Fingerprints After a Charge, and Getting Them Destroyed

Under the Identification of Criminals Act, police can take fingerprints and photographs of people charged with indictable offences, including hybrid offences.

Fingerprinting after release

• Your appearance notice or undertaking may require you to attend at a set date and time for fingerprinting.
• Failing to appear for fingerprinting is a criminal offence.

What happens to the records

• Fingerprints and photos may be kept by the local police and sent to the RCMP's national repository.

When the charge ends without a conviction

If the charge is withdrawn, stayed, dismissed, or you are acquitted, you can usually ask the police service that took them to destroy your fingerprints and photographs, and to ask the RCMP to remove them.

How to ask

1. Get proof of the outcome, such as a court record.
2. Fill in the police service's destruction request form.
3. Some services charge a fee, and many follow a set waiting period.

Discharges

After an absolute or conditional discharge, records are generally removed from the national system after a set period (one year for absolute, three years for conditional), under the Criminal Records Act.

Sources

• Identification of Criminals Act
• Criminal Records Act

Read next: Youth Criminal Justice Act: How Youth Charges Are Handled

General Ontario legal information, not legal advice for your matter, and reading it does not create a retainer. Sources checked 16 October 2026: check the current law, forms and dates before you act.

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This article is general information for people in Ontario, not legal advice. Rules, forms and deadlines change, and every situation is different. Check the current rule or speak to a licensed legal professional before you act.