Ontario social workers register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers: a Bachelor or Master of Social Work for the social worker certificate, a $100 application fee, and a $400 registration fee ($300 for new graduates who apply by December 31 of their graduation year).
Applies in: Ontario
Ontario social workers register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. The credential decides the certificate: a Bachelor of Social Work or Master of Social Work for registration as a social worker, and a social service work diploma for the College's separate social service worker registration. The application fee is $100, the registration fee is $400 ($300 for new graduates who apply in time), and the registration fee is pro-rated by the quarter in which you are approved.
The College registers two professions, and mixing them up is the most common applicant error:
People whose education sits outside those two boxes use the College's equivalency streams, where the Registrar assesses a combination of academic qualifications and experience against the diploma or degree standard. The College is tightening that route: from the fall of 2027, equivalency applicants who are approved in principle will also have to complete an entry-to-practice exam as the final step.
The application fee is $100, paid as part of the application for registration, and it is not refunded if you withdraw or if the Registrar proposes to refuse the certificate. Applying for both certificates as a dual registrant means two application fees — $100 for each application — though only one registration fee is charged after both are approved.
Only Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or people authorized to work in Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act can register, so have your status documents ready. If you graduated more than five years ago, expect to show recent practice in social work or social service work.
Your academic institution sends your transcript directly to the College, or sends it through an approved third-party platform such as MyCreds or Parchment — a transcript you upload yourself from your own files is not the route. Applicants coming from another province add two items: a vulnerable sector check completed within six months before the application date, and an In Good Standing Certificate that your current regulator sends directly to the College.
Applicants are also responsible for third-party costs where they apply, such as credential evaluation assessments or translation services. The College does not offer an instalment plan for registration fees.
Once your application is approved, you are charged the registration fee for the quarter in which you are registered. The College's fee chart sets it out:
| Quarter of approval | General | New graduate |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 – March 31 | $400 | $300 |
| April 1 – June 30 | $300 | $225 |
| July 1 – September 30 | $200 | $150 |
| October 1 – December 31 | $100 | $75 |
The new-graduate rate has a hard deadline: your application must be received by the College no later than December 31 of the year you obtain your social work degree or social service worker diploma. The same deadline drives the second discount — a $100 registration fee exemption for the first two years immediately following registration. Miss December 31 and both are gone.
Registration runs on the calendar year, January 1 to December 31, and every registrant in good standing renews annually. The College has confirmed no increase for 2027: general class $400, electronic practice $100, inactive class $200, retired class $50. Electronic practice is also the cheap entry point at registration — $100 registration plus the $100 application fee, $200 in total — for registrants whose practice fits that class.
Coming from another province? From January 1, 2026, social workers registered in good standing elsewhere in Canada who meet the requirements and file the documents receive deemed certification for a one-time six-month period of Ontario work, under the same labour mobility pattern now used for teachers.
The College's fee chart and applicant pages state the fees, pro-rating and deadlines used above. They do not publish a processing time for a complete general application, a salary range for Ontario social workers, or tuition for social work programs, so this guide gives none of those. The equivalency exam arriving in the fall of 2027 is described by the College as a requirement in principle; its fee is not stated on the opened pages.
The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). It is the provincial regulator for both professions named in its title, and registration with the College is what makes you a registered social worker (RSW) in Ontario.
They are two separate registrations with the same College. Social worker registration rests on a degree in social work — a Bachelor of Social Work or a Master of Social Work. Social service worker registration rests on a diploma in social service work from a program at an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology, or an equivalent the College approves. Dual registrants exist: if you apply for both certificates, you pay the $100 application fee for each application but only one registration fee once both are approved.
The application fee is $100 and non-refundable. The general registration fee is $400, for a total of $500. New graduates from a social work or social service work program who apply by December 31 of their graduation year pay a $300 registration fee, $400 in total. The College pro-rates the registration fee by the quarter your application is approved: $400, $300, $200 or $100 across the year for general applicants, and $300, $225, $150 or $75 for new graduates.
For the standard degree route, the College's published registration requirements do not set an entry-to-practice exam, and the fee chart lists no exam fee. One announced exception: equivalency-stream applicants — people applying on the strength of other academic programs rather than a social service work diploma — who are approved in principle will be required to complete an entry-to-practice exam beginning in the fall of 2027, as the last step of that process.
The College's registration year runs January 1 to December 31, and registrants renew every year. There is no increase to registration and renewal fees for 2027: the annual fees stay at $400 for the general class, $100 for electronic practice, $200 for the inactive class and $50 for the retired class. New graduates who applied by December 31 of their graduation year also get a $100 registration fee exemption for the first two years after registration.
Yes. Social workers registered in good standing in another Canadian jurisdiction apply through the College's Canadian Free Trade Agreement general stream. From January 1, 2026, qualifying applicants who provide the required documentation receive notice that they are deemed certified, which allows them to work in Ontario for a one-time six-month period while full registration is completed. Expect to provide a vulnerable sector check completed within six months before applying and an In Good Standing Certificate sent directly from your current regulator.