I am going through the process now. 10 years ago it took 4 weeks for the paperwork to be processed. I am well over 4 weeks. I wonder if there is a backup or this is the new norm.

OP here - I will start working only after I get the clearance. I called the HR person a few times and looks like the access to the online forms is setup by another company and that company already received all of my initial information. The HR person was apologizing to me and saying once they pass on my information, they don't have any visibility.

Frustrating to wait just to get the access to the forms never mind actually waiting to be cleared. I don't even know what all information I need to gather to fill those forms.

Will you be starting the job before you get a clearance (i.e some of the work doesn't require a clearance)? If so, they may be waiting to have you fill out the paperwork until you start working. But, if you need the clearance to start working then they should have at least given you the forms to start filling out. I'v had several jobs that required a clearance (higher than public trust though, and I'm not sure if that makes a difference), and they all sent me the paperwork or a link to the paperwork within a couple of days of signing the offer letter.

If it were me, I would call the HR person who you've been in contact with them and ask them about the expected timeline.

I accepted a job that requires public trust clearance (which I understand is the quickest and lowest clearance of all?). However, it has been two and half weeks and they haven't yet set me up to access the online govt forms that need to be filled. And then there will be the usual wait for the clearance to come through.

Now I am kind of regretting taking up this one instead of other offers I had which did not need any clearance. What is the normal time that takes for you to be setup with the access and then to get the public trust clearance? TIA.