Discharges

A discharge is granted when the court finds you guilty of an offence but chooses not to convict you after considering your special circumstances. You do however have a criminal record. If you also have convictions on your record and you apply for a Pardon, the record of your discharge(s) will be removed when your Pardon is issued or granted.

Yes. Both absolute and conditional discharges appear on your criminal record. If you only have a discharge on your record and the discharge was given on or after July 24, 1992, the record of the offence is removed automatically one year after if you were given an absolute discharge and three years after if you were given a conditional discharge.

If you only have a discharge on your record and the discharge was given prior to July 24, 1992, an application must be made to the RCMP Purge Unit to have the record removed. The process takes 4 – 6 months. Speak to one of our service specialists today to determine what is right for you.