMP and a fee is charged whether from the same individual or not.

We do provide ONE complimentary re-take in the extremely rare circumstances where your fingerprints were rejected by the RCMP due to low quality. If your fingerprints were rejected, we will notify you within 48 business hours and discuss your options. However, you are required to pay the RCMP processing fee of $25 again depending on your application type, as the RCMP do not waive it.

If you require pricing for a team or a group 5 or more employees, please contact us at business@f1fingerprint.ca to discuss your options.

• For the RCMP Criminal Record Check: We will take your fingerprints and submit them electronically to the RCMP. A police report will be mailed back to you or any designated third party from the RCMP after a criminal check has been conducted.
• For fingerprint cards to send abroad (C-216C, FD-258, etc.): You will be given the card right away after your fingerprints have been taken either with ink or electronically. You will need to send it to an appropriate organization to perform the police check from that country.

The processing time depends entirely on the RCMP or foreign police departments who conduct the criminal check. Please refer to their website or contact them for more information.

For RCMP Processing Time, please check: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/processing-times-and-fees

For the RCMP background check, even though we take and submit your fingerprints electronically to RCMP instantly at the time of the appointment, the RCMP needs time to complete your background check and issue the certificate. Furthermore, the RCMP also needs to send the result either to your home address or a third party via Canada Post. Therefore, the whole process usually takes between 2 to 3 weeks.

The fingerprints for criminal background check are one-time used and cannot be retained by either a fingerprinting agency or the RCMP due to confidentiality. Therefore, you will need to submit your fingerprints every time you apply for the police check.

The RCMP processing fee of $25 CDN will be charged for almost all applications, except for Immigration, Federal Employment, Police Employment, Volunteer and Privacy Act Request. For more information, please refer to the RCMP website at

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/processing-times-and-fees

For confidentiality, our system will automatically remove your fingerprints as soon as the transaction is complete and submitted to the RCMP. However, your application will be kept in our secured system within 3 months for tracking purpose in case of any issue.

You do not need a request letter from IRCC to complete the RCMP background check upfront for your PR application.

Most clients and/or their lawyers prefer to have the criminal record check done upfront to avoid any delay as IRCC would likely ask for the RCMP background check in a later stage of the process.

Please consult with your lawyer/immigration consultant to consider whether or not you should apply for one upfront.

The specific fingerprinting request/purpose is printed on the official RCMP certificate and the criminal information may be disclosed differently for different purposes, which may lead to the old report not to be accepted for the new application. Please double check with your requested organization to see if they accept the old report or you will need to apply for a new one.

Unfortunately, the RCMP only issues one hard copy of your police check certificate so you will have to apply again if you received it but it was lost then. However, if you never receive it due to the mail lost, please contact the RCMP to ask them directly to see if you have to redo it.

Please contact the RCMP at:

ccrtis-scictr@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Or Call 613-998-6362

Please provide the following information in the email and on call:

1. Your full name and date of birth
2. Date of your application was submitted
3. Reason for the criminal record check
4. A Phone number that you can be reached
5. The document control number (DCN), which is shown on the paper given to you at the end of your appointment.

Your fingerprints will be submitted to RCMP to conduct a criminal background check. Depending on IRCC’s request letter, the RCMP will send the result to the corresponding address on the letter. Without letter or relevant information, the RCMP will mail the result to you or any third party address of your choice.

IRCC will update your application on your online portal once they receive the result. In addition, once you completed the service with us, we also notify IRCC at the end of the day that your fingerprints were completed. This is a complimentary service that we provide to all of our citizenship clients to ensure IRCC is aware that fingerprints were done in time.

You can follow these steps to find out if your fingerprints were received:

1. Check your IRCC online portal.
2. If it does not show up, please follow up with IRCC via phone (1-888-242-2100) or submit a web form after 3-4 weeks from your fingerprinting date.
3. Contact the RCMP to see if they complete your check and mail the result to the IRCC.

An ORI number represents a specific federal organization that you apply to work for, or a federal organization to process your security clearance for the work with the government. The result of your fingerprint-based criminal record check from the RCMP will be sent to that specific federal organization for further processing based on their ORI number. Therefore, without the ORI, your fingerprinting application cannot be processed due to the lack of the delivery destination.

• With a person’s name and date of birth, the RCMP can conduct a name-based background check using the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system.
• Fingerprint-based criminal record checks are the gold standard. They are sometimes referred to as “certified criminal record checks” and are performed by the Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS) of the RCMP. Fingerprint-based checks search through the National Repository of Criminal Records.

Unfortunately, name-based check is not widely accepted as fingerprint-based check in many cases. Please ensure the correct type of police check for your application.

With a person’s name and date of birth, local police can conduct a name-based background check using the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system. However, people may have the same names, use nicknames or legally change their names which make the person’s identity verification impossible. In this case, the fingerprint-based criminal record check will be conducted by RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS).

Please note: for some applications, the certified criminal record check (fingerprint-based) will be the only acceptable type of check, not the name-based background check. Please check the type of check that you need carefully before heading to get one.

• Criminal Record Check (Background Check): is to determine if a person has any criminal records in the National Repository of Criminal Records. This check is widely used for various purposes.
• Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check: includes the criminal convictions like the Criminal Record Check, plus a check for outstanding entries (warrants, charges, peace bonds, judicial orders, probation and prohibition orders etc.) along with absolute and conditional discharges for 1 or 3 years respectively.
• Vulnerable Sector Check: is a name-based check conducted by local police, plus a check to see if a person has a record suspension for sexual offences. This check is requested for people working or interacting with vulnerable persons, including children, disabled person, and the elderly.
• We will not know the exact type of police check that you need unless your employer let you know via email/phone/instruction letter or at least you provide us with the information of your employment. Please contact your employer for more information before heading to us.

Yes. Please bring all request forms or instruction letters from your employer as they may help to confirm the type of the required fingerprints or background check.

We can provide a fingerprinting service to have your fingerprints taken on the FD-258 form so you can mail it to the FBI for the US background check.

It depends on the organization or the board that you need to send the fingerprints to. Some of them will accept the livescan and some may strictly request the inked one (on their fingerprint form). In case you are submitting your fingerprints to a board via an agentrather than directly to the board, the livescan fingerprints will be good enough. Therefore, please bring any instruction letter to us to clarify the type of fingerprinting service.

Please note, livescan fingerprints is much more convenient to take and they are clearer than the inked fingerprints. We always prefer this method unless it is specified on an instruction letter that the inked fingerprints must be taken.

No matter if it is for your employment, immigration, travel, etc. purposes in another country, the type of RCMP Criminal Record check will be Visa/Border Crossing group.

Not only for employment but the requesting reason is obligated for all RCMP Criminal Record Check Request. Firstly, the reason is to determine if it is eligible for requesting the background check. Secondly, the information to be disclosed may differ depending on the requested reason. Finally, the background check process will also be different for different reasons (the fingerprints will be printed off or submitted electronically, who will receive the result from the RCMP, the result will be sent electronically or via mail, and if there is any next step involved, etc.). Therefore, please make sure that you know what type of employment for your RCMP check.

You will be able to do so if it is employment with either Municipal, Provincial, Federal or Police. Otherwise, the RCMP will reject your request for obtaining the Criminal Record Check.

RECO requests for applicants’ Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) from the local police, which can be done without the need of fingerprints. However, the police may need your fingerprints to complete the check in some cases and we can take care of this fingerprints part.

Please note, while RECO requests for the CRJMC from local police, other real estate councils in other provinces (such as RECA in Alberta) may request for the Criminal Record Check only and we can 100% take care of that. Please follow those organization requests to obtain the proper check.

This Criminal Record Check could be done with the local police without the need of fingerprints. However, you can also choose to do the fingerprint-based Criminal Record Check with us as well.

If you are requested to obtain a Certified Criminal Record from the RCMP with your fingerprints, that is the one we are offering. Otherwise, a name-based check from local police should be good enough. Please double check with your employer if a name-based check is acceptable. However, there will be a risk if your background check cannot be completed based on your name and date of birth. In that case, you will eventually have to obtain the certified check with your fingerprints from us.

We can help you to get the RCMP police certificate even when you are currently outside of Canada.
The fingerprints must be taken at your local police station or fingerprint agency. You will need to mail the original fingerprint cards and other required documents to our office in Canada, so they can be converted and submitted to the RCMP electronically.
Please refer to our International Fingerprinting Service for more details: https://f1fingerprint.ca/international-fingerprinting-services/

The IRCC does not accept the fingerprints sent directly to them by the applicants. The fingerprints must be submitted to the RCMP via an accredited fingerprinting agency first, then the RCMP will send the result to the IRCC.

Yes. The RCMP can send the Police Certificate via Canada Post’s regular mail to any foreign address, but there is a possibility of mail being lost or experiencing prolonged delivery time.

Therefore, we have an option to have it sent to us and we will mail it to your country of residence with an extra mailing fee.

The fingerprint card is best to be printed in the original format, including original colors. Please check with the requested organization to see if they accept the black-n-white form.

At Frontier One, we strive to capture the highest possible quality fingerprints for all our clients. Even though we cannot 100% sure that your fingerprints are acceptable in some cases, we will let you know if there is any issue with your fingerprints and the possibility of them to be accepted, based on our experience.

At Frontier One, we always submit your fngerprints to the RCMP right after capturing them. Our team will provide you with a confirmation paper to confirm it, along with an instructions on how to follow up with the RCMP regarding your background check application.

You can make the payment by credit card via the online payment platform integrated in the invoice or E-transfer if you have an eligible Canadian Bank Card

Alternatively, we also accept in-person payment at our International Department (Dundas location) during our business hours.

For International application’s inquiries, please email us at international@f1fingerprint.ca or call our International Department at (905) 247-3868 (Ext 7)