I have a D.U.I. that is 26 years old

Personally, I don't know current regs on that legally, with carriers, getting pardons, etc. Nor do I have time to Google it for you. There is a forum here called 'Trucking Industry Regulations' with a sub forum there called 'Trucker Legal Advice'. Why not re-post your question there.

 

No Once you get Pardon it seals your record and US customs cannot access it. But do not try to go across border without getting pardon first. If you did and they pulled your record they can ban you from entering US for good and they will enter your name in there system. Normally they don't bother for DUI unless you have assault charge. But play safe if you want to be a long haul driver.

 

First of all, 1997 to today is 16 years , not 26.

DUI is NOT a criminal offence in the USA.

It's the American driver that has a problem getting into Canada, not the other way around.

 

This is 100% accurate.

If a US driver has 2 or more DUIs in their lifetime...(yes..lifetime) they are not permitted to operate a CMV
into or within Canada.

Canada is very strict with this.

 

I collected a few back in my drinking days, one in '75, in '77, and again in '81...well one was an obstructing a peace officer (drunken jaywalking incident). I started running US in 2001, and crossed every couple of weeks for over ten years, never once did I have a problem. I did invest in a copy of my criminal record from the police, and handed it at the border with my ID every every time I crossed for a while, then just kept it in my clipboard when I went in after that in case they asked. A couple of times a year they would park me and run an immigration check. Basically sit on a bench for twenty minutes while they did a search of all the databases they have access to. That's why I never bothered wasting money on a pardon, US customs has access to everything the police have. I figure the details may be sealed, but I think the fact that there was a charge remains. If not they've had access to the records forever, so the information could already be in their database already.