How to Become a Respiratory Therapist in Ontario
Respiratory therapists in Ontario register with the CRTO: an approved respiratory therapy program, the HPTC exam, a graduate certificate for up to 18 months, and a $75 application fee.
How to Become a Medical Radiation Technologist in Ontario
Medical radiation and imaging technologists in Ontario register with CMRITO in one of five specialties: an approved program, the CAMRT or Sonography Canada exam, and a jurisprudence course.
Applies in: Ontario
Written November 13, 2026
The short answer
Register with the College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario (CMRITO), in one specialty. Ontario regulates five specialties — radiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance, and diagnostic medical sonography. For each specialty you need a CMRITO-approved educational program, the approved certification examination in that specialty, and the College's jurisprudence course, and you must hold a CMRITO certificate in the specialty before you practise in it.
Note the current names. The regulator is the College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario, and the professional title is medical radiation and imaging technologist (MRIT). Older material that says CMRTO, or medical radiation technologist without "imaging," is using the former names.
This guide covers the Ontario registration process only, and it is not the medical laboratory technologist guide — that is a separate profession with a separate regulator.
Step 1: Pick the specialty first
Everything in this route is specialty-specific. Medical radiation and imaging technologists practise in five specialties: radiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance and diagnostic medical sonography.
You must satisfy the registration requirements in the same specialty you apply for. A program or exam in one specialty does not register you in another. If you want two specialties, you must complete a separate online application and submit the application and evaluation fee for each specialty.
The specialty titles follow the same split: MRT(R) for radiography, MRT(T) for radiation therapy, MRT(N) for nuclear medicine, MRT(MR) for magnetic resonance, and DMS for diagnostic medical sonography. None of those titles, and not the general MRIT title either, may be used in Ontario without CMRITO membership.
Step 2: Complete a CMRITO-approved program in that specialty
The timing rule in the College's application guides is five years: an applicant is someone who has completed an educational program in one of the specialties within the last five years, or who has practised the profession within the last five years, and who wishes to practise in Ontario. If your program is older than that and you have not practised in the window, contact the College about your position before assuming the standard guide fits you.
CMRITO is the regulator, not a school. It approves programs and registers technologists; it does not deliver the education itself.
Step 3: Pass the approved certification examination
The exam follows the specialty. The College's route runs through the CAMRT national examination for the radiation and imaging specialties, and the Sonography Canada examination for diagnostic medical sonography. The career map for internationally trained applicants puts the step plainly: write the CAMRT or Sonography Canada examination.
Write the examination for the specialty you are applying in. Passing an examination in a different specialty does not complete the requirement for the specialty on your application.
Step 4: Complete the jurisprudence course and apply
All applicants for registration with CMRITO must successfully complete a course in jurisprudence approved by the College, so they understand how the law will affect and govern their day-to-day practice.
Applications are made online through the CMRITO portal for your applicant type — Ontario graduate, applicant from another Canadian province, or international applicant — and each type has its own application guide. All applicants must pay both an application fee and an annual registration fee, set out in the College's fees section.
Do not start work on the strength of an application. You must hold a certificate of registration with CMRITO in your specialty to be legally authorized to practise that specialty in Ontario.
If you are registered in another Canadian province
There are two overlapping routes, and they are not the same.
Labour mobility. If you already hold an out-of-province certificate equivalent to the CMRITO certificate in your specialty, you may be eligible for registration under the labour mobility provisions of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. You still apply to CMRITO, and you file a separate application for each specialty.
As of Right. As of January 1, 2026, medical radiation and imaging technologists already registered in another regulated Canadian province, who meet the eligibility criteria, can practise for up to six months while completing their registration requirements with CMRITO. As of Right is a bridge with a six-month limit, not a substitute for Ontario registration. Use the time to finish the CMRITO application, not to defer it.
There is also an emergency class of registration, which exists to address temporary health human resource shortages during a declared emergency. The College states that this class is not open for registration, so do not plan around it.
What the opened pages do not state
The CMRITO pages opened for this guide state that all applicants pay an application fee and an annual registration fee, and that a separate application and evaluation fee applies for each additional specialty, but the pages opened do not state the dollar amounts of those fees, so this guide gives none. Check the amounts in the College's fees section when you apply.
Related guides:
- How to Become a Medical Radiation Technologist in Canada — the national picture, under the profession's older short title.
- How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in Ontario — a different Ontario profession and regulator; useful only to keep the two routes apart.
- How to Become a Radiation Therapist in Ontario — the radiation therapy specialty in more depth.
- How to Become a Respiratory Therapist in Canada — another Ontario-regulated diagnostic and therapeutic profession, for comparison.
Registering as a medical radiation and imaging technologist in Ontario, in four steps
- Choose one of five specialtiesRadiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance, or diagnostic medical sonography. Registration is by specialty, and a separate application is needed for each specialty.
- Complete a CMRITO-approved educational programComplete an approved program in your specialty. Applicants generally must have completed the program, or practised the profession, within the last five years.
- Pass the approved certification examinationPass the CAMRT examination, or the Sonography Canada examination for diagnostic medical sonography, in the same specialty you are applying in.
- Complete the jurisprudence course and register with CMRITOAll applicants must successfully complete a jurisprudence course approved by the College, pay the application and annual registration fees, and hold a CMRITO certificate in the specialty before practising.
Questions people ask
Who regulates medical radiation technologists in Ontario, and what are they called now?
The College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario (CMRITO). The profession's current name in Ontario is medical radiation and imaging technologist, abbreviated MRIT. You may not use that title, the abbreviation MRIT, or the specialty titles MRT(R), MRT(T), MRT(N), MRT(MR) or DMS without being a member of CMRITO.
What are the five specialties?
Radiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance, and diagnostic medical sonography. You must satisfy the registration requirements in the same specialty you apply for. If you want registration in more than one specialty, you complete a separate online application, with the application and evaluation fee, for each specialty.
What education and exam do I need?
A CMRITO-approved educational program in your specialty and an approved certification examination: the CAMRT national examination, or the Sonography Canada examination for sonography. The application guides describe applicants as people who completed a program in one of the five specialties within the last five years, or who have practised the profession within the last five years.
What is the jurisprudence course?
A course in jurisprudence approved by CMRITO that every applicant for registration must successfully complete. It covers how the law affects and governs day-to-day practice as a medical radiation and imaging technologist in Ontario. It is a registration requirement, not an optional extra.
How is this different from becoming a medical laboratory technologist in Ontario?
They are different professions with different regulators. Medical radiation and imaging technologists work with ionizing radiation, electromagnetism and soundwaves for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and register with CMRITO in one of five imaging and radiation specialties. Medical laboratory technologists test specimens in a laboratory and register with a different college. Do not use one profession's application route for the other.
I am registered in another province. Can I practise in Ontario right away?
From January 1, 2026, medical radiation and imaging technologists already registered in another regulated Canadian province who meet the eligibility criteria can practise in Ontario for up to six months under the As of Right rules while completing their registration requirements with CMRITO. Labour mobility applicants must still apply to CMRITO and hold an out-of-province certificate equivalent to the Ontario certificate in the specialty they are applying for.
Sources
- College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario, Applicants — the five specialties, the requirement to complete a CMRITO-approved educational program and an approved certification examination, the jurisprudence course for all applicants, application and annual registration fees applying to all applicants, the closed emergency class, and As of Right practice for up to six months from January 1, 2026 for technologists registered in another regulated Canadian province.
- College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario, Career Map for Internationally Trained Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists — the protected title and specialty abbreviations, the five specialties, meeting the requirements in the same specialty you apply in, a separate application and fee for each additional specialty, and writing the CAMRT or Sonography Canada examination.