The Youth Criminal Justice Act in Canada: Ages, Extrajudicial Measures, and Youth Record Access

The Youth Criminal Justice Act sets out a separate criminal law system for young people aged 12 to 17 in Canada, favouring measures outside the courtroom for a first, non violent offence, while still allowing an adult sentence in narrow circumstances and setting access periods after which a youth record generally stops being accessible.

Information last verified on 2026-09-24. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This article covers the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c. 1, which applies the same way across every province and territory. It does not cover provincial child welfare or child protection law, which governs a child under 12 instead of the criminal justice system, and it does not cover the age of consent to sexual activity, a separate Criminal Code topic addressed in Age of Consent in Canada. It also does not cover the general age of majority; see Emancipation and the Age of Majority in Canada for that separate concept.

Who the Youth Criminal Justice Act Covers

The Act's entire framework is built around one defined term. Section 2(1) states:

"young person means a person who is or, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, appears to be twelve years old or older, but less than eighteen years old"

The same subsection separately defines a child:

"child means a person who is or, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, appears to be less than twelve years old."

This is a genuine trap in how people describe the law. Twelve is not simply the point where penalties get lighter. Below 12, the Youth Criminal Justice Act does not apply at all, by its own definitions, and Criminal Code section 13 states that "No person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission on his part while that person was under the age of twelve years." A child that age who does something that would be a crime for an adult is not processed through the criminal justice system, and provincial child welfare or child protection law is the mechanism used instead.

The YCJA Replaced the Young Offenders Act in 2003

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is not the original youth justice statute. The Department of Justice's own account states:

"The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which came into force April 1, 2003..." replaced "the previous legislation, the Young Offenders Act, which was in force from 1984 to March 31, 2003."

A reference to the "Young Offenders Act" in an older document or an older person's memory of the law describes the pre-2003 statute, not the one currently in force.

Extrajudicial Measures: Handling Youth Offending Outside Court

Section 4 sets out a declaration of principles favouring responses to youth crime that happen outside the formal court process. Two parts of that declaration matter most for understanding how the system actually works:

"extrajudicial measures are often the most appropriate and effective way to address youth crime" and "extrajudicial measures are presumed to be adequate to hold a young person accountable for his or her offending behaviour if the young person has committed a non-violent offence and has not previously been found guilty of an offence."

That presumption is narrow: it applies specifically to a first, non violent offence. What often gets missed is what the section says next, that nothing in the Act "precludes their use in respect of a young person who has previously been dealt with by the use of extrajudicial measures, or has previously been found guilty of an offence." A prior record does not automatically shut the door on extrajudicial measures a second time; it simply means the presumption in favour of them no longer applies automatically, and the decision is made on the specific case.

Extrajudicial measures, as used in section 2(1), is a broad term covering informal police warnings, cautions, and referrals. Extrajudicial sanctions, a specific formal program under section 10, are one type of extrajudicial measure, not a separate concept. An article or explainer that uses the two terms interchangeably is oversimplifying the statute's own structure.

Youth Sentences and When an Adult Sentence Can Apply

Most young persons found guilty under the Act receive a youth sentence, not an adult one. An adult sentence is available only in narrow, specific circumstances. Section 64(1) states:

"The Attorney General may... make an application to the youth justice court for an order that a young person is liable to an adult sentence if the young person is or has been found guilty of an offence for which an adult is liable to imprisonment for a term of more than two years and that was committed after the young person attained the age of 14 years."

Three conditions must all be met before an adult sentence is even possible: the offence must carry a potential adult sentence of more than two years, the young person must have been 14 years of age or older at the time they committed it, and the Crown must actually apply for the order, with notice of that intent given under section 64(2) before the young person enters a plea or, with leave of the youth justice court, before the trial begins.

Meeting those conditions only opens the door. Under section 72(1), the youth justice court orders an adult sentence only if it is satisfied that "the presumption of diminished moral blameworthiness or culpability of the young person is rebutted" and that a youth sentence "would not be of sufficient length to hold the young person accountable for his or her offending behaviour." Section 72(2) places the onus of satisfying the court on the Attorney General. If the court is not satisfied, section 72(1.1) requires it to order a youth sentence. An adult sentence is never automatic, even for the most serious offences a young person could be found guilty of; the earlier "presumptive offence" scheme that once applied automatically to certain serious offences no longer exists under the current Act.

How Long a Youth Record Stays Accessible

This is usually the actual question behind a "how long does it stay on my record" search, and the Act answers it with access periods set out in section 119(2), although those periods can be extended and some records have longer rules. Section 119(2) sets those periods for different outcomes. For the two outcomes people search for most, a finding of guilt:

"if the young person is found guilty of the offence and it is a summary conviction offence, the period ending three years after the youth sentence imposed in respect of the offence has been completed" and "if [it is] an indictable offence, the period ending five years after the youth sentence imposed in respect of the offence has been completed."

Other outcomes under the same subsection have their own different periods: an extrajudicial sanction closes after two years from consenting to it, an acquittal closes two months after the appeal window (three months if appealed), a charge that is dismissed or withdrawn, or a finding of guilt with a reprimand, closes after two months, a stayed charge with no further proceedings for a year closes at the end of that year, a Criminal Code recognizance order, such as a peace bond, made under section 14(2) or 20(2) closes six months after the order expires, an absolute discharge closes one year after the finding of guilt, and a conditional discharge closes three years after the finding of guilt.

The detail worth stating plainly: for a finding of guilt, the clock starts when the youth sentence has been completed, not on the date of the offence and not on the date of the finding of guilt itself. A source that describes the period as running "three years after the offence" is describing the law incorrectly.

The period can also grow. Under sections 119(2)(i) and (j), if the young person is found guilty of another offence committed as a young person during the three or five year period, the period is recalculated from the sentence for that new offence: for a new summary conviction offence, the later of the original period and three years after that sentence is completed, and for a new indictable offence, five years after that sentence is completed.

There is one more wrinkle. Under section 119(9), if the young person is convicted of an offence committed as an adult during the access period for a youth finding of guilt under sections 119(2)(g) to (j), the youth record provisions no longer apply to that record, it "shall be dealt with as a record of an adult," and the youth finding of guilt is deemed a conviction for Criminal Records Act purposes. The rule turns on an adult conviction, not a charge, and it does not reach the periods for other outcomes such as an extrajudicial sanction, an acquittal or a discharge.

Access Is Restricted, Not Public

A youth record within its access period is not the same as a public adult criminal record. Section 119(1) sets out a specific, closed list of who may access it, rather than leaving it open to anyone who looks. That list includes the young person themselves, their counsel, the Attorney General, the victim, parents during the proceedings, police carrying out law enforcement or case administration duties, the courts, the provincial director, and certain employers running a criminal record check that a government requirement makes mandatory. Once the applicable period under section 119(2) ends, access under section 119(1) generally ends, but that is not the last word for every record. Section 120 gives a narrower, separate access period for records the RCMP keeps in its central repository under section 115(3) for offences listed in the Act's schedule: for an indictable schedule offence, five more years starting when the section 119(2)(h) to (j) period ends, and for a serious violent offence where the Crown gave notice to seek an adult sentence, a period "continuing indefinitely." Access during that section 120 period is limited to a short list, such as the young person, their counsel, and police or the Attorney General in specified investigative situations.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c. 1, current as of September 2026, and applies the same way in every province and territory. It is not legal advice, it does not address a specific young person's situation, and it does not cover provincial child welfare law or the separate destruction and transfer rules for youth records held by police services. Consult a lawyer licensed in your province or territory for advice on a specific situation.