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General Class

The process for registering in the General Class of the College is the primary route for registration with the College. You must be registered with the CTCMPAO in order to practise as a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Acupuncturist in Ontario. Please follow the steps below and ensure you meet the requirements as set in the Ontario Regulation 27/13, Registration Regulations for a certificate of registration in the General Class.

You must complete a full-time post-secondary traditional Chinese medicine program of at least four years, or a full-time post-secondary traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture program of at least three years, or education that is of equivalent duration.

Further, you must complete a program of clinical experience in the TCM profession that is structured, comprehensive, supervised and evaluated, which consists of at least 45 weeks of clinical experience involving at least 500 hours of direct patient contact. Applicants may complete their education in Ontario or internationally, as long as all requirements are met. For more information, please refer to the Education Equivalency Guideline and Entry Level Occupational Competencies for the Practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Ontario.

All applicants will be assessed on three non-exemptible requirements for eligibility to write the Registration Examinations: education program, supervised clinical experience and competency assessment.

You must provide the following as supporting evidence you meet the above criteria (if not submitted previously):

  1. Degrees, certificates or diplomas in TCM and/or TCM Acupuncture program or a letter from your educational institution confirming successful completion of the program;
  2. Academic transcripts of marks;
  3. Detailed curriculum or course outline for your program, including the names, hours and a description for each course.
  4. A letter from educational institution/supervisor confirming successful completion of at least 45 weeks of clinical experience in the TCM profession which involves at least 500 hours of direct patient contact.

All documents must either be an original copy issued by the educational institution or a notarized copy.

The examinations are offered twice a year, in April and October. To register for the examinations, you will first need to complete a CTCMPAO online examinations application form. The online form is available for a limited time based on each examination's administration schedule. For more information, please visit the Pan-Canadian Examinations webpage

All applicants are required to complete the Safety and Jurisprudence Test in Ontario to ensure that registered members engage in safe practices and have the knowledge on expected ethical and legal framework to practice in Ontario.

Please note: The Safety Program and Jurisprudence Course may be completed within three years of submitting the application for registration or at some point following the submission.

Before you submit the General Class application form, please review:

Your completed application and all supporting documents may be emailed to the CTCMPAO at registration@ctcmpao.on.ca

Note: you may submit your application before or after attempting the Registration Examinations to meet the currency requirement. However, your application is valid for only 12 months from the date of signing the declaration contained on the application form.The Currency Requirement (O. Reg. 27/13, ss. 9 (2)), is intended to ensure that applicants have the current skill, knowledge and judgment before they begin their practice in the profession. This requirement can be met in one of three ways:

  1. apply for registration within 12 months of completing a TCM education program;
  2. have completed 500 TCM patient visits within the three years prior to applying for registration (Please note that these visits do not include the patient visits obtained during your clinical experience from your TCM program); or
  3. successfully completed a refresher program pre-approved by the Registration Committee within the 12-month period before applying for registration.

If your application is complete and you meet all of the registration requirements, please proceed to the next step. If you do not meet all of the registration requirements, a review by a panel of the Registration Committee is required. For more information, please refer to the Review by the Registration Committee Process.

The review process usually takes approximately one to two weeks to complete if a review by the Registration Committee is not required. If the Registration Committee is required, the review process usually takes between two to six months to complete. However, the length of the review process may vary based on a case-by-case basis.

All applicants are required to provide a declaration that you are eligible for professional liability insurance coverage and that you will submit proof of insurance coverage in the form of a Certificate of Insurance issued by the insurer within thirty (30) days after the registration is approved.

The Registrar will not issue the certificate of registration until actual proof of coverage is received.

Note: CTCMPAO does not endorse any particular insurance company. You are responsible for conducting your own research and may select any company that best suits your needs.

For more information, visit the Professional Liability Insurance Policy.

Once your registration is complete, you will receive an email confirmation with your registration number with the College. You are then legally authorized to practise the profession in Ontario and can use the protected title(s) and designation(s) The College will mail your wall certificate to your preferred mailing address within two to three weeks of registration.