Ontario's New Police Record Check Service Standards: What Changed on June 2, 2026
As of June 2, 2026, every police record check provider in Ontario must meet government-set service standards - or answer for it. The change comes from section 14.1 of the Police Record Checks Reform Act, added by Bill 75 and now in force. If you need a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) for a job, licence, or volunteer role, you can order one online at crjmc.net - about 15 minutes after ID verification, $54.99.
The province is also pushing a separate proposal to speed up vulnerable sector checks, the most common type of police record check in Ontario. Both moves land after a rough 2025, when some OPP wait times stretched past 12 weeks.
Below: what the new law says, what the proposed VSC changes would do, and how processing times actually look right now.
What section 14.1 actually requires
The new section 14.1 is short, but it gives the Solicitor General real teeth. The core rule is simple: a police record check provider must comply with any prescribed service standards.
What does "prescribed" mean here? It means the Solicitor General can now write regulations that set specific timeframes for completing checks. The law also lets the government require providers to report on their compliance - and to publish those reports. That is a meaningful shift. Until now, there was no province-wide standard for how fast a check had to be done. Individual police services set their own timelines, and applicants had no recourse when those timelines stretched from weeks into months.
One thing to flag honestly: the specific timeframes have not been published yet. Section 14.1 creates the legal framework. The regulations will fill in the actual numbers. But the framework is now live, and the power to set and enforce those numbers is in the Solicitor General's hands.
The law also includes a liability shield - no one can sue a provider for missing a standard. That keeps police services from drowning in litigation as the system ramps up. Judicial review and constitutional claims can still go forward, though, so there is a check on the check-providers.
Bill 75 got Royal Assent and is now on the books as S.O. 2026, c. 7. The police record check piece - Schedule 6 - kicked in on that same date.
The proposed faster vulnerable sector checks
On May 7, 2026, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner stood at Barrie Police headquarters and announced a second set of changes - this time targeting vulnerable sector checks (VSCs) specifically.
"Delays in getting a vulnerable sector check should never stand in the way of someone getting a job or giving back to their community," Kerzner said. "That's why we are taking action to reduce wait times and improve how checks are being processed while ensuring the strongest safeguards remain in place."
The bottleneck is jurisdictional. Vulnerable sector checks require access to federal databases managed by the RCMP and Public Safety Canada. Right now, each police service can only process VSCs for people who live in its jurisdiction. When demand spikes - summer hiring for camps, back-to-school staffing for childcare centres, onboarding waves at hospitals - services get overwhelmed and wait times balloon.
The proposed change would let designated police services process VSCs for applicants who live outside their jurisdiction during high-demand periods. That way, a service with available capacity could absorb overflow from a neighbour that is backed up.
The numbers behind this are striking. Ontario police services process more than one million police record checks every year, and more than 70 per cent of those are vulnerable sector checks. In Barrie alone, Chief Rich Johnston reported that his service handled nearly 14,000 criminal record checks in 2025, of which 11,354 were VSCs - and demand keeps climbing.
Gail Hunt, who runs the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, backed the proposal. Shorter waits and predictable processing, she said, would help her hospital avoid staffing gaps, take pressure off new hires, and keep patient safety where it needs to be.
Making it work means the RCMP and Public Safety Canada would need to open federal database access to the designated services. The province has been careful to frame this as a speed-up, not a loosening of standards.
Important: these VSC changes are proposed as part of an upcoming legislative package. They are not yet law. The section 14.1 service standards, by contrast, are already in effect.
How processing times have shifted: 2021 to 2026
The new rules did not come out of nowhere. Processing times across Ontario have swung wildly over the past five years, and 2025 was particularly bad.
In 2021, pandemic-era backlogs pushed OPP wait times to four to six weeks. Municipal services were running at two to four weeks. Things improved somewhat in 2022 and 2023, but then came two moves that drove volume sharply higher: the elimination of fees for volunteer-purpose checks on April 1, 2022, and the introduction of the Broad Record Check under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act on January 1, 2025.
By summer and fall 2025, the OPP reported a backlog that pushed wait times to 12 to 14 weeks. Complex vulnerable sector checks were averaging 45 to 55 days. That is not weeks of minor inconvenience - that is months of stalled job offers, delayed licences, and volunteer roles left unfilled.
The good news: the system has recovered substantially in 2026. As of April, the OPP reports turnaround times averaging about 10 days, down from those 12-to-14-week highs. Toronto is running at roughly a two-week backlog. Ottawa sits at 7 to 10 business days. The OPP's improvement followed a full review of its Online Police Record Checks Unit, an internal audit, and added resources.
The service standards in section 14.1 are designed to prevent the kind of uncontrolled backlog spiral that happened in 2025 - by giving the government the authority to set hard timelines and demand public reporting on compliance.
What this means for CRJMCs
The Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check sits in the middle of Ontario's three-level system under the Police Record Checks Reform Act. A basic Criminal Record Check (CRC) covers convictions only. A CRJMC adds judicial matters - outstanding charges, peace bonds, probation orders, and certain court dispositions. A Vulnerable Sector Check adds another layer on top of the CRJMC for people working with children, seniors, or other vulnerable populations.
If you need a CRJMC - for a licence application with bodies like OMVIC, CMRAO, or HCRA, or for an employer or organization that requires one - the new service standards apply to your check too. Every provider, whether a police service or an authorized third-party, falls under section 14.1.
Since July 2024, Ontario's Private Security and Investigative Services Branch has accepted CRJMCs from authorized third-party providers. That is directly relevant here: an online CRJMC through crjmc.net typically delivers in about 15 minutes after ID verification, for $54.99. The new accountability framework does not change how crjmc.net operates - but it does validate what online providers have been doing for years: delivering checks quickly and reliably, without the weeks-long wait.
What to do next
Check which type of record check you need. Your employer, regulator, or organization should tell you whether they require a CRC, CRJMC, or VSC. If you are not sure, ask before ordering.
If you need a CRJMC, you can order one at crjmc.net right now - about 15 minutes, $54.99.
If you need a vulnerable sector check, contact your local police service for current processing times. They are the only ones who can issue VSCs.
Plan ahead. If you are going through a police service for any type of check, order two to four months before your application deadline.
Remember the six-month freshness rule. Most Ontario regulators and employers will not accept a check older than six months. Time your order so the check is still fresh when you submit it.
Quick Q&A
What are the new police record check service standards in Ontario?
Section 14.1 of the Police Record Checks Reform Act now requires every provider to comply with prescribed service standards. The Solicitor General can set specific processing timeframes by regulation and require providers to report on compliance.
When did the service standards take effect?
June 2, 2026 - the date Bill 75 (the Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act, 2026) received Royal Assent.
What specific processing times are required?
The specific timeframes have not been published yet. Section 14.1 creates the power to set them by regulation. The framework is in place; the numbers will follow.
Do the standards apply to online CRJMC providers like crjmc.net?
Yes. Section 14.1 applies to every "police record check provider" in Ontario - police services and authorized third-party providers alike.
What is the proposed change for vulnerable sector checks?
The province wants to let designated police services process VSCs for applicants who live outside their jurisdiction during high-demand periods. This would require RCMP and Public Safety Canada cooperation and is not yet law.
Why were vulnerable sector checks taking so long?
Volume. Ontario police process over one million checks annually, and more than 70% are VSCs. Each service could only handle checks for its own jurisdiction, so demand spikes overwhelmed individual services. In 2025, OPP wait times hit 12 to 14 weeks.
How long does a CRJMC take right now?
Through crjmc.net, about 15 minutes after ID verification. Through a police service, it varies - currently ranging from about 10 days (OPP) to two weeks (Toronto) to several weeks depending on your local service.
What is the difference between a CRJMC and a vulnerable sector check?
A CRJMC covers convictions plus judicial matters (charges, peace bonds, probation). A VSC includes everything in a CRJMC plus a check of the pardoned sex offender database and other records relevant to working with vulnerable people. VSCs can only be issued by police services - not by third-party providers.
Can I sue if my check takes too long?
Not under the new law. Section 14.1 specifically extinguishes causes of action for failure to meet the service standards. Judicial review and constitutional claims are still available, but ordinary lawsuits are barred.
How much does a CRJMC cost in Ontario?
Through crjmc.net, $54.99. Police service fees vary by municipality - some charge nothing for volunteer-purpose checks, while others charge $20 to $65 or more for employment-purpose checks.
Get started
Ontario's record-check system is getting faster and more accountable. If you need a CRJMC, you do not have to wait for regulations to set a processing timeline for police services - you can get one now.
Start your CRJMC - 15 minutes, $54.99
Sources: Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 (ontario.ca/laws/statute/15p30), Bill 75 - Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act, 2026 (ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-44/session-1/bill-75), Ontario government announcement - May 7, 2026 (todaysnorthumberland.ca/2026/05/07/ontario-reducing-wait-times-for-police-record-checks), Canadian HR Reporter (hrreporter.com/focus-areas/recruitment-and-staffing/ontario-proposing-faster-police-record-checks/394412), IPC submission on Schedule 6 of Bill 75 (ipc.on.ca/en/resources/advice-and-submissions/ipc-comments-proposed-amendments-police-record-checks-reform-act-regarding-police-record-check), AMCTO - Proposed Legislative Amendments (amcto.com/network-community/blog/proposed-legislative-amendments-impacting-police-record-checks), Ontario - Police Record Checks (ontario.ca/page/police-record-checks), crjmc.net.