Annual Registration Renewal FAQs

Please note: CPSO’s Annual Registration Renewal is completely independent and distinct from other types of renewal that you may have completed (e.g., Professional Medicine Corporation renewals, or renewal of membership with the CCFP or RCPSC).

Postgraduate Education (PGE) Certificate Renewal 

Please complete your application for PGE renewal in the Portal by logging in and selecting the “Membership Renewal” tile from the Portal dashboard. For additional information on PGE Certificate renewal, visit our PGE Renewal webpage.

Accessing Annual Registration Renewal

Q: How do I access the Annual Registration Renewal survey?

A: Once logged into the Portal, click on the “Registration Renewal” tile located on your Portal homepage. You may complete the survey using a laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone. If you are having technical difficulties, please call 416-967-2600 and select option 3 > option 2 > option 2.

Q: I logged into the Portal, however, I can’t see Registration Renewal. How do I proceed? 

A: The most likely reason is you logged into the Portal using an email address CPSO does not have on file. The email address you use to log in to your account should be the same one CPSO uses to send you College email communications. If you no longer have access to this email account or if you forget which email address CPSO has on file, please send Portal message with a request for an email address update.

Q: I can’t find my saved Annual Registration Renewal survey — what do I do?

A: Please do not begin a new survey. Please contact our Inquiries Department at 416-967-2678 or send a Portal message.

Reviewing and Updating Personal and Practice Information

Q: Before I start the Annual Registration Renewal survey, I must ensure that my personal information is complete and current. Where can I review and update my personal and practice information?

A: The “Profile” section of the Portal contains all your personal and practice information (both current and historical). Historical information (e.g. past addresses) cannot be removed from the Portal.

Q: How do I update or change an address?

A: Click the “Profile” tile, and then select “Addresses” from the left-side menu. If you want to update your existing Primary Business or Mailing address, click the “Add Address” button and enter the new address details. The system will activate your new address and change the status of the previous address to historical on the selected effective date. The “Effective From” date cannot be today’s date or earlier. Please be sure to select a date after today to ensure your address is updated successfully.

If you no longer have any business addresses, please select “Not in Practice” from the dropdown menu in the “Addresses” section of your “Profile.” Please remember to update this if/when you resume practice.

Note: If you want to remove an Additional Business Location (also known as a “Secondary Business” address), you must send us a request via Portal message.

Q: How do I notify CPSO about my clinical activities?

A: Click the “Profile” tile, and then select “Practice” in the left sidebar. To add a new clinical activity, click on the blue “Add Clinical Activity” button. If you do not see your clinical activity in the dropdown menu, please select “Other.”

To remove a clinical activity, on the “Practice” page click on the drop-down arrow next to “Active” and select “View Details.” Click on the “Remove” button in the pop-up window.

Q: How do I notify CPSO about new hospital privileges?

A: Click the “Profile" tile, and then select “Practice” in the left sidebar. You will then see a “Hospital Privileges” section. 

If you need to remove inactive hospital privileges, click the “Remove” button to set the status to historical. It will not remove it from the system.

Payment and Fees

Q: Can I just pay the Annual Registration Renewal fee without completing the survey?

A: To complete Annual Registration Renewal, you must submit both the survey and your payment. 

Q: How do I pay my Annual Registration Renewal fee?

A: After you “Save & Submit” your completed survey, select “Proceed to Payment” to remit payment. The College only accepts payment via Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard, MasterCard Debit, and American Express. 

Q: How do I pay my outstanding invoices?

A: Click the “Profile” tile, and then select the “Financial Transaction” link in the left sidebar. Then, click on the “Invoice ID(s)” under the “Outstanding Invoices” section and follow instructions to remit payment.

Parental Leave, Resignation, or Retiring

Q: I am planning a parental leave this year — do I still have to complete Annual Registration Renewal?

A: If you plan on taking a parental leave greater than four months during the upcoming registration year, please submit a “Request for Membership Fee Reduction,” which is accessed from the “Membership Services” tile. You may then complete your Annual Registration Renewal survey after your request has been successfully submitted.

For further information about parental leave fee reductions, please send us a message via the Portal message centre.

Q: I wish to keep my license active, but I am retiring in three months. How can I indicate this on the Annual Registration Renewal survey?

A: For questions around timing of retirement/resignation requests, please contact us via Portal message. See also: FAQs about retired class of registration. 

Q: I have no plans to continue my practice in Ontario for the foreseeable future, what are my next steps?

A: If you no longer wish to practice medicine in Ontario, click on the “Membership Services” tile; select “Resign your Membership” and complete the Resignation Service Request. Please consult the College’s Closing a Medical Practice policy for practice management and notification expectations that may apply to your circumstances. Please inform the College how patients can obtain a copy of their medical records.

You may also consider applying for CPSO's new retired registration class, which offers a registration status for physicians who no longer practise medicine or provide health-care services, but who wish to remain registered with CPSO at a reduced fee. You can apply by selecting “Apply for Retired Class” in the “Membership Services” area. For more information, read our FAQs. 

Q: Would I be subject to the College’s practice re-entry requirements if I decide not to practice for several months during the year?

A: As per CPSO’s Ensuring Competence: Changing Scope of Practice and/or Re-entering Practice policy, only physicians who have been out of practice for two years or more would be subject to the practice re-entry requirements set out in the policy.

Survey Sections & Reporting Requirements

Q: Do I need to maintain my CMPA coverage if I will not be in practice during the year, or if I am not practicing in Ontario?

A: All registrants of CPSO must maintain appropriate professional liability coverage as per s.22.1 of the College’s General By-Law. Evidence indicating that you are not providing any medical service in Ontario to any person will be reviewed and evaluated to determine whether it is satisfactory to the College. You must reinstate your professional liability coverage before resuming practice in Ontario.

Q: I was recently named in a civil lawsuit involving a patient along with many other physicians. The lawsuit is still in process. Do I need to report this to CPSO?

A: No. Physicians are only required to report if they settled any lawsuit or a court has made a finding against them in any lawsuit involving a patient or someone acting on behalf of the patient.

Q: I received a ticket for a traffic offence under the Highway Traffic Act. Do I need to report this to CPSO?

A: No, reporting of charges or findings of guilt under the Highway Traffic Act are not required. CPSO requires physicians to report charges and/or findings of guilt, as well as related conditions of release or restrictions for offences under the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Food and Drugs Act, the Health Insurance Act and/or under comparable legislation in any province or jurisdiction, and any other offences related to the practice of medicine. Please refer to CPSO’s Reporting Requirements policy and the Guide to Legal Reporting Requirements for further guidance on what information physicians must report to the College.

Q: Am I required to participate in and track my Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities to renew or hold a CPSO license?

A: All physicians of CPSO are required to participate in CPD and track their activities with one of three approved CPD tracking organizations. There are three circumstances, however, where the College has determined that it is unlikely compliance is feasible:

1. if you are ill/on disability;
2. if you have fully retired from the practise of medicine in any form; or
3. if you are only practising outside Ontario.

In these three cases, CPSO created a Cease to Practise Undertaking to address circumstances where physicians cannot comply. It requires that you not practise any form of medicine in Ontario, or use your certificate of registration professionally in any form or setting. If you sign a Cease to Practise Undertaking, you are not required to sign up with one of the CPD tracking organizations.

The Continuing Professional Development FAQs address most commonly asked questions, including exceptional circumstances in which CPSO determines compliance may not be feasible.

Section G: Professional Liability

Q: If I have indicated on the survey that I have CMPA coverage, why am I required to respond to the other questions in the section? Do I require additional coverage? 

A: If you have CMPA coverage, you do not require additional coverage — unless the CMPA advised you to purchase additional coverage for your practice, or your employer requires you to have additional protection for the work you do. You may respond “No” to scenarios and statements in this section that do not apply to you.

Section H: Practice description

Q: There are several settings listed in question H.2 that apply to me. Why can’t I select more than one practice setting? 

A: While we appreciate physicians may have more than one practice location, physicians are expected to respond to the questions in this section based on their circumstances at the time of renewal and the setting they are practicing in most often.

Q: If I work in my private office, and not in a hospital, would that be considered an Out-of-Hospital Premise (“OHP”)?

A: No. OHPs are specific types of facilities where physicians perform procedures under various levels of anesthesia (e.g., colonoscopy clinics). For more information, please read about the OHP Program.