Labor and mobility across Canada

The right to practice occupational therapist in Quebec

The occupational therapy profession is regulated throughout Canada, and each province has its own professional regulatory body. To practice the profession in Quebec, you must :

• obtain a license from Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec (hereinafter OEQ or the Order).
  and
• enter on the Roll of the Order.

The OEQ license certifies that you have met the basic requirements to practice occupational therapy. In addition, you must register on the Roll of the Order to be authorized to practice the profession. This registration involves the payment of an annual fee.

((((Only registration on the Roll of the Order gives you the right to use the title of ergothérapeute or Occupational Therapist, the abbreviation “erg.”, or the initials “O.T.” or “O.T.R.” and to carry out the activities reserved under the Professional Code for occupational therapists. This means you cannot identify yourself as being an occupational therapist until you have obtained the right to practice the profession in Quebec through registration on the Roll of the Order. If you use the title of occupational therapist while you are not a member of the Order, you could be prosecuted for unauthorized use of the title. ))))

Candidates holding a legal authorization from a Canadian province (member of a professional order/regulatory body from another Canadian province)

In Canada, all regulatory bodies governing the profession of occupational therapy support the mobility of occupational therapists across Canada. In order to meet their obligations under the Agreement on Internal Trade, Chapter 7, they entered into a Labor and mobility support agreement (LMSA). This agreement establishes the conditions of recognition for occupational therapists holding a legal authorization to practice in a given provincial jurisdiction. In Quebec, this agreement is implemented by a regulation made under the Professional Code.

Application for a license under the Règlement sur les autorisations légales d’exercer la profession d’ergothérapeute hors du Québec qui donnent ouverture au permis de l’Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec

Depending on your status:

• I have never obtained a license from the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec and I hold a legal authorization to practice the profession of occupational therapist from a Canadian province (member of a professional order / regulatory body of a other Canadian province) which has no limitations or restrictions. You can submit an application to the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec, by following the procedure described in the next section .
  
  
• I have never obtained a license from the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec and I hold a legal authorization (member of a professional order / regulatory body from another Canadian province) with limitations or restrictions (for example : provisional license).
  OEQ may not be able to accept your application. Contact us before starting your process;
  
  
• I already hold a license from the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec and I hold a legal authorization to practice the profession of occupational therapist from a Canadian province (member of a professional order / regulatory body from another Canadian province ) which does not contain any limitation or restriction. 
  Please consult the page Mon inscription au Tableau de l’Ordre, in the section Je détiens une autorisation légale d'exercer la profession délivrée par une province canadienne.

License application

This path applies if you have never obtained a license from the OEQ and you hold legal authorization to practice the profession of occupational therapist in a Canadian province (member of a professional order / regulatory body of another Canadian province) which does not contain any limitations or restrictions.

Required documents

To submit a license application, you must send the following documents by email to admission@oeq.org  :

1. Form : Request for issuance of license - By a person holding legal authorization to practice the profession of occupational therapist in Canada
   
   

   Form

   You must send the completed form to OEQ. Please pay particular attention to the exact spelling of your first and last names which must match that of your official documents. Enter an email address that you check regularly. If your employment start date is known, please indicate it in your form or email.

2. Form : Confirmation of issuance of a legal authorization to practice the profession of occupational therapist in Canada outside Quebec
   
   

   Form

   The first section will need to be completed by you, then you will need to submit the form to the regulatory body of which you are currently a member. Subsequently, the regulatory body must return the completed form directly to the OEQ.

   Note: A fee may be required from the regulator to complete these forms.

3. I am or have been a member of a regulatory body other than the one concerned in point 2
   
   

   If you are a member or have been a member of a regulatory body (other than that mentioned in point 2) in Québec, Canada or elsewhere in the world, you must have the Professional regulatory history form completed by each of these bodies.

   The first section will need to be completed by yourself, then you must forward the form to any regulatory body of which you are or have been a member. Subsequently, the regulatory body must return the completed form directly to the OEQ.

4. Proof of knowledge of the French language (required only for a person with a degree in occupational therapy from a university outside Quebec or for a person with a degree from McGill University)
   
   

   Only people with occupational therapy degrees from a university outside Quebec or McGill University must provide proof that they have the required knowledge of the French language, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the French Language (section 35).

   In the license application form, you must indicate which of the situations below applies to you and send us the required proof.

   If you cannot provide such proof, check “None of the above” on the form and a temporary license will then be issued to you if you graduated in occupational therapy in a university outside Quebec.

   Situation	Proof to submit
   From and after the school year 1985-86, I obtained a high school diploma in Quebec	- Copy of the diploma or certificate issued by the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec; or - Copy of the transcript issued by the Ministère de l’Éducation stating that the diploma was obtained. *NB : your secondary school diploma is not accepted proof
   I have completed, full-time, no less than three years of secondary or post-secondary education provided in French;	- Copy of transcripts issued by the educational establishment. *NB : the diploma from your secondary or college educational establishment is not accepted proof
   I passed the fourth or fifth year secondary level examinations in French as the first language;	- Copy of the transcript issued by the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec.
   I passed the Franch examination from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF)	- Copy of the certificate issued by the OQLF to the effect that you have knowledge of the official language of Quebec appropriate to the exercise of the profession.
   None of the above	N/A - a temporary license will then be issued to you if you are a person with a degree in occupational therapy from a university outside Quebec.

    
   Obtaining a temporary license

    The Order can issue a temporary license valid for a period of 1 year and renewable up to 3 times to a candidate with a degree in occupational therapy from a university outside Québec who is unable to provide proof of knowledge of the French language. For all the details relating to the temporary license and the French language examination from the Office québécois de la langue française, please consult this document.

5. Forms for declaring a disciplinary, criminal or penal decision (if applicable)

   Form for reporting a disciplinary decision (if applicable)
   

   Link to the form: Declaration form of a disciplinary decision
   If you have been the subject of a disciplinary decision rendered in Québec or elsewhere corresponding to one of the statements appearing on the form, you must complete it and return it, as indicated, to the secretary-general;

   Form for reporting a criminal decision (if applicable)
   

   Link to the form: Declaration form of a criminal conviction
   If you have been convicted by a Canadian or foreign court finding you guilty of a criminal offense, you must complete the form and return it, as indicated, to the secretary-general;

   Form for reporting a penal conviction (if applicable)
   

   Link to the form : Déclaration d’une décision pénale
   If you have been the subject of a decision rendered in Québec or elsewhere corresponding to one of the statements appearing on the form, you must complete it and return it as indicated to the secretary-general.

Note : When sending your application by email, please include in your email a scanned copy of your duly completed check (or bank order or postal order) as proof of payment, then mail it to us at:

• Admission / Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec
  2021 Ave Union, bureau 920
  Montréal, Qc H3A 2S9

If your name does not appear on the payment, please include a note in the envelope showing your full name.

Progress of the file

Your license will be issued when we have received all the required documents and your file is compliant. We strive to address license applications as promptly as possible. In most cases, requests are processed within 48 hours once the file is complete. Once your request has been processed, you will then receive an email informing you of your license number as well as the instructions for entering the Roll of the Order.

Warning
The license does not give you the right to hold the title of occupational therapist or to carry out activities reserved for occupational therapists. Only registration on the Roll gives you these rights.

Consequently, if you are not registered on the Roll, even if you have obtained your license:

• you cannot use the title of occupational therapist, nor allow yourself to be presented or designated as such, nor suggest that you are an occupational therapist;
• you cannot carry out certain professional activities related to your duties if they arer a reserved activity;
• you expose yourself to criminal prosecution for usurpation of the title or illegal practice of activities reserved for occupational therapists by the Professional Code which could result in fines ranging from $2,500 to $62,500. Your employer could also be fined.For more information, see the Illegal practice and unauthorized use of the title page.

I want to know more about registering on the Roll

Recourse

Admission Commissioner
The Admission Commissioner is an independent governmental entity attached to the Office des professions du Québec. The Commissioner is responsible by law for receiving and investigating any complaint from a person relating to admission to a profession. The recourse may be against the Order as well as other persons or organizations involved in the admission process. 
For more information.

If you have any question: contact us