Clearing a Criminal Record: Record Suspension & Pardon Guide

Canada: The Record Suspension (Formerly the Pardon)

In Canada, a criminal record is set aside through a record suspension, granted by the Parole Board of Canada. It does not erase the record but removes it from routine background checks and keeps it separate from other federal records, which restores much of the practical benefit of a clean record. Eligibility generally requires completing the entire sentence first — custody, probation, and payment of every fine, surcharge, and restitution amount — and then waiting a set period, currently 5 years for summary conviction offences and 10 years for indictable offences.

There are important limits. Certain offences, notably some sexual offences involving minors, are ineligible for a record suspension. A record suspension can be revoked if the person is later convicted of a new offence or is found no longer of good conduct. And because it is a federal Canadian remedy, it does not bind foreign authorities — a point that matters greatly for anyone whose real goal is cross-border travel, discussed below.

United States: Expungement and Sealing, State by State

The United States has no single national pardon process for ordinary criminal records. Instead, each state has its own expungement and record-sealing laws, and they vary enormously. Some states seal or expunge a broad range of offences after a waiting period; others offer very narrow relief or almost none. Dismissals, acquittals, and diversion completions are frequently easier to clear than convictions, and eligibility turns on the specific state, offence, outcome, and time since completion. Federal convictions have very limited options — essentially a presidential pardon or narrow statutory relief.

Because the rules are so state-specific, generalizations are risky. The reliable path is to identify your state's expungement or sealing statute, use the state court's self-help centre where one exists, and confirm eligibility for your particular offences before investing time and any fees. A local lawyer can tell you not only whether you qualify but which of your offences, if any, are excluded — the most common source of wasted applications.

The Common Traps: Unfinished Sentences, New Charges, and Travel

Two disqualifiers trip up applicants everywhere. The first is an incomplete sentence: both Canadian record suspensions and most US programs require the entire sentence to be finished — including probation and, critically, every fine, surcharge, and restitution amount paid in full. Unpaid financial penalties are one of the leading reasons applications are rejected or waiting periods have not even begun. The second is conduct during the waiting period: a new conviction generally resets the clock, and pending charges can pause or defeat an application, because good conduct is central to eligibility.

Finally, understand what record relief does not fix. Clearing or sealing a record does not automatically resolve cross-border problems: a Canadian record suspension does not bind US authorities, who may still hold the record and deny entry, so travel often requires a separate US entry waiver — and clearing a US record may not cure Canadian inadmissibility. Vulnerable-sector checks and certain licensing bodies can also still access flagged information. If your goal is travel or a sensitive licence, treat it as its own problem and get specific advice, rather than assuming a record suspension or expungement solves everything.

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