MFIPPA requests at a police service
From the front counter to the decision letter.
An access request to a police service follows the same legislated path every time. These are the steps, and how CommonWatch records each one. Confirm legal timelines and exemptions with your counsel; this page is not legal advice.
Book a demoReceiveRecord the request with the date it arrived.
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Record the request with the date it arrived.
Requests arrive through a portal, by email, by mail or at the front counter. The date of receipt starts the clock, so it is captured at intake along with the requester, how the request arrived and what is being asked for.
In CommonWatch, a coordinator acknowledges and assigns the request in one step, and the acknowledgement letter names the requester and the reference.
The legal clockCount business days, and record every pause.
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Count business days, and record every pause.
CommonWatch counts 45 business days for requests received from July 1, 2026, skipping weekends and Ontario holidays. A fee estimate stops the clock under s. 45(3.2); payment restarts it and moves the decision date by the stopped days.
Time extensions, third-party notices and transfers are recorded with their dates, and every open request appears on one deadlines view so nothing goes late unnoticed.
SearchAsk each unit that may hold records, and keep their answers.
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Ask each unit that may hold records, and keep their answers.
Police records often sit in several units: records management, traffic, investigations, professional standards. A delegated search sends each unit a scoped task with a due date, and the unit attests to what it searched and found.
Fees and third partiesEstimate fees, notify affected parties, wait for their answer.
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Estimate fees, notify affected parties, wait for their answer.
Fees follow Regulation 823 and are kept in a ledger with each payment and waiver. When a record contains a third party's information, the third party is notified and given time to respond before a decision is made.
TransferSend the request where the records are.
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Send the request where the records are.
When another institution holds the records, such as the OPP for a highway collision, the request is transferred under s. 18. The requester is told where the request went, and that institution's time limit starts when it receives the request.
Decide and releaseRedact, approve with a second person, then release.
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Redact, approve with a second person, then release.
Records are reviewed and redacted on the review desk, a decision letter is written from an approved template, and a different person approves the release. The requester receives the decision and the released records; the appeal period to the Information and Privacy Commissioner follows.
Closed requests keep their retention schedule, legal holds stop disposal, and the year's figures feed the annual IPC report.
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