A record suspension allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records. Under the Criminal Records Act (CRA), the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) may order, refuse to order or revoke record suspensions for convictions under federal acts or regulations of Canada.

All information pertaining to convictions will be taken out of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and may not be disclosed without permission from the Minister of Public Safety Canada. The CRA applies only to records kept within federal departments and agencies. However, many of the provincial and municipal law enforcement agencies cooperate by restricting access to their records once notified that a record suspension has been ordered.

Canadian Human Rights Act forbids discrimination based on a record suspensioned conviction. This includes services a person needs or the opportunity to work for a federal agency. The CRA states that no employment application form within the federal public service may ask any question that would require an applicant to disclose a conviction. This also applies to a Crown corporation, the Canadian Forces, or any business within the federal authority.

A record suspension does not erase the fact that a person was convicted of an offense.
A record suspension does not guarantee entry or visa privileges to another country.
Courts and police services, other than the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are under provincial and municipal legislation. This means that they do not have to keep records of convictions separate and apart from other criminal records.
The CRA lists certain sexual offenses. If a person received a record suspension/pardon for such offenses, his/her record will be kept separate and apart, but his/her name will be flagged in the CPIC computer system. This means a person will be asked to let employers see his/her record if this person wants to work with children or with groups that are vulnerable because of their age or disability. The flag is applied regardless of the date of conviction or the date a record suspension was ordered.
A sentence may have included various prohibition orders imposed under the Criminal Code, such as a driving or firearms prohibition order. A record suspension will not cancel these prohibition orders.