An employment background check (sometimes called a pre-employment background check) is an important part of Canada’s employment and volunteer infrastructure. Background checks as employment verification can involve looking at a job candidate’s employment history, credit history, and criminal history.
Criminal background checks are one of the most important forms of pre-employment background checks; they play an essential role in employment, volunteering, and other critical pieces of Canada’s economy and social infrastructure.
As a result of their crucial role, background checks are quite common—and that means it can take some time to get the results of your background check. At FASTCHECK, we are committed to helping people in Winnipeg complete their criminal background checks quickly and efficiently.
This article aims to help readers understand more about criminal background checks, from how long they typically take to the factors that can influence that timeframe.
Type Of Background Check
Broadly speaking, there are two different types of background checks in Canada:
- Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) checks: These are background checks that look into local police records. They don’t require fingerprinting and are sometimes referred to as name-based checks.
- Certified Criminal Record Checks: These are the most comprehensive record checks, conducted by the RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS). These checks require fingerprinting—you can think of them as RCMP fingerprinting checks.
CPIC checks take less time than Certified Criminal Record Checks.
Purpose Of The Check
For most careers and volunteer positions requiring a background check, a CPIC check is sufficient. These checks tend to take less time to process because they’re name-based checks—no fingerprint processing is required.
For immigration and jobs requiring a higher level of security, certified criminal record checks are the gold standard. They’re much more comprehensive—as you can imagine, fingerprints are much more effective at helping identify an individual. They also include all convictions, pending charges, and discharges.
For work with vulnerable populations (like children and the elderly) or adoptions, you’ll need a different security check, known as a vulnerable sector check (VSS). These can only be done by the Local Police force where the applicant lives.
Typical Timeframes For Background Checks In Canada
Standard Criminal Record Checks
For criminal record check in winnipeg, local name-based record checks are completed quite quickly—wait times are a matter of hours, and you can usually get your results the day you request them.
CCRTIS criminal background checks take longer, but wait times are still quite short at the moment, though getting the results in the mail can take a little longer.
When a possible match is found, on the other hand, certified criminal record checks take quite a bit longer—the current average is around 120 business days.
How FASTCHECK Ensures Prompt Background Checks
Commitment To Accuracy And Efficiency
We want you to be able to get a criminal background check done over your lunch hour. Our highly trained staff have been taking fingerprints and helping individuals conduct background checks for years—we work quickly without sacrificing accuracy.
Choose Reputable Service Providers
The RCMP has a list of accredited fingerprinting companies. These are companies you can trust to help you complete a background check—FASTCHECK is on the list.
Choose FASTCHECK For Your Next Background Check
Need a criminal background check? Call FASTCHECK today—we’ll help you complete your check quickly and efficiently, providing you with any information and guidance you may need along the way.

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