subject: Taking An Agency Against Requesting For A Pardon Yourself [print this page] One of the most frequent enquiries legal representatives are asked is: "why should i pay an agency in getting a pardon for me while I can do it myself?" To be perfectly honest, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with any alternative, and the preference is in due course a personal one. Initially, it is possible to apply for pardon on your own. Forms are procurable over the National Parole Board, several court houses, and certain police stations. You do not need a lawyer, and you will not be required to appear before a judge in order to obtain your pardon. That being said, asking for a pardon is not merely a matter of ticking off a few boxes and signing on the dotted line. In order to fill out the paperwork, you will need to make ample amount of legwork and will have to negotiate personally with various government agencies including the RCMP, courts, police and, most likely, the National Archives.You have to also keep in mind that requesting for a pardon is particularly a step-by-step, progressive procedure - you must complete step A before advancing on to step B, etc... Some forms also expire after a specified period of time, meaning that, due to unfamiliarity, people most of the time "jump the gun" and accomplish some steps too early, which allows the paperwork to expire, which means that they should begin all over again from square one. An agency that specializes in pardons is, certainly, conversant with the process and won't commit this kind of mistake. Additionally, due to experience within the field, a competent pardon service may be able to shave months off of the process which is, to be completely honest, a long one. In certain special circumstances, it is possible to "jump the gun" and finish some steps early. A service will be able to determine if and when this is appropriate or even possible.Finally, one extremely generally held misconception is that asking for a pardon on your own is free of charge. It is not. Only sending the application to the Parole Board for assessment costs $50. Apart from that, there are fees connected with virtually every step of the procedure. You can expect to pay anywhere from $25-$50 for fingerprinting and an additional $25 to have your prints authenticated by the RCMP. Ordering court evidences often carries fees as well. In Calgary, for instance, court records cost $20 per conviction. If someone has 3 or 4 charges on their record, you can observe how this could quickly add up. Finally, there may be fees for local police records assessments. These vary from $0- $80. Taken in this context, you will realize that the fees charged by a pardon agency might not be so "exorbitant" after all.
