Criminal record check online in Alberta
Alberta employers ask for criminal record checks before oil and gas site work, trades jobs, retail roles and countless office jobs. MyCRC gives you a criminal record check online: a name-based search of the RCMP national database using your name and date of birth, with identity verification on your phone and the finished report in your account as a PDF. There’s no detachment visit, and it’s the same process in Red Deer, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie or Fort McMurray.
The police information check: Alberta’s term
In Alberta, police services call their record check a police information check, often shortened to PIC. It’s the document Alberta employers and volunteer agencies mean when they say “police check”. Each police service sets its own process, and most only accept applications from people who live in their area: the Calgary Police Service for Calgary residents, the Edmonton Police Service for Edmonton residents, and RCMP detachments for much of rural Alberta.
A police information check can include more than criminal convictions, depending on the service and the level you request, including a vulnerable sector level for people working with children or vulnerable adults. If the organization asking you names a specific level, use that wording to confirm what you need. MyCRC’s name-based check is a search of criminal convictions.
Is there a free criminal record check in Alberta?
Not for most people. Some Alberta police services provide checks at no charge to eligible volunteers. In Calgary, for example, volunteers screened through the Volunteer Alberta program can apply online at no charge. Paid employment checks have a fee wherever you apply. MyCRC charges one price, $68.23 tax included.
How long an Alberta police check takes
Alberta’s big-city police services process applications in a queue. The Calgary Police Service says applications aren’t processed immediately or expedited, and the Edmonton Police Service quotes processing in business days. If your start date is close, a name-based check with MyCRC can be ready in as little as 15 minutes and takes about 4 hours on average.
Who asks for one in Alberta
Energy companies and their contractors, construction and trades employers, retail and hospitality, banks and insurers, and transportation companies all screen new hires in Alberta. Landlords and property managers in Calgary and Edmonton ask for checks too, and many ask applicants to arrange their own so they don’t wait on a police queue.
Checks in Alberta cities
See criminal record checks in Calgary and criminal record checks in Edmonton.
Questions about criminal record checks in Alberta
Can I get a refund?
You can get your money back if you did not finish every step. The steps are:
- Take a photo of your ID
- Take a selfie
- Check that your information is right
- Agree to send your information to the police
If you stopped before the last step, email support@mycrc.ca and ask for a refund. You get all of your money back.
After you finish every step, there are no refunds. Your report is then ready to download as a PDF. It is not refundable for any reason, no matter what your report says.
How long does a criminal record check take?
Reports can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. The average is about 4 hours. Some take longer, usually because identity verification wasn’t finished, or because confirming your ID takes extra time in our system.
What exactly am I buying?
A name-based Canadian criminal record check. It searches the RCMP’s national database, the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), using your name and date of birth to confirm criminal convictions. You get a PDF report online, with no trip to a police station and no appointment.
Before the search, you are asked about any past criminal convictions. If you have any, you must list them, and the details must match your record. If they don’t match, your report may come back Incomplete.
How much does it cost?
$68.23, tax included. You pay once by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with no monthly fees and no hidden costs. See pricing.
How do I get my report?
Your report is in your account. When it’s ready we email you to sign in (the email doesn’t contain the report). On the finished check, Download report saves the PDF to your device. Log in to your account.
Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25