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Criminal Record Check

Applicants must provide a criminal record check from every country where they have lived for 90 days or more within the five years preceding their application or dating back to their 18th birthday.

  • Criminal record checks are only accepted if completed by Sterling/BackCheck using the links below.
  • A criminal record check is only valid for 90 days from the date of issue.
  • The College will receive the completed report directly from Sterling/BackCheck, and staff will review it within six business days.
  • The report will also be available for you in your Sterling/BackCheck account.

Canada

All other countries

Select the correct URL

  • For the best user experience, use the web browser Google Chrome in incognito mode.
  • Select this URL if your address history DOES NOT include a United States address in your five-year address history: Portal link without US address.
  • Select this URL if your address history DOES include at least one United States address in your five-year address history: Portal link with US address.
  • IMPORTANT: Even if your five-year address history includes Canada, your Canadian criminal record check will not be completed using an "all other countries" URL, as these checks exclude Canada.

Cost

  • The price is calculated based on the country and region/state search. Typically, when a nationwide search is available in the country, there is a single fee regardless of the number of regions or states in an address history. When only a local search is available, a separate fee applies for each region/state search in an address history.
  • The price is shown in U.S. dollars.
  • IMPORTANT: Once payment has been approved, you will be prompted to SUBMIT your documents. Submission does not automatically happen. This is an extra step.

Timeline

  • International criminal record checks can take several weeks to obtain and vary by country.
  • The record search typically involves several steps, each with a defined outcome. At any time during a step, you may be required to provide additional information.

Exemptions

  • The College only accepts criminal record checks completed by Sterling. There are some countries where Sterling is not able to complete a criminal record search.  If you receive a “payment failure” notice after submitting your information, this MAY mean a search is not available from one of the countries in your five-year address history.  Email registration@cpta.ab.ca , and we will confirm whether the country search is available or not. 
  • Even if the country search is not available, you must still report the country on your physiotherapist application form.

Issues

  • If you experience issues submitting your order, please email the College immediately so we can assist you in resolving the problem or switch to a manual process. Send your email to registration@cpta.ab.ca.

Page updated: 12/06/2025