Peace Bonds in Canada: Section 810 Explained

A peace bond under Criminal Code section 810 is a court order requiring someone to keep the peace and follow specific conditions for up to 12 months, and unlike a conviction, entering into one does not give that person a criminal record.

What Is a Peace Bond?

A peace bond is a court order made under Criminal Code section 810. It requires the person named in it, called the defendant, to enter into a recognizance, which is a formal promise to the court to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a set period, usually up to 12 months.

Signing a peace bond is not a guilty plea, and it does not result in a conviction. No trial takes place and the defendant does not admit to the underlying allegation. This is what makes a peace bond attractive as a resolution in many minor criminal matters, including some domestic incidents, neighbour disputes, and harassment complaints: the person named in it accepts conditions on their conduct without the case going to trial and without a criminal record resulting from that particular process.

That said, a peace bond is a real court order with real consequences. It is entered on the court record, the conditions are enforceable, and breaching any one of them is a separate criminal offence.

Who Can Apply, and What You Have to Prove

Section 810 lets any person lay an information before a justice if they fear, on reasonable grounds, that another person will:

• cause personal injury to them, or
• cause personal injury to their spouse or common-law partner or their child, or
• damage their property.

You do not need police involvement to start this process, although many applications are made with police or Crown counsel support, particularly in domestic violence and criminal harassment cases. A private applicant can go to their local courthouse, ask to see the clerk of the criminal court, and swear an information setting out the facts that ground the fear.

The standard is "reasonable grounds," not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The applicant does not have to show that an offence has already happened, only that they reasonably fear one will occur. At the hearing, both sides can give evidence and call witnesses, and the defendant can contest the application.

What a Judge Can Order

If the justice or judge is satisfied the fear is reasonable, they can order the defendant to enter into a recognizance for a period of not more than 12 months. The order can include any conditions the court considers reasonable, commonly:

• no direct or indirect contact or communication with the person who applied
• staying away from a specified address, workplace, or school
• surrendering firearms and other weapons, and not possessing new ones
• abstaining from drugs or alcohol
• reporting to police or a supervising authority
• posting a cash surety in some cases

The conditions are tailored to the facts of the case. A peace bond arising from a neighbour dispute over property damage looks very different from one arising from a domestic violence complaint, which may include a full no-contact order and a weapons prohibition.

If the Defendant Refuses to Sign

A defendant is not forced to sign a peace bond against their will in the sense of having their hand guided to a pen, but refusing to enter into a recognizance the court has ordered has a real consequence: the judge can commit the defendant to prison for up to 12 months for that refusal. Because of this, most defendants who reach the point of a judicial order choose to sign rather than risk jail purely for refusing the recognizance.

Specialized Peace Bonds: Sections 810.1 and 810.2

Beyond the general section 810 peace bond, the Criminal Code creates two narrower, higher-stakes versions, generally initiated with Crown involvement:

Section 810.1 applies where a person fears on reasonable grounds that another will commit a sexual offence against a person under 16. Conditions can include a ban on unsupervised contact with children, restrictions on internet and digital network use, and staying away from parks, schools, pools, and daycares. The recognizance normally lasts up to 12 months, extending to up to two years if the defendant has a prior conviction for a relevant sexual offence involving a person under 16.

Section 810.2 applies where a person fears on reasonable grounds that another will commit a serious personal injury offence, and requires the Attorney General's consent to bring the application. Conditions can include electronic monitoring, residency requirements, curfews, abstention from drugs and alcohol, and providing bodily substance samples on demand. As with 810.1, the standard term is up to 12 months, extending to up to two years where the defendant has a relevant prior conviction.

In both cases, the judge must specifically turn their mind to whether a firearms prohibition is appropriate, and must give reasons if one is not imposed.

Peace Bond vs Restraining Order vs Protection Order vs Release Conditions

People often use "restraining order" loosely to describe any no-contact order, but in Canada these are legally distinct tools that come from different courts and different statutes.

A peace bond is unusual among these because it does not require a criminal charge at all. It can be sought entirely on its own where someone fears future harm, whether or not any charge is ever laid. A restraining order and a civil or emergency protection order both come out of family law and generally apply only between people in a spousal, former spousal, or common-law relationship. Release conditions and probation conditions, by contrast, only exist because a criminal charge or conviction is already in the system.

If you are dealing with a family law matter such as separation, custody, or a restraining order between partners, see our overview of Canadian family law for the provincial process.

Does a Peace Bond Show Up on a Background Check?

A peace bond is not a conviction, so it does not create a criminal record in the same sense as a guilty finding does, and it is not something the Parole Board of Canada grants a record suspension for, because there is no conviction to set aside.

However, a peace bond can still appear on certain police information checks while it is in force, particularly a local police records check or a criminal record and judicial matters check that includes non-conviction information such as court orders. A basic name-based criminal record check tied to CPIC (the Canadian Police Information Centre) generally would not show a peace bond, since CPIC records convictions. A vulnerable sector check, the most detailed tier available only to those working or volunteering with children, the elderly, or other vulnerable people, can disclose additional non-conviction information, including certain court orders, at the discretion of the police service conducting it.

For a full breakdown of the different tiers of criminal record checks in Canada and what each one can and cannot disclose, see Criminal Record Checks in Canada.

Breaching a Peace Bond (Section 811)

Breaching any condition of a peace bond, whether it was made under section 810, 810.1, or 810.2, is a distinct criminal offence under Criminal Code section 811. It is a hybrid offence, meaning the Crown can proceed either:

• by indictment, carrying a maximum sentence of up to four years imprisonment, or
• by summary conviction, carrying a lower maximum penalty.

This is the single most important thing to understand about a peace bond: while entering into one is not a conviction, ignoring its conditions creates real criminal exposure, on top of whatever originally led to the peace bond. If you believe someone has breached a peace bond made in your favour, report it to police. If you are the person bound by a peace bond, treat every condition as fully enforceable, because it is.

If domestic violence is part of the picture, our guide to Domestic Violence Laws in Canada covers how peace bonds fit alongside charges, bail conditions, and other protective measures used in these cases.

How a Peace Bond Ends

A peace bond is not permanent. It automatically expires at the end of its term, whether that is 12 months or, for a specialized bond with a qualifying prior conviction, up to two years. Either party can go back to court before then to ask a judge to vary the conditions if circumstances change, and in some cases a new application can be brought if the underlying fear continues after expiry. There is no formal renewal built into section 810 itself; a fresh information and hearing is required to secure a new peace bond once the old one lapses.

Getting Help

Peace bond hearings can be handled without a lawyer, and court staff can explain the paperwork, but the stakes, both for someone genuinely afraid for their safety and for someone facing conditions that restrict where they can go and who they can contact, are high enough that speaking with a lawyer or a local legal clinic before the hearing is worth considering. For the broader picture of how peace bonds sit alongside other criminal law tools in Canada, start at our Canadian Criminal Law hub.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Canadian federal criminal law and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed lawyer in your province. Peace bond procedures and forms can vary by province and courthouse; contact your local courthouse or a legal clinic for guidance on your specific situation.