How does having a youth record affect me? | Steps to Justice | Your guide to law in Ontario

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How does having a youth record affect me?

Next steps

1. Find out if your youth record is sealed

2. Figure out how long your youth record will last

3. Know what to say on job applications and interviews

4. Understand criminal background checks

5. Understand how youth records can affect travel

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Justice for Children and Youth Wiki - Youth Records

Justice for Children and Youth

Department of Justice - Youth Records

Department of Justice

Criminal Record Checks (Canada)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Police Record Checks (Ontario)

Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General

Privacy, Publication & Records

Public Prosecution Service of Canada

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How does having a youth record affect me?

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Reviewed:

April 7, 2020

Answer

Youth records are private and confidential records kept by the police, the courts, and various government agencies. Your youth record can seriously affect your life, especially when you're looking for work or when you're travelling.

Youth records versus criminal records

Your youth record can include a lot of information, such as:

interactions with the police, even if you were not charged
any crimes you were charged with
any diversion programs you agreed to
a pre-sentence report
any crimes you were found guilty of
any sentences you received
information about whether you finished serving your sentence

They can be electronic or paper documents.

Your youth record is not a criminal record. The term “criminal record” is a special legal term in Canada that only applies to adults. There is no such thing as a criminal record for a young person.

If you're sentenced for a crime as an adult when your youth record is still open, and you have findings of guilt on your youth record, then these are converted into an adult criminal record that could last forever.

Youth records

You will definitely have a youth record if you:

were arrested or charged with a crime
participated in extrajudicial measures (EJM), where the police deal with the allegations against you without charging you
participated in extrajudicial sanctions (EJS), where you and the Crown agree to a youth diversion program
were sentenced as a young person under the Youth Criminal Justice Act

You might have a youth record even if you weren't charged with a crime. This is because your youth record includes interactions with the police even if you weren't arrested. For example, the police may have a record about you if they warned you about certain behaviour, such as shoplifting even if they didn't arrest you.

Sealing or destroying youth records

After a certain amount of time, if your youth record has not been converted into an adult criminal record, then your youth record must be "sealed" or destroyed completely. Sealing a record means that the record is permanently closed.

Your youth record is not automatically sealed or destroyed when you turn 18.

Access period

The time your youth record is open is called the access period. The length of the access period depends on:

the type of record
the type of crime
the outcome of your case

Access periods can range from 2 months after you're acquitted at trial to 5 years after you complete your sentence. At the end of the access period, your youth record will be sealed or destroyed.

Question

How does having a youth record affect me?

Next steps

1. Find out if your youth record is sealed

2. Figure out how long your youth record will last

3. Know what to say on job applications and interviews

4. Understand criminal background checks

5. Understand how youth records can affect travel

1. Find out if your youth record is sealed

Once your youth record is sealed, no one except you and your lawyer is allowed access without a special order from a judge.

If you're not sure whether your youth record is sealed, you can ask the police.

You can go to your local police or to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to request a copy of your records. This is called a criminal background check. Even though a youth record is not a criminal record, some police services call this process a "criminal record check". You usually have to pay a fee for a background check.

Youth records are private

Youth records are private, confidential records.

You and your lawyer are always allowed access to your youth record, even after it's sealed.

If your youth record is still open, there are certain people listed in the YCJA who may also be allowed to access your youth record if you're charged with another crime. These people may include:

the Crown
the victim
your parents or another adult who is helping you
the police
a judge
people working in the court system
certain people who work for the government
people managing your sentence if you were found guilty, such as a probation officer

The court might need information in your youth record to decide how to deal with your charges. The victim might want this information for their own healing, for example if an apology letter was written.

Whatever the reason, these people are not allowed disclose or share anything in your youth record. If they do, they may be charged with an offence under the YCJA.

Anyone else who wants access to your open youth record must ask a judge for special permission. The judge must say "no" unless there is a very important reason. For example, if you're a witnesses for the Crown in a case against someone else, the accused's lawyer might bring an application to ask the court for access to your youth record. The judge will then decide if it's necessary and fair to give access to your youth record.

Reviewed:

April 2020

2. Figure out how long your youth record will last

Your record will not be sealed just because you turn 18.

The time your youth record is open is called the "access period". The length of the access period depends on the type of record, the type of crime, and the outcome of your case.

Case outcome	Access period
Charges withdrawn	2 months from the date the charge is withdrawn
Not guilty – no appeal	2 months after the deadline for appeal has passed
Not guilty – appeal	3 months after the appeal is completed
Reprimand	2 months from the date you were found guilty
Peace bond or other recognizance	6 months from the end of the recognizance
Charges stayed	1 year from the day your charges were stayed
Absolute discharge	1 year from the day you were found guilty
Extrajudicial sanctions (EJS)	2 years from when you agreed to EJS
Conditional discharge	3 years from the day you were found guilty
Guilty - summary offence	3 years from the end of your sentence
Guilty - indictable offence	5 years from the end of your sentence

If you're found guilty of another offence as a young person during the access period, this can extend the access period by 3 or 5 years.

Sealing or destroying records

At the end of the access period, youth records kept by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) must be destroyed. This includes any records that show you were found guilty of a crime.

All other youth records, such as court records or police notes about the case, must be either destroyed or sealed. This often happens automatically for electronic documents.

Sometimes the people responsible for destroying or sealing documents don't do it as soon as they are supposed to. If the access period for your record is closed but the record is still showing up on a criminal background check, then you should ask the police to destroy the record. If the police don't agree, you can get help from a youth justice lawyer.

Special records: Photographs, fingerprints, and DNA records

Records with your photographs, fingerprints, or DNA may be open for longer than your other records.

If you were charged with a more serious offence, called an indictable offence, then the RCMP can keep your fingerprint and photograph records for an extra 5 years after your access period. If you're not sure whether you were charged with a more serious indictable offence or a less serious summary offence, you can ask the lawyer that helped you with the case.

If you were charged with a serious violent offence and the prosecutor asked the judge to give you an adult sentence, then the RCMP can keep your fingerprint, photograph, and DNA records forever. Examples of serious violent offences include murder, manslaughter, and aggravated sexual assault.

Reviewed:

April 2020

3. Know what to say on job applications and interviews

A youth record can seriously affect your life, especially when you're looking for work.

A potential employer is not allowed to ask you if you have a youth record. But some potential employers will ask about youth records anyway.

Here are some common questions employers might ask you and ways you can answer:

"Do you have a criminal record?"
Answer: "No."
This is because a youth record is not a criminal record. There is no such thing as a criminal record for a young person. The term "criminal record" is a special legal term that only applies to adults.
"Have you been convicted of a crime?"
Answer: "No."
Being found guilty as a youth is not the same as being convicted. In Canada, the legal term "convicted" only refers to adults. So even if you were found guilty as a youth, you were not "convicted". There is one exception: in some very rare situations the judge can give a young person an adult sentence. If you got an adult sentence as a young person, then your finding of guilt counts as a conviction. Otherwise, the answer to this question is always "no".
"Have you been found guilty of a crime?"
Answer: "No", if your sentence is finished.
The law says once your youth sentence is complete, including probation, it's the same as if you were never found guilty.

A youth justice lawyer can give you more advice about how to answer these questions.

Reviewed:

April 2020

4. Understand criminal background checks

A potential employer may ask you for a criminal background check. There are 3 kinds:

a criminal record check
a criminal record and judicial matters check
a vulnerable sector record check

If your youth record is sealed, you will get a "clear" background check that you can give to a potential employer.

If you have an open youth record, it will show up in all 3 background checks. You can't give this to a potential employer. It's illegal to show a background check with a youth record to anyone, including a potential employer.

If your background check shows a youth record, you should check to make sure that your access period is actually still open. Sometimes the police don't destroy a youth record immediately after the access period has passed. If that happens, you should ask the police to destroy the youth record. If the police don't agree, a youth justice lawyer can help you with this.

Ask for a record suppression

If your background check correctly shows an open youth record, you can ask the police to suppress the record. This is when the police seal your record before the end of the access period.

It's up to the police if they will suppress a record in your particular case. They might do this if they think your youth record has an unfair impact on your attempts to find a job. A youth justice lawyer may be able to help you with this process.

If the police will not suppress the record, then you won't be able to give an employer a clear background check until your record is destroyed at the end of the access period.

Consent

Sometimes a potential employer will ask you to sign a consent form that allows the employer to get your background check directly from the police.

If your background check shows a youth record it's illegal for the police to give the background check directly to the employer, even if you have consented. If the police do give your potential employer a background check that shows a youth record, you should contact a youth justice lawyer right away.

Reviewed:

April 2020

5. Understand how youth records can affect travel

A youth record can't stop you from travelling within Canada, but it can stop you from travelling to another country. Some countries will not let you enter if you have a youth record. For example, travelling to the United States might be an issue.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) does not allow the disclosure or sharing of youth records to any non-Canadian agencies. However, the Canadian government cannot stop foreign officials or border security from asking you questions about your youth record.

If you try to enter another country while your youth record is open, you should not lie to the border officials if they ask you about your youth record. If you lie about your youth record and the border officials find out, they may stop you from entering. They may also stop you from entering that country in the future.

Once another country finds out about your youth record, the other country may keep that information forever. Unlike in Canada, other countries are not required to seal or destroy your youth records after a certain period of time.

There may be things you can do before your trip if your youth record is still open. For example, you may be able to get a special permit or waiver to enter another country. But you have to apply ahead of time for this and may have to pay a fee. You may need to speak to an immigration lawyer for advice.

Reviewed:

April 2020

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