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Background Checks for Employers in Canada | Credibled
For hiring teams

Background checks for employers in Canada

Criminal record, identity, reference, employment, and education checks in one platform. Canadian criminal record checks return in about 15 minutes. Pay per check, no subscription, no minimum volume.

Get started Free to sign up. No credit card. See your full pricing before you create an account. Completing a check you were invited to? Get candidate support.
~15 min
Canadian criminal results
12+
Check types
200+
Jurisdictions
100%
Canadian owned

Rated 5.0 on Google across 45 reviews and 4.9 on G2. Winner, Young Entrepreneur 2026, Prix RelèveON.

A screened candidate in a navy suit and orange tie, standing
Identity verified
Government ID + biometric match
Reference check · completed
All referees responded
CPIC check · running
ETA ~15 min · email on completion
The basics

What is an employment background check in Canada?

An employment background check is a set of verifications an employer runs on a candidate before or shortly after making an offer. In Canada, what an employer can check depends on the role, the province, and the candidate's written consent.

More screening guides on the Credibled blog

What employers can legally check

Most Canadian employers run some combination of criminal record checks, identity verification, reference checks, and employment or education verification. Roles with financial responsibility often add a credit check. Roles involving driving add a driver's abstract. Some regulated sectors, including security services and companies handling controlled goods, are required to screen.

There is no single national rule for what an employer may check. Federal privacy law (PIPEDA) governs the handling of personal information, provincial legislation adds requirements on top, and Quebec's Law 25 is stricter than most. Social media screening, for example, is not available in Quebec.

Consent requirements in Canada

An employer must obtain the candidate's informed written consent before running any background check. The consent must state what is being checked and why. Credibled collects that consent from the candidate as part of the check flow and retains it in your audit trail, so the record exists if a hiring decision is ever questioned.

How Canadian criminal record checks actually work

A Canadian criminal record check is a name and date of birth search against the RCMP National Repository of Criminal Records, carried out through an accredited police partner. It is not a search of a private or scraped database. This distinction matters: a result sourced from the national repository through a police partner is defensible if challenged, and a database aggregation is not.

If the name-based search returns a possible match, the result may require fingerprint confirmation, which takes longer. Most checks return in about 15 minutes.

12+ check types

Every check you need, in one platform

One account, one dashboard, one invoice.

Criminal record checks

Canada, the United States, and Quebec court records.

Canadian Criminal Record Check
Name-based search of the RCMP National Repository through an accredited police partner. Results in about 15 minutes. An enhanced version is available for roles carrying greater responsibility or risk.
How Canadian checks work
US Criminal Checks
National database search, single-county, and unlimited-county court searches across the United States.
US search coverage
SOQUIJ
Quebec court record search covering civil, criminal, and penal proceedings.

Identity verification

Included in the price of every criminal record check.

ID and biometric match
Government-issued ID and a biometric selfie match, covering 13,500+ ID types worldwide. Included in the price of every criminal record check rather than billed separately.
About identity verification

Reference checks

Structured, automated, and checked for integrity.

Digital reference checks
Structured digital references with automated reminders every 24 hours for up to 10 days, integrity alerts on every response, and a questionnaire builder with a co-pilot that helps you write role-specific questions. One fee covers all referees for a candidate.
Explore reference checks

Employment and education verification

Confirmed at source, never through a third-party database.

Employment Verification
Job titles, dates, and status confirmed directly with the employer. No third-party database involved.
Verify work history
Education Verification
Degrees and diplomas confirmed with the issuing institution.
Verify degrees and diplomas
Credential Verification
Licences and professional certifications confirmed with the issuing body.
Verify licences

Risk and financial checks

For regulated, financial, and driving roles.

Credit Reports
Tradelines, collections, bankruptcies, public records, and a score, presented as a plain-language grade rather than raw data.
Credit reports for hiring
Driving Records
Licence class, status, and convictions. Canadian abstracts and US motor vehicle records.
Driver abstracts
Public Records Search
Civil, legal, and financial proceedings on the public record.
Search public records
Social Media Checks
Compliance-reviewed screening of public online activity. Not available in Quebec.
Social media screening

International checks

The same account, the same process, worldwide.

Screening in 200+ jurisdictions
Screen candidates across 200+ jurisdictions through the same account and the same process you use for Canadian checks. Coverage, turnaround, and available check types vary by country.
International coverage by country

Screened. Checked. Cleared. Credibled.

A screened candidate whose identity, criminal record, and references have been verified by Credibled
This candidate has been Credibled

Identity confirmed against government-issued ID. Criminal history sourced from the RCMP national repository through an accredited police partner. References checked for integrity, not simply collected. Hire on evidence,
not on impressions.

Run your
first check
Transparent by default

See your exact pricing before you create an account

Most screening providers make you book a call to find out what you would pay. Credibled shows you the full price list during sign-up, before your account is created. No credit card, no quote request.

1
Tell us about your organization
Your organization name and type: established business, government or public sector, non-profit, or startup. Your answers determine your programme pricing automatically. There is no application form and no approval wait.
2
Tell us how you plan to use Credibled
Your business model, expected annual volume, and whether you want the dashboard, the API, or a white-label setup. Dashboard users continue straight through. API and white-label setups are routed to book time with our team, because those need scoping first.
3
Your details
Name, work email address, phone, and password. Sign-up requires a work email address.
4
Billing address
Sets your currency. Canadian accounts are priced in Canadian dollars, US accounts in US dollars.
5
See your pricing
Every check type available to you, priced in your currency, grouped by category. If you qualify for a programme, discounted rates appear next to standard rates so you can see exactly what you save and on which checks.
6
Review and create your account
A summary of everything you entered, with the option to go back and correct anything.

After sign-up. Confirm your email and your account is active with pricing already applied. You add a payment method inside the app when you are ready to run your first check, and you are only charged for checks that complete.

Programme pricing for non-profits and startups

Non-profit programme
Registered non-profits in Canada and the United States. Reference checks at half price, most other check types discounted.
About the NGO programme
Startup programme
Canadian companies under 5 years old with fewer than 25 employees. Free reference checks for the first 6 months, then standard rates, plus discounts on most other check types.
About the Startup Program
Everyone else
Standard pricing, still with no subscription, no minimum, and no contract.

Some check types carry a pass-through access fee charged by the institution or court supplying the record. These apply to education verification, employment verification, and US criminal court searches. Canadian criminal record checks carry no access fee. All pass-through fees are published in advance.

See published access fees
Why Credibled

Built for the teams doing the hiring

See the full case for Credibled
Identity verification included
Bundled into every criminal record check. One price, both checks, no separate line item. Some providers advertise a low criminal check price and bill identity verification separately, even though the criminal check cannot run without it.
Duplicate detection
If anyone on your team already ordered a check for this candidate, Credibled stops the order before you are charged. You see who ordered the earlier check and when, and you can proceed anyway if the duplicate is intentional.
Reference checks that return something
When a referee finishes a reference, they are asked two optional questions: are you hiring, and are you open to new opportunities. The answers come back to you as warm leads.
Integrity alerts on every reference
Credibled flags references that may not be genuine: candidate and referee on the same IP address, a reference completed from a personal email address, or both submissions from the same device.
Bounce alerts
We flag when a candidate email bounces or looks invalid, so a check never stalls quietly on a bad address.
A real person on your account
Even small accounts get a named contact who knows your setup. You call, and someone who recognises your account picks up.
Security & privacy

Your data stays in Canada

PIPEDA compliant, hosted in Canada, built by Canadians.

PIPEDA compliant
Provincial requirements handled automatically, including Quebec Law 25
Hosted in Canada
Candidate data stored on Canadian AWS infrastructure
Consent on record
Informed written consent retained in your audit trail
Full audit trail
Who ordered a check, when, what returned, and who viewed it
Encrypted end to end
SSL/TLS in transit, encrypted at rest
100% Canadian owned
Built and run from Toronto, Ontario
Trust & Security
PIPEDA compliant
Canadian federal privacy law
Compliant
SSL / TLS encryption
All data encrypted in transit
Active
Data hosted in Canada
Canadian AWS infrastructure
Verified
Consent and audit trail
Every action logged and retained
On record
Credibled Inc. · Toronto, Ontario credibled.com/trust
Industries we serve

Built for the way your industry hires

Screening requirements differ by industry. Credibled adapts to yours.

Staffing and recruiting
High-volume screening with duplicate detection across your recruiters, and reference checks that surface new business leads.
Security and guard services
Licensing and controlled goods obligations met with fast criminal record checks and a clear audit trail.
Technology and SaaS
Screening controls that satisfy SOC 2 audits and enterprise customer due diligence.
Finance and insurance
Criminal record checks, credit reports, and employment verification for regulated roles and licensed advisors.
Hospitality and retail
High turnover needs fast onboarding. Checks returned in minutes keep new hires on the floor, not on hold.
Transportation and logistics
Driving records and criminal record checks that keep drivers insured and on the road.
Integrations

Fits the stack you already have

ATS and HRIS

Connect Credibled to your applicant tracking system so checks trigger from the workflow your recruiters already use.

REST API

One API for every check type, with real-time status webhooks. Build screening directly into your own product.

POST /v1/checks · 201 Created
Read the API documentation

Custom workflows

If your process is unusual, our team will scope the integration with you. Select API or white-label during sign-up and you will be routed to book that conversation.

Credibled

5

45 Google Reviews

Tejveer Kaur
Tejveer Kaur
Prakaash was extremely helpful in sorting out my issue. He listened carefully, understood the problem right away, and provided clear and effective solutions. His professionalism, patience, and friendly approach made the whole experience stress-free. I truly appreciate his support — thank you, Prakaash, for going above and beyond!
Shannon Mandla
Shannon Mandla
I had a great experience working with Prakaash and his team. We are very happy with the services they provide and also appreciate how fast they are at getting back to me when I have a question or require assistance. I would definitely recommend their services to anyone looking for a new provider!
Steve
Steve
Credibled has been incredibly helpful as we get LocalKid ready for launch. Their team has been responsive, patient, and hands-on as we worked through the background check process for our safety-first platform. We’re grateful to have them as a partner and appreciate the support they’ve given us.
Basharat Bajwa
Basharat Bajwa
Prakaash has been very helpful, we had been talking for a long time and finally I decided to go with Credibled. Great Support and pricing as well..
Komal Sharma
Komal Sharma
Standard for Canadian checks. Secure, quick, and super efficient service - thank you for your support Prakash.
FAQ

Background check questions, answered

How long does a Canadian criminal record check take?
Most Canadian criminal record checks through Credibled return in about 15 minutes once the candidate completes identity verification. Results requiring fingerprint confirmation take longer.
How does Credibled run Canadian criminal record checks?
Through accredited police partners who search the RCMP National Repository of Criminal Records. It is not a search of a private or scraped database, which is why the result is defensible if a hiring decision is questioned. More on criminal record checks
Is identity verification included in the criminal record check?
Yes. It is bundled into the price of every Credibled criminal record check and is not billed as a separate line item. How identity verification works
Do I need a subscription or a minimum volume?
No. Pay per check, no subscription, no platform fee, no minimum, no annual contract.
Do I need a credit card to sign up?
No. Sign-up is free and takes about five minutes. You add a payment method inside the app when you run your first check, and you are only charged for checks that complete.
Can I see pricing before I create an account?
Yes. Credibled shows your full per-check price list, in your currency, during sign-up and before your account is created. You do not need to book a call or request a quote.
Do I have to talk to sales to get started?
No. If you plan to use the dashboard, you can create your account and run your first check without speaking to anyone. If you need API access or a white-label setup, sign-up routes you to book time with the team, because those configurations need scoping first.
Can I use a personal email address to sign up?
No. Sign-up requires a work email address. Personal and consumer email domains are not accepted.
How do I get non-profit or startup pricing?
Select your organization type during sign-up. Registered non-profits in Canada and the United States qualify for the non-profit programme. Canadian companies under 5 years old with fewer than 25 employees qualify for the startup programme. Eligibility is applied automatically. See programme details
What consent do I need from a candidate?
Canadian law requires informed written consent before an employer runs a background check. Credibled collects that consent as part of the candidate flow and retains it in your audit trail.
Where is candidate data stored?
On Canadian AWS infrastructure. It stays in Canada. Credibled is PIPEDA compliant and handles provincial requirements including Quebec Law 25. Visit the Trust and Security Centre
Can I run checks on candidates outside Canada?
Yes. Credibled covers 200+ international jurisdictions plus national and county-level criminal searches in the United States, through the same account. International coverage
Is social media screening available everywhere in Canada?
No. It is not available in Quebec. It is available in all other provinces and territories. About social media checks
What happens if two recruiters order the same check?
Duplicate detection stops the second order before it is charged, shows who ordered the earlier check and when, and lets you proceed only if the duplicate is intentional.
Are there additional fees on top of the check price?
Some check types carry a pass-through access fee charged by the institution or court supplying the record. These apply to education verification, employment verification, and US criminal court searches. Canadian criminal record checks carry no access fee. See published access fees
I received an invitation to complete a check. What do I do?
You are in the right place but the wrong page. Everything you need is in the candidate help centre, including what documents to prepare and how long each step takes. Go to the candidate help centre
How do candidates complete their part?
The candidate receives an email invitation and completes everything from their phone, including ID capture. Credibled sends automated reminders and flags invalid or bouncing email addresses so a check never stalls quietly.

Behind every check is a human decision.
Let's make it a good one.

Create your account today. Pay per check, no subscription, no contract. No credit card required to sign up.

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