In Alberta you complete an approved physiotherapy degree, pass CAPR's single licensure examination, and register with the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta on the General Register before you practise independently.
Applies in: Alberta
Written November 13, 2026
Complete an approved physiotherapy degree, pass the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators' single licensure examination, then register with the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta on the General Register. Since January 2026 there is one national examination instead of the old written-plus-clinical pair, and passing it allows direct eligibility for the General Register and independent practice. Registration is mandatory in Alberta: no practice permit, no use of the title.
Alberta's guide is mostly a story about an examination change. Anyone working from material written before 2026 will be walked toward a provincial clinical examination that no longer exists, so the dates below matter as much as the steps.
Alberta's legal requirement is set out in the Physical Therapists Profession Regulation: an applicant for registration on the General Register must have obtained a minimum of a baccalaureate degree from a physical therapy program approved by the Council, have successfully completed a written knowledge-based examination approved by the Council, and have successfully completed a clinical competency examination approved by the Council.
In practice, Canadian entry-to-practice physiotherapy education is delivered as a master's-level professional program, and the national examination side is standardized: the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR) states that graduates of accredited Canadian programs are automatically eligible to write the national examination. Alberta's own occupational information service, ALIS, lists the registration package the same way: an approved physiotherapy degree program, the CAPR examination, the College's jurisprudence module, and the clinical examination requirement — with the clinical element now met through the single examination described in Step 2.
The Regulation adds a currency rule that returning applicants should note. An applicant must generally have met the degree and examination requirements within the three years before the Registrar receives a complete application, or instead show at least 1,200 hours of physical therapy practice in the previous five years, or demonstrate current competence to the Registrar's satisfaction.
Until the end of 2025, Alberta applicants completed a two-part examination: the written component of the Physiotherapy Competency Examination administered by CAPR, and then a clinical component — Alberta's Post-Graduate Clinical Examination (PGCE) or another Canadian regulator's clinical competency evaluation for full licensure.
The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta states that in January 2026 CAPR launched a single licensure examination, and that starting January 2026 the single examination replaces the two-exam model. The College's Council supports adoption of the single examination, and the examination is accepted as the examination requirements set out in the Physical Therapists Profession Regulation for registration with the College. The single examination is offered eight times in 2026, is conducted virtually over one day, and consists of a written section and an oral, scenario-based section with a single pass mark, evaluating the critical competencies necessary for safe and effective physiotherapy practice. Result timelines were estimated at four to five weeks.
Alberta's PGCE was discontinued, with the last administration scheduled for February 2026. The old written component's last administration was November 26, 2025. An applicant starting now has one examination to plan around, not two, and any preparation course or checklist that still ends at the PGCE is describing a closed route.
On cost, the College stated during the transition that the cost of the new CAPR examination had not yet been finalized, but that it would not exceed the previous combined written and clinical examination cost of $2,815. The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario's transition notice for the same CAPR examination states the fee as $2,500, with a discounted fee of $1,800 from February through December 2026 for candidates who passed the written component in 2025, and CAPR's own Dates and Fees page states the same figures, with $2,500 for all 2027 exam dates. Confirm the current fee on CAPR's dates and fees page before you register.
Registration is not optional, and the College is the only route. ALIS summarizes the law directly: under Alberta's Health Professions Act, the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation, and the Physical Therapists Profession Regulation, registration with the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta is mandatory, and only registered members may provide the restricted activities specified in the regulations.
Under the single-exam pathway, the sequence is short. The College states that in this option, individuals are not eligible for registration on the Provisional Register, because successful completion of the single licensure examination allows direct eligibility for registration on the General Register and independent practice. You pass the one examination, then you apply for the General Register.
The Provisional Register still matters for understanding older files and transitional cases. It is a temporary register for applicants who had met the degree and written examination requirements but not the clinical one. A member on it uses the title physiotherapist intern, may practise only under the supervision of a regulated member registered on the General or Courtesy Register, and may not perform an activity requiring additional authorization from the College even if supervised. Registration on the Provisional Register cannot exceed two years or two failed clinical examination attempts, whichever comes first — a legislated limit the College states was not changed by the move between examination models.
Registration also carries the College's jurisprudence module, listed by ALIS among the requirements to register, and the good character and language proficiency expectations in the College's bylaws. Work through the College's applicant pages for the current document list rather than assembling an application from a third-party checklist.
Two conditions run for as long as you hold an Alberta practice permit.
The first is insurance. The College states that a regulated member must personally hold professional liability insurance in the amount of $5 million for the annual policy period, with a minimum liability limit of $5 million per occurrence, with an active, continuous policy at all times as a regulated member regardless of role, employment environment, or employment status, covering practice in Alberta. All regulated members must carry professional liability insurance as a condition of registration.
The second is the annual renewal cycle. The College's renewal process requires each physiotherapist on the General Register to complete two Continuing Competence Program activities before renewing — one self-selected activity and one College-selected activity — plus the Protecting Patients from Sexual Abuse and Sexual Misconduct e-learning modules and quiz each registration year, a calculation of practice hours for each practice location, and liability insurance in place for the period after October 1. The currency requirement is 1,200 hours of practice as a physiotherapist within the previous five registration years, or an approved clinical competency examination within the previous three registration years. Permits for the 2025/2026 registration year ran to September 30, 2026, which fixes the shape of the Alberta year: an October 1 start, a September 30 end, and renewal work done before it.
Your route starts with CAPR, not with the College. CAPR states that internationally trained physiotherapists must first have their qualifications and educational credentials assessed by CAPR to determine eligibility for the national examination, that a university-level physiotherapy program is an essential requirement, and that education not completed in English or French requires demonstrated official language proficiency with scores from within the previous two-year period. Only after the CAPR processes do you apply to the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta for registration, and the College may have additional requirements of its own. CAPR also warns that the credentialling and examination processes can be lengthy and expensive, and that completing them does not by itself confer a right to practise in Alberta.
The College pages opened for this guide do not state a dollar figure for the College's own application or practice permit fees, so this guide carries no College fee figures; check the College's current fee information in its applicant section before you budget. The pages also do not state a processing time for a complete first application to the General Register under the single-exam pathway. The four-to-five-week figure carried above is the College's estimate for release of single-examination results, not a registration processing time.
The College of Physiotherapists of Alberta (CPTA). Under Alberta's Health Professions Act, the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation, and the Physical Therapists Profession Regulation, registration with the College is mandatory, and only registered members may provide the restricted activities specified in the regulations. Alberta legislation requires that only physiotherapists with an active practice permit from the College can call themselves physiotherapists or physical therapists, or use the abbreviation PT.
CAPR's single licensure examination, the Canadian Physiotherapy Examination. The College states that starting January 2026 the single examination replaces the two-exam model — the old written component of the Physiotherapy Competency Examination plus Alberta's Post-Graduate Clinical Examination (PGCE) or another regulator's clinical evaluation. The single examination is offered eight times in 2026, is conducted virtually over one day, and consists of a written section and an oral, scenario-based section with a single pass mark. Alberta's PGCE was discontinued, with its last administration in February 2026.
Only on the old transitional route, and only under supervision. Under the two-exam pathway, an applicant who had passed the written component could apply for registration on the Provisional Register as a physiotherapist intern, practising only under the supervision of a regulated member on the General or Courtesy Register. The College states that applicants using the single-exam pathway are not eligible for the Provisional Register: successful completion of the single examination allows direct eligibility for the General Register instead. Provisional registration cannot exceed two years or two failed clinical examination attempts, whichever comes first.
The Physical Therapists Profession Regulation requires an applicant for the General Register to have obtained a minimum of a baccalaureate degree from a physical therapy program approved by the College's Council, to have successfully completed a written knowledge-based examination approved by the Council, and to have successfully completed a clinical competency examination approved by the Council. The College has accepted CAPR's single licensure examination as the examination requirements set out in the Regulation. Requirements must generally have been met within the three years before the Registrar receives a complete application, unless the applicant shows recent practice hours or current competence instead.
$5 million. The College states that physiotherapists must personally hold professional liability insurance in the amount of $5 million for the annual policy period, with a minimum liability limit of $5 million per occurrence, and must have an active, continuous policy at all times as a regulated member, regardless of role, employment environment, or employment status. All regulated members must carry professional liability insurance as a condition of registration, and the insurance must cover practice in Alberta.
Each year, physiotherapists on the General Register complete two Continuing Competence Program activities before renewing — one self-selected activity and one College-selected activity — and complete the College's Protecting Patients from Sexual Abuse and Sexual Misconduct e-learning modules and quiz during the registration year. Renewal also requires meeting the currency requirement of 1,200 practice hours within the previous five registration years or an approved clinical competency examination within the previous three registration years, and holding liability insurance in place for after October 1. Permits for the 2025/2026 year ran to September 30, 2026.