Access to Information and Privacy Branch

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Access to Information and Privacy Branch (ATIP) provides formal responses to access to information requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The Access to Information Act
The Access to Information Act gives both individuals and corporations present in Canada the right to seek access to federally controlled information and records.

The Privacy Act
The Privacy Act provides individuals the right to seek access to their personal information that is held by the federal government, as well as to govern the collection, use, disclosure, retention and disposal of personal information.

How to submit an Access to Information or Privacy Act request

Access to Information:
To make an Access to Information request, you may either submit your request on the official Treasury Board form or by writing a letter outlining what it is you are requesting and sending it to:

RCMP Access to Information and Privacy Branch
1200 Vanier Parkway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R2

Please note:

• Although we do not need an original signature on an Access request, there is a processing fee of $5.00 which is needed before work is started. Payment can be made by cheque or money order to “The Receiver General of Canada”, or by cash. We cannot accept credit cards.
• As with Privacy Act requests, every individual who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within Canada, as well as businesses and corporations within the country are permitted to make an Access to Information request.
• If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and you require information you will need to find a representative that falls within the above noted criteria.
• In the event that you are a Canadian citizen living outside of the country, please provide proof of citizenship with your request, in the form of a photocopy of your birth certificate or passport.

Privacy Act
Section 13(2) of the Privacy Act states that a request for access to personal information shall be made in writing to the government institution that has control of the information. This request is to provide specific information on the location and nature of the records in order for the institution to be able to retrieve the documents in question.

For the RCMP to process a Privacy Act request, we require the following information:

• full name
• date of birth
• information about the type of records that are being requested
• the Personal Information Bank required to be searched
• specific location(s) to conduct our search such as towns or detachments
• a return address to send the information to
• an original signature (We are unable to process requests that are faxed or emailed as they do not contain an original signature.)
• RCMP file number if available (Although RCMP file numbers are not required, the more information provided will allow the ATIP branch to provide you with the specific documents you are seeking access to.)

You may either submit your request on the official Treasury Board form or simply write a letter and send it to:

RCMP Access to Information and Privacy Branch
1200 Vanier Parkway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R2

For further information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions