Important Update About Independent Practice Registration

On December 7, 2021, the Registration Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario approved a policy that will allow some individuals who currently hold a Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration to apply for an Independent Practice Certificate of Registration without successfully completing the clinical component of the Physiotherapy Competency Exam (PCE).

Based on the eligibility criteria defined by the Committee, some PT Residents will be able to apply for an Independent Practice certificate.

Eligibility criteria:

1. The applicant has held a Provisional Practice Certificate of Registration in Ontario for at least 12 months.
2. The applicant has practiced physiotherapy in Ontario, delivering patient care, for at least 1200 hours during the past 12 months.
3. The applicant has practiced physiotherapy in Ontario, delivering patient care for at least 600 hours at one Ontario worksite / practice location where their College approved Practice Supervisor also worked at the same worksite / practice location for the full 600 hour period.
4. The applicant has not been the subject of any investigation, or inquiry by the Registrar other than one that has been completed without any action having been taken.

Individuals will be required to complete certain activities before submitting their application and will be required to complete the College’s Screening Interview under the Quality Assurance Program soon after being granted their Independent Practice Certificate.

Additional information will be made available on the College’s website on December 14, 2021. Individuals will need to review this information to confirm their eligibility to apply for Independent Practice under this policy.

Due to the anticipated number of individuals who will be eligible to apply under this policy, we will post and regularly update a list of Frequently Asked Questions on the College’s website. We ask that you carefully review the information on the website before contacting the College.

College staff will be redeployed to the Registration Team to assist with this work. While every effort will be made to process applications as quickly as possible, we may not be able to meet our standard processing time of 15 business days.

This is a temporary policy that will be reconsidered by the Committee every 90 days. Individuals who do not currently meet the eligibility requirements may qualify at a later date.

Moving forward, the College’s website will be the easiest and fastest way to obtain the most up to date information. We will continue to update the website as more information becomes available.