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New applicants are required to undergo a criminal record check (CRC) upon initial registration/certification. All registrants of BCCOHP are required to undergo a CRC every five years.
The CRC is a mandatory process required by law of registrants of professional regulatory bodies. The Criminal Records Review Act ensure that people who work with or may have potential for unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults undergo a CRC by the Criminal Records Review Program (CRRP). Regulated oral health professionals who fail to comply with the criminal record check will not be eligible to register or renew their registration/certification.
BCCOHP will automatically submit CRC applications on behalf of certified dental assistants, dentists and dental therapists whose CRC is due to expire. The annual renewal fee for CDAs, dental therapists and dentists will include one fifth of the cost of a CRC and registrants/certified dental assistants will be asked to consent to a CRC as part of their online renewal for the year their CRC expires.
For other registrant categories, please refer to the profession-specific registration pages for more information: dental hygienists, dental technicians, denturists.
For more information on the criminal record check, read our Criminal Record Check FAQs below.
As part of the CRC process, the CRRP will conduct a Vulnerable Sector (VS) Check. The VS Check is based on a search of name, date of birth, and gender. If the VS Check finds a match of any of the parameters with a pardoned sex offender, you will receive a letter requesting fingerprints. If you are required to complete the VS Check, please inform BCCOHP staff so that we are aware of the delay.
For more information on the VS check, read our VS check FAQs below.
The B.C. Criminal Records Review Actrequires a criminal record check from all individuals applying for registration/certification as well as all existing registrants of professional regulatory bodies who may deal with children and vulnerable persons. All regulated oral health professionals in B.C. must comply with these requirements.
The provincial government requires BCCOHP to confirm the accuracy of the information you provide with your initial CRC application form. The information on your ID will be checked against the information provided on your application.
In order for BCCOHP to comply with the B.C. Criminal Records Review Act, CRC applications must be submitted to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. The Act does not permit us to accept CRCs that have been undertaken through another agency (e.g., the RCMP).
If you are a new applicant, registration/certification will not be granted. If you are an existing registrant/certified dental assistant, under the B.C. Criminal Records Review Act, failure to complete this process will result in you being unable to work on children and vulnerable adults until such time as clearance is received. In addition, as required under the Health Professions Act (S33), this matter may also be forwarded to the BCCOHP Inquiry Committee for investigation and consideration of limits and conditions on your registration/certification.
As per Section 17 of the Criminal Records Review Act, registrants must promptly report to the BCCOHP if they are charged with or convicted of a relevant offence or a specified offence. In addition to this, registrants/certified dental assistants will be required to complete a new criminal record check and pay the processing fee of C$28 and BCCOHP may take reasonable steps to notify the registrant’s employer that a new criminal record check is required.
Yes. The law applies to all regulated oral health professionals, regardless of whether or not they are practising.
Registrants are required to complete a CRC every five years. You will only be asked to complete a CRC the year that your last criminal record check expires. Registrants will be on different five-year cycles depending on the year they registered with the College.
The processing time is approximately 4 weeks after the information is submitted to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. If you are required to provide fingerprints as part of the Vulnerable Sector (VS) Check, your criminal record check will not be cleared until they receive the results of your fingerprints.
You can contact the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General at 1-855-587-0185 (press option 2) to check on the status. You can also find more information on the Ministry’s website here.
The B.C. Criminal Records Review Act lists relevant offences associated with physical, sexual, and financial abuse. If a relevant offence is revealed, you will be contacted by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Convictions related to provincial or minor criminal offences that are not related to the protection of children and vulnerable persons are not included.
For a complete listing of relevant offences please refer to the government’s website: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/crime-prevention/criminal-record-check/offences-reviewed
If the Ministry’s Deputy Registrar of the Criminal Records Review Program determines that a risk to children and vulnerable adults exists, BCCOHP (and your employer(s), if applicable) are notified and BCCOHP would take appropriate action to ensure the public is adequately protected.
If you have a “relevant” offence, BCCOHP is informed, but no other information is provided. If you have a record that is deemed “not relevant” to the protection of children and vulnerable adults, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General does not release this information to BCCOHP.
No, the criminal record check payment is a mandatory fee for all registrants/certified dental assistants. Although we recognize that some registrants/certified dental assistants will retire or resign before their next criminal record check, this fee will not be refunded.
As of March 1, 2017, certified dental assistants, dental therapists and dentists are no longer required to submit their own CRC application. This change was implemented to reduce processing time, frustration, and the amount of correspondence BCCOHP sends out to our certified dental assistants, dental therapists and dentists.
The vulnerable sector (VS) check requires fingerprints from applicants who share a date of birth and gender with a pardoned sex offender. If you are required to provide fingerprints as part of the VS Check, please contact BCCOHP.
As part of a criminal record check process, the Criminal Records Review Program (CRRP) will conduct a VS check. The VS check is a federally mandated standard set by the national RCMP. The process determines whether or not an applicant has a record suspension (formerly known as pardons) for a sexual offence.
The national RCMP policy requires fingerprints from those who share a date of birth and gender with a pardoned sex offender to verify their identity.
This is not an accusation of criminal activity or guilt: fingerprints are used to confirm your identity only.
No, not all applicants are required to provide fingerprints as part of the VS Check. You will only be required to complete this if you receive a letter from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General informing you to get your fingerprints done.
The applicant will be required to visit their local police or RCMP detachment to submit their fingerprints.
Please note: Police and RCMP detachments will require two pieces of current government-issue identification, one of which must have a current photo. Some police or RCMP detachments may require a photograph of the applicant be taken, along with the fingerprints.
Some police stations or agencies have policies that do not allow them to send the results of the VS Check to the CRRP. If the police or RCMP detachment cannot send the results directly to the CRRP, you will need to submit the originals of results to BCCOHP. BCCOHP will then submit the results of your VS Check to the Ministry for processing.
You will have 90 days from the date of the initial fingerprint request letter to complete the VS check requirement. If the CRRP does not receive the results after 60 days, you will be sent a reminder letter with an additional 30 days to comply. If the results are not received in 30 days, your CRC application will be closed due to non-compliance and BCCOHP will then be notified.
To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that a copy of the fingerprinting receipt is sent to the CRRP via email to criminalrecords@gov.bc.ca and the service will remain open until the CRRP receives the results of the VS Check.
Yes, there are typically two fees associated with the VS Check. The federal processing fee and the fingerprint service fee. The federal processing fee is $25 for fingerprinting. Payment will be collected by the police service or the accredited company for electronic transactions. This fee is in addition to any local service fees required for fingerprinting by a police service, RCMP detachment and/or an accredited fingerprinting company.
Please note: the addition cost to the VS Check will not be reimbursed by BCCOHP or the Criminal Records Review Program
The time it takes for the results to be returned varies depending on the method used to obtain your fingerprints. The average turn around time is between 2-8 weeks from the time the fingerprints are submitted to the Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS).
If you reside outside of Canada, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General will ask you to fill out a form indicating the date that you will return to Canada and attend for fingerprinting.
If you have been fingerprinted for a VS Check with the CRRP, you may be able to re-use the results for future checks with the program. To confirm if the results may still be used, please contact criminalrecords@gov.bc.ca or 1-855-587-0185 (Option 2). This is subject to any changes the RCMP may implement or extenuating circumstances that an individual’s case requires.
Under the B.C. Criminal Records Review Act, failure to complete this process will result in you being unable to work on children and vulnerable adults until such time as clearance is received. In addition, as required under the Health Professions Act (s33), this matter may also be forwarded to the BCCOHP Inquiry Committee for investigation and consideration of limits and conditions on your registration/certification.