Criminal Record Check

Criminal Record Checks

The Criminal Records Review Act (CRRA) requires all regulated health professionals, including all CNPBC registrants, to undergo a criminal record check (CRC) by the Criminal Record Review Program (CRRP) at least every five years. The CRC requirement is intended to help protect children and vulnerable adults from physical, sexual, and financial abuse. 

CNPBC may also use information obtained in the CRC to determine if applicants and registrants meet the registration requirement of character and general suitability for naturopathic medicine profession. Applicants must provide authorization to undergo a CRC as part of the application process for registration.

CRCs are conducted by the CRRP through the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Applicants and registrants must cover the cost of their own CRC, including fingerprinting services should these be required by the CRRP.

Registrants must undergo a new CRC at least every 5 years. This includes practising and non-practising registrants. Current registrants are required to complete a new CRC by the CRRP before their CRC clearance expires.

Student registrants who have had registration cancelled upon completion of their program of study will be required to apply for a new CRC when applying for full (practising) registration.

Under the Health Professions Act, failure to authorize a CRC requires an investigation by the CNPBC Inquiry Committee. The Committee will review all registrants who do not authorize a CRC and may take action prescribed under the Act, including setting limits and conditions on the practice of a registrant or suspending or cancelling their registration.

It is the registrant’s responsibility to verify the expiry date of their CRC Clearance letter by accessing the CNPBC Registrant Online Self-Service (ROSS) portal and reviewing the ‘Criminal Record’ tab.

Online application is the preferred and the fastest method to request a CRC. To use this method, your BC Services Card must be activated for accessing BC Government services online already.

CNPBC cannot assist in activating your BC Services Card. Visit the BC Government website for BC Service Card set up for more information.

If you have an active BC Services Card, complete the government’s Applicant-based Online eCRC process as follows:

  1. Email Registration@cnpbc.bc.ca to obtain the Access Code
  2. Go to the Criminal Records Review Program’s eCRC page. It is recommended that you complete this process on a computer, rather than a mobile device.
  3. Review the instructions.
  4. Enter the Access Code
  5. Select “Request a New Criminal Record Check”
  6. When asked for “Position” enter “Registrant”.
  7. After payment, retain a copy of the receipt in the event follow up is needed.
The College is not directly involved with the application process and/or the actual check itself. Please contact the CRRP for assistance.

For those who cannot complete the CRC online using a BC Services Card, please contact CNPBC at Registration@cnpbc.bc.ca to obtain a manual consent form. The following is the application process:

  1. Send a signed consent form to the College with TWO copies of valid and unexpired government issued photo identification.
  2. The College (the requesting organization) will sign and submit the form to the CRRP on your behalf after verifying your identity.
  3. You will be contacted by the CRRP via email for payment of your CRC. Please retain a copy of the receipt in the event follow up is needed.
CNPBC is not involved in the payment of your CRC nor the actual check itself. It is the responsibility of the applicant to follow up on the status of their application by contacting the CRRP.

You can share your CRC results completed for other organizations registered with the CRRP by following steps 1-4 under the “Authorizing a CRC” section above, and selecting “Share the result of a completed Criminal Record Check” for step #5.

Applicants who are planning to use this option should consult with the CNPBC Registration team to determine if the shared result will meet registration requirements. Email Registration@cnpbc.bc.ca

Applicants should allow several weeks for the CRRP to process a CRC. Generally, the processing time for the Criminal Records Check by the Ministry of Justice is relatively quick through the online eCRC process and can take up to 4-6 weeks. Processing times can be as short as 48 hours or lengthier and take up to 12 weeks.

Current registrants are required to complete a new CRC by the CRRP before their CRC clearance expires. Registrants must plan accordingly.

Results are reported electronically from the CRRP to the College via a document called the ‘Criminal Record Clearance Letter’.

CRC clearance letters from the CRRP are sent directly to the College.  You will not receive a copy of this CRC.

CNPBC will enter the date of your Clearance Letter and the due date of the next CRC in ROSS. Registrants can access ROSS to review this information.

If you are an applicant seeking registration and you are from outside of Canada or from another province/territory, you must undergo a criminal record check. This includes applicants seeking a student, temporary, non-practising or full (practising) registration with CNPBC. A manual application is required. Please review the above section “Alternatives to the Online eCRC Application”

The CRRA specifies that the only way to meet the CRC requirement is to authorize a CRC via the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. There are no exceptions.

CRCs conducted by municipal police forces and the RCMP do not satisfy the mandatory provincial requirement for people working with children and vulnerable adults or who have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults according to the provincial CRRA. Additionally, CNPBC does not accept criminal record checks conducted by Third Party agencies such as My Back Check.

The College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia protects the public safety by ensuring that naturopathic physicians in British Columbia practice safely, ethically, and competently.

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