Getting your Licence
Any resident planning to enter practice in Ontario must acquire a licence for independent practice from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). It is your responsibility to request an application directly from the CPSO’s Registration Department. Applications for final-year residents will be made available from the Registration Department beginning in early March. The application is now available on-line here or by telephone at the Registration Department’s inquiries line at (416) 967-2617, ext. 221 or toll free at 1-800-268-7096. You should identify yourself as a graduate of a Canadian medical school completing residency in an Ontario program. This should result in a streamlined process for you to apply for your licence.
Licensure for independent practice requires two key elements:
- Successful completion of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Parts I & II.
- Certification by either the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
Avoid delay if you plan to begin practice on or soon after July 1, 2006. Application to the CPSO can be made before receiving exam results, and is essential to enable their staff to process several hundred licences over a few weeks in June.
The CPSO recommends that applications be submitted approximately six weeks in advance of the resident’s planned starting date for independent practice. Although you will not have received certification at this time, the CPSO will wait to receive confirmation of certification by either the CFPC or RCPSC. This confirmation will be transmitted directly to the CPSO as soon as it is permitted. This usually takes place around mid-June for the CFPC but no earlier than June 30th for the RCPSC. Once confirmation is received, your application can be fully processed and you will be issued an Independent Practice Certificate. The CPSO cannot promise any applicant that he or she will be licensed by a particular date, but early submission of the application will greatly facilitate the process. It’s worth a phone call, to make sure that everything has been approved, before you start working.
Payment of the CPSO’s annual membership fee and the one-time application fee must be enclosed with the application. These fees are subject to change (usually in March), but as of September 2005 they were $985 and $515 respectively. The CPSO will accept payment by VISA or MasterCard, and the application package contains all necessary forms for this. In addition, your application form will need to be signed in the presence of a notary, lawyer, or commissioner of oaths.
If you plan to work in another province, you will have to contact that region’s provincial licensing authority for relevant timelines and documentation. Also remember that your practice licence is completely different from either your CMPA coverage or your OHIP billing number. Each of these is arranged through different organizations and processes. You must have both your CMPA number and your CPSO number if you want to start working after graduation.
General inquiries to the CPSO, can be made at (416) 967-2603 or 1-800-268-7096.