Vulnerable Sector Check: What It Is and How to Get One
Last updated: October 28, 2026
If an employer or volunteer group has asked you for a vulnerable sector check, this page explains what it is and the steps to get one, using the words of the RCMP and police services. MyCRC does not provide vulnerable sector checks. A vulnerable sector check can only come from the police service where you live, so this page points you there.
What a vulnerable sector check is
In the RCMP’s words, a vulnerable sector check is “a police information check plus a check to see if a person has a record suspension” for sexual offences, a record suspension being what used to be called a pardon. The RCMP says it is for “people who volunteer or have jobs where they are in positions of trust or authority over children or vulnerable persons”, and that the search covers national databases held by the RCMP and the local police records where you live.
Who asks for one
The organization does. According to the RCMP, the hiring organization or volunteer group makes the request and you give your consent. Police services ask for proof of that request: Halifax Regional Police, for example, requires a letter from your employer or organization asking for the vulnerable sector check.
How to get one, step by step
- Get the request from the organization. Ask the employer or volunteer group for the letter, form or code its police service needs.
- Apply to the police service where you live. The RCMP says vulnerable sector checks “must be conducted by the local Canadian police service where an applicant lives”. Many police services let you start the application on their own website; others take it in person. RCMP-accredited fingerprinting companies don’t provide vulnerable sector checks.
- In British Columbia, use the Criminal Records Review Program. Organizations covered by BC’s Criminal Records Review Act screen people who work with children or vulnerable adults through the province’s program, and the organization will tell you how to start.
- Be ready for fingerprints. The RCMP says that “in some cases you will be required to submit fingerprints to confirm your identity.” Your police service will tell you if you need them and where to go.
- Expect a fee. Each police service sets its own. As examples from their own pages: Peel Regional Police charges $35, plus $52 if fingerprints are needed, and the Saskatoon Police Service charges $75 in person for a criminal record check with a vulnerable sector check. In Ontario, volunteers still pay the police fee for this level.
Why MyCRC isn’t the right option for this
MyCRC provides one product: a name-based Canadian criminal record check, searched against the RCMP’s national database. It is not a vulnerable sector check, and it can’t be turned into one, because only the police service where you live can run that search.
If the organization has told you that a standard criminal record check is all it needs, that is the check MyCRC provides. You can read how it works on the home page.