A Criminal Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Check forms part of the application for registration as a provisional psychologist and must be received by the Registration Approvals Sub-Committee (RASC) meeting deadline as posted on the CAP website; late submissions will cause an application to be moved to the following RASC meeting. No exceptions will be made.*
The Criminal Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Check must be dated within one year of the date the application for registration as a provisional psychologist is reviewed by the RASC. You may order and send your Criminal Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Check to CAP while your academic credentials are being reviewed, and we will retain the document on file for up to one year from the date on the document.**
Criminal Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Checks are required to cover all names used within the last five (5) years.***
If you have lived in more than one jurisdiction in the last five years, you must submit a Criminal Record Check (CRC) and Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) for each jurisdiction.
If you have lived in more than one jurisdiction in Canada in the last five years:
- Alberta: CRC/VSC searches that specifically indicate that the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), National Repository for Criminal Records, and Alberta Justice Online Information Network searches were conducted are Canada-wide. Therefore, if submitting this type of CRC/VSC from your current Alberta jurisdiction, no other CRCs/VSCs are required for Canada regardless of whether you have lived in any other Canadian jurisdictions.
- RCMP: CRC/VSC searches from the RCMP (regardless of province) are Canada-wide. Therefore, if submitting this type of CRC/VSC from your current jurisdiction, no other Canadian CRCs/VSCs are required regardless of whether you have lived in any other Canadian jurisdictions.
- Other – CRCs: CRCs that search the National Repository for Criminal Records are Canada-wide. Therefore, if submitting this type of CRC, no other Canadian CRCs are required regardless of any other Canadian jurisdictions you have lived in.
- Other – VSCs: VSC searches that do not specifically indicate that they are Canada-wide (that is, they do not indicate they searched the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and local police indices), cannot be confirmed as being Canada-wide. Therefore, if submitting this type of VSC, a VSC is required from every Canadian jurisdiction you have lived in during the past five years.
- If the police or equivalent authorities in your jurisdiction have indicated that they will not perform nor issue a VSC, please contact the Registration Department. Ensure that your email to CAP contains the communication or information from your jurisdiction that states the refusal to issue this document.
- If previous jurisdictions will not provide one due to residency requirements, send a screenshot of their website indicating this to registration@cap.ab.ca.
Residents of the USA must provide a Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check (or equivalent) for each jurisdiction they have lived in during the last five years, and an FBI check if the local jurisdiction does not provide a Vulnerable Sector Check.
If you have an original (hardcopy) Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check document (not a PDF or emailed link), it must be mailed to the CAP office.
If you ordered a Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check from the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), Calgary Police Service (CPS), or Winnipeg Police Service (WPS):
- The EPS indicates that the online results are available in your account for only 31 days from completion, and they recommend users download a copy within this timeframe. NOTE: CAP will not accept the PDF version of the Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, even if the 31 days have passed.
- The CPS indicates that the online results are available in your account for only 60 days from completion, and they recommend users download a copy within this timeframe. NOTE: CAP will not accept the PDF version of the Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, even if the 60 days have passed.
- Within the 31/60-day period, please "Share" the results from your police service account and email registration@cap.ab.ca the details as noted in the police service system (e.g., link, PIN, date of birth, postal code, phone number, and optional passphrase (if applicable)). CAP will then upload it to your application.
You can email a PDF version of the Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check to registration@cap.ab.ca ONLY IF it includes a weblink or online verification information at the bottom. Please also forward the email you received from the police service regarding the results of your checks.
Third party checks such as BackCheck or Certn are not accepted, unless your local police detachment specifically uses BackCheck or Certn as their online system.
* Applications for internationally trained psychologists, reinstatement, courtesy, and mobility registration are reviewed by the Registrar (RASC deadlines do not apply).
** Applications for internationally trained psychologists, reinstatement, courtesy, and mobility registration are reviewed by the Registrar.
*** Where applicable:
- full legal name
- previous name(s)
- assumed name(s)
- aliases