North West Mounted Police and RCMP

Personnel files are also called service files. They contain information about enlistment, service and discharge. Where you find these records depends on when the person was discharged.

Files from 1873 to 1904

These files are at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Microfiche copies of the files are digitized. You can search them by name in our North West Mounted Police (NWMP) - Personnel Records, 1873-1904 database.

In most cases, these are the files for members discharged in 1904 or earlier.

Files from 1904 to 1920

We hold a small number of files for members discharged between June 1904 and 1920. The force only kept officers’ files and files considered historically significant. For example, files for members who died while still in service or who enlisted in the military in the World Wars. These records are not digitized.

For some files, only a summary of service was kept, not the complete file.

Files from 1920 and later

The RCMP holds service files for members discharged from early 1920 and later. Find out how to submit a request on the RCMP’s Genealogy and archival research page.

If you're a retired member and need copies of your own records, you can submit a Privacy request to the RCMP Access to Information and Privacy Branch.

You can search some records in RG18 by name.

These four series contain files on individual members:

• Prince Albert Discharge Board, 1882-1902
• Sample medical examinations of applicants, 1904-1905
• Applications for employment, 1873-1874, 1903-1921
• Investigations into charges against members of the force, 1892-1921

Within other series, there are also some files relating to:

• applications for engagement for civilian positions, such as:
  • tailor
  • engineer
  • horse-breaker
  • stenographer
  • surgeon
  • Indigenous guides, interpreters and scouts
• applications to volunteer for military service in South Africa
• reports about a member’s dismissal from the Force

If you want to see other series of records that are not indexed by name, go to Personnel records and click on View lower level descriptions. On those pages, explore the sections under Scope and content and Finding aid.

To understand which RG18 records might be relevant, it's helpful to know details like:

• when and where the Force operated
• the names and locations of Divisions and Detachments
• duties and responsibilities and how those changed over time

There is a detailed outline of those facts in the Biography/Administrative history section of the RG18 fonds description.

An Order-in-Council (OIC) granted some government employees appointments. These include the NWMP, RNWMP and RCMP. There are also some OICs related to:

• dismissal
• resignation
• compensation for illness or injury
• promotions and pensions

For information on how to search OIC records, see our Orders-in-Councils help page. We recommend you use the keyword Mounted Police, and also try the abbreviations NWMP, RNWMP or RCMP.

In Western Canada, some Force members were granted land warrants (scrip certificates). They could use these to get Crown land for free or to buy other land. A member might choose to sell his warrant instead, which was then “assigned” to the person who bought it.

• If the member used the warrant to obtain a homestead, you can search for their name in our Land Grants of Western Canada, 1870-1930 database.
• If the member sold their warrant, there might be correspondence about that transaction in RG15 records.

Search for references to the 1904-1920 personnel files, other RG18 files and records in RG15:

Go to Collection Search.

• Select Advanced search
• In Database, select Collections and fonds
• In All these words, enter a surname
• In Any of these words, enter a keyword such as NWMP or Mounted Police

To limit your search to RG18 records:

• In Specific terms, select Archival reference and enter "RG18".

To limit your search to RG15 records relating to land warrants:

• In Specific terms, select Archival reference and enter "RG15".
• In Any of these words, enter a keyword such as land, warrant, bounty or certificate of service.

Search tips

• Many records do not include a person’s full name. Instead of a given name, there may be only:
  • an initial or an abbreviation, such as R. or Robt.
  • a title or rank, such as Constable, Const., Inspector, Dr., Surgeon, Superintendent, Sgt., Sergeant
• If you don’t find any records by name, you can try a search with keywords such as the name of a Division or Detachment and a word such as journal, report or patrol. Those types of records often mention individuals.

These books include information about individuals:

• In the Line of Duty: The Honour Roll of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since 1873
• Red coats on the prairies : the North-West Mounted Police, 1886-1900 (French version: Les tuniques rouges dans la Prairie)
• Red serge wives
• Steele's scouts : Samuel Benfield Steele and the North-West Rebellion
• The North West Mounted Police and the North West Rebellion
• Report of the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police Force (the report title varies over the years, 1874-1919)

These NWMP and RNWMP annual reports often mention members by name, for example in the case of accident or death. Reports for 1875 to 1920 are digitized on the RCMP Veterans’ Association website under Association – History – Commissioner’s Reports 1875 – 1920

Search for other books in our Aurora catalogue or your local library’s catalogue.