OMVIC Registration and the CRJMC - The One Background Check Ontario Car Dealers and Salespeople Can't Skip
If you want to sell cars in Ontario - whether you're a salesperson at a dealership or starting your own lot - you have to register with OMVIC first. It's the law. And one step in that registration trips up more applicants than any other: the background check.
Here's the practical news up top. OMVIC runs its standard background check through a partner called BackCheck, but if that check can't clear you - or if you have an adult conviction you can't fully account for - OMVIC requires you to obtain a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) from a police-authorized source. OMVIC is explicit that a basic Police Criminal Record Check (PCRC) will not be accepted. A CRJMC is the check you can order online in about 15 minutes through crjmc.net for $54.99 - and it's exactly the document OMVIC asks for, not the PCRC that gets rejected.
This article walks through who has to register, where the CRJMC fits, the rules that catch people out (the six-month freshness window, the PCRC trap), and what it all costs.
Who has to register with OMVIC
In Ontario, anyone working as a motor vehicle dealer or salesperson must be registered with OMVIC before doing any business, according to OMVIC's own registration page. OMVIC - the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council - is the provincial regulator that administers the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002 (MVDA) on behalf of the Ontario government.
Two broad groups need to register:
Salespersons and others who participate in trade (the individuals on the floor and behind deals).
Dealers - the businesses themselves, including all officers, directors, partners, sole proprietors, shareholders, and signing authorities, per OMVIC's application requirements.
Every applicant is screened against the MVDA's requirements, and each one is required to provide a Canada-wide criminal record search at the time of application.
Registration is not a one-time event. OMVIC's 2025 fee notice confirms the salesperson renewal fee is "due every two years," while dealer registrations are renewed annually. That recurring cycle matters for the background check, because a check has a shelf life (more on that below).
The background check: BackCheck first, CRJMC when it counts
OMVIC's registration process bundles three things: an application form, the OMVIC certification course, and a background check. The background check is the part this article is about.
OMVIC has partnered with BackCheck, and the standard route is to request a BackCheck report, with results sent directly to OMVIC within 24 hours. For many clean-record applicants, that electronic check is the end of the story.
But OMVIC's registration page spells out who BackCheck can't clear, and what they have to do instead:
"Those with adult convictions for which you have not received a pardon/record suspension and for which you do not recall specific details (offence, date of conviction, location of conviction, and penalty/disposition received), will need to go to your local police and request a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check."
In other words, if BackCheck can't confirm you're clear - typically because your name and date of birth match something in the system, or you have a conviction you can't fully detail - OMVIC sends you to get a CRJMC. And then comes the line that costs people the most time and money when they get it wrong:
"A Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check is different than a Police Criminal Record Check (PCRC) - PCRC is not accepted."
This is the single most important sentence in OMVIC's whole background-check process. People hear "criminal record check," order the cheapest or fastest thing labelled that way - a PCRC - and OMVIC rejects it. You then have to start over with the correct check, which can delay your registration by days or weeks.
What a CRJMC actually is (and why it's the right one)
Ontario standardized its police checks under the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 (PRCRA), which defines three levels of check. The provincial police record checks guide lays them out:
Criminal Record Check (CRC) - the most basic level; convictions only.
Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) - convictions plus additional judicial information.
Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) - the deepest level, for roles working with vulnerable people.
A CRJMC sits in the middle and includes criminal convictions, outstanding charges and warrants, certain judicial orders, and specific non-conviction dispositions within their disclosure periods. That extra "judicial matters" layer is precisely what OMVIC wants for a profession built on financial trust - and it's why a bare PCRC/CRC doesn't satisfy them.
The good news: the CRJMC is also a check you don't have to line up at a police counter for. You can order it online through crjmc.net and get results in about 15 minutes after identity verification, for $54.99 - the same legal document a police service would issue, formatted exactly as OMVIC expects. If OMVIC has told you a PCRC won't do and you need a CRJMC, this is the fast, correct route.
The six-month freshness rule
Whichever way your check is produced, timing matters. OMVIC states plainly on its registration page that it "cannot accept background check reports more than six months old."
That cuts both ways:
Don't order too early. A CRJMC you pulled nine months ago won't be accepted, even if nothing has changed.
Don't leave it to the last minute either, especially if you might be routed from BackCheck to a police-issued or online CRJMC, which adds a step.
The sweet spot is to obtain your check in the two to four months before you submit (or resubmit) your application. Because salesperson registrations renew every two years and dealers renew annually, this is a recurring task - each renewal needs a check that's fresh within that six-month window, not the one from your last cycle.
What it costs
Costs fall into two buckets: OMVIC's own fees, and the cost of the background check itself.
OMVIC's fees have been moving - the council issued a 60-day notice of new fees effective September 1, 2025 - so confirm the current figure in your online portal before you pay. The CRJMC cost, by contrast, is straightforward: $54.99 through crjmc.net.
Step by step: getting registered
Pulling OMVIC's process together for a new salesperson:
Review the individual application on OMVIC's online services portal to confirm the documents you need.
Request your background check. Start with BackCheck. If you're told it can't clear you, or you have a conviction without a record suspension that you can't fully detail, obtain a CRJMC instead - and remember a PCRC won't be accepted. A CRJMC from crjmc.net takes about 15 minutes.
Complete the OMVIC certification course through the Automotive Business School of Canada. Your application can't be approved until this is done.
Keep copies of everything, and notify OMVIC within five business days of any change to the information you provided.
Submit online and pay the registration fee.
Track your status in the portal - a processed application shows there for 30 days.
Dealers (businesses) follow a parallel path, submitting a business application plus individual applications for everyone in the company who engages in trade.
What happens if you get the check wrong
Two mistakes are common and both are avoidable:
Ordering a PCRC instead of a CRJMC. OMVIC rejects it outright. You lose the fee and the time, and have to reorder the correct check.
Submitting a stale check. Anything over six months old is refused.
There's a bigger risk too: disclosure. OMVIC takes accuracy seriously. In one case widely reported in the trade press, a man received 60 days in jail for providing false information on an OMVIC application. The lesson is simple - get the correct check, disclose honestly, and let the paperwork do its job.
If your registration is refused, revoked, or refused renewal, the MVDA lets you reapply only after two years have passed and material circumstances have changed, so it's worth getting right the first time.
Quick Q&A
I have a totally clean record. Do I still need a CRJMC?
Not necessarily. OMVIC's standard route is the BackCheck electronic check, and for many clean-record applicants that's all that's needed. You're directed to a CRJMC when BackCheck can't clear you or you have a conviction to account for. If you're in that group, crjmc.net issues the exact CRJMC OMVIC requires.
OMVIC rejected my "criminal record check." Why?
Almost certainly because it was a Police Criminal Record Check (PCRC), which OMVIC does not accept. You need a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) - a different, more detailed check. Order the correct one and resubmit.
Can I use the CRJMC I got for another licence (say, a security guard job)?
Yes, if it's a genuine CRJMC and it's still within OMVIC's six-month window. A CRJMC is a standard document; the same one can satisfy multiple purposes during its validity period.
How old can my check be?
No more than six months when OMVIC receives it, per OMVIC. Aim to order two to four months before you apply or renew.
Do I need a brand-new check every renewal?
In practice, yes - because salesperson registrations renew every two years and dealers annually, and the six-month freshness rule means last cycle's check will be long expired. Build the check into your renewal routine.
Is an online CRJMC really the same as one from the police?
Yes. A CRJMC ordered through a provider like crjmc.net is the same legal document as one obtained at a police service - it's just faster, typically returning results in about 15 minutes after ID verification.
Get started
If OMVIC has told you a PCRC won't do and you need a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check, you can complete it online right now and have it back in minutes.
Start your CRJMC - 15 minutes, $54.99
Order it inside the six-month window, keep a copy for your records, and submit it with your OMVIC application or renewal.
Sources: OMVIC - How to Become a Dealer (omvic.ca/selling/register), OMVIC - Becoming a Dealer or Salesperson (omvic.ca/selling/register/becoming-a-dealer-or-salesperson), OMVIC - 60-Day Notice of New Fees Effective September 1, 2025 (omvic.ca/news/dealer-bulletins), Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Motor_Vehicle_Industry_Council), Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 (ontario.ca/laws/statute/15p30), Ontario Police Record Checks guide (ontario.ca/page/police-record-checks), Auto Service World - false information case (autoserviceworld.com), crjmc.net.