How to Become an Occupational Therapist in Ontario

Written November 13, 2026

The short answer

Ontario occupational therapists register with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. You apply online, pay a $226 application fee including HST, and meet the College's education, examination, currency, suitability, and insurance requirements. General registration needs your National Occupational Therapy Certification Examination (NOTCE) results. A full registration year costs $788.63 including HST, pro-rated if you join mid-year. You cannot work — including workplace orientation — until the College confirms your registration and gives you a registration number.

In Ontario it is illegal to use the title occupational therapist, the initials OT, or any variation if you are not registered with the College. Registered members use the designation OT Reg. (Ont.), and every registered occupational therapist appears on the College's List of Registered Occupational Therapists.

Step 1: The education requirement

The College's base requirement is a Bachelor of Science degree or a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy obtained in Canada, or an occupational therapy degree considered equivalent by the College's Registration Committee.

If you were educated outside Canada, your education is reviewed by the Association of Canadian Occupational Therapy Regulatory Organizations (ACOTRO), which checks that it is substantially equivalent to the content of an Ontario occupational therapy program. Some documents reach the College only from third parties — university transcripts and SEAS reports among them — rather than from you.

If you do not meet one or more requirements, your application may go to the Registration Committee. The Committee can issue a certificate, issue one with terms, conditions, and limitations, issue one after specified training or added exams, or refuse. A Committee decision can be appealed to the Health Professional Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) by writing to HPARB and the Committee within 30 days of the decision.

Step 2: Apply online and pay the application fee

Start at the College's apply page: register your account and start the application that fits you — Canadian educated, internationally educated, registered in another province, reapplying, or temporary or provisional. The application is not complete until the application fee is paid. For new applicants that fee is $226 including HST ($200 plus $26 HST). It is mandatory and non-refundable, and it is due at the time of application. Returning applicants who have met the currency requirement pay $45.20 instead; returning applicants who need a refresher program pay the full $226.

You can submit an application before you have met every requirement, but registration cannot be issued until all of them are met. Applications are valid for one year. Fees are payable in Canadian funds by credit card, online banking, or cheque or money order. The College does not accept e-transfers.

After you apply and pay, you get a personalized checklist of your outstanding documents. Upload what the checklist allows, in PDF where possible. The core items are:

• Proof of legal authorization to work in Canada — for example a Canadian birth certificate, passport, citizenship card, permanent resident card, or valid work permit
• Professional liability insurance, as a copy of your insurance certificate
• Vulnerable Sector check results — every applicant must submit a current check, and processing times vary by police service
• Program completion confirmation sent directly from your university to the College, and, after convocation, your official transcript sent by your university to registration@coto.org

Step 3: The NOTCE and your class of registration

The College issues three classes that matter to new applicants:

• General registration is issued to applicants who meet all the registration requirements, and general registrants practise without restriction. Your NOTCE results are required, and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists sends them directly to the College.
• Provisional registration may be issued if you are waiting to write the NOTCE. You must meet the other requirements, be registered for the next available sitting of the exam, have an offer of employment, and be supervised by an occupational therapist who has held general registration for at least one year, under a completed Provisional Registration Supervision Agreement. Provisional therapists practise the full scope of occupational therapy under that College-approved supervision.
• Temporary registration is for occupational therapists registered in another province or country who need to practise in Ontario on a temporary basis.

On top of the exam, general registration carries the College's standing requirements: currency, suitability to practise, and professional liability insurance. The suitability side is what the Vulnerable Sector check and the application questions feed into.

Step 4: Registration fee, registration number, and the June to May year

Registration fees are billed once a complete application and documents are in. The College year runs June 1 to May 31, and the first fee is pro-rated by join date: $788.63 including HST for a full year, $591.48 from September 1, $394.31 from December 1, and $197.16 from March 1, each covering the rest of that year. The prorated amount is the same whatever day in the quarter you register.

Payment brings a welcome email with your registration number and confirmation. Until that confirmation arrives, you are not registered, and you may not begin working as an occupational therapist — the College states plainly that working includes orientation and training at the workplace.

Renewal is annual, online, on or before May 31. The 2026 renewal fee is $788.63, with a late payment fee of $113 including HST after May 31. If fees stay unpaid, the College gives notice and suspends registration 30 days later. Renewal also carries a currency rule for practice: occupational therapists must hold 600 practice hours in the past three years to maintain registration.

Coming from another province

Occupational therapists registered elsewhere in Canada apply through the College's registered-in-another-province route and must meet all COTO requirements and complete the application process. A Labour Mobility Application Form and a Regulatory History Form are completed by your current regulator; the Labour Mobility Application Form fee is $45.20 including HST. Ontario also has As of Right legislation: with the equivalent of an Ontario general practising certificate, no refusal in another Canadian jurisdiction in the past two years, no findings of misconduct, incompetence, or incapacity, Ontario-applicable liability insurance, and physical presence in Ontario, you can start under an attestation and a $45.20 fee while completing full COTO registration within six months.

What the opened pages do not state

The College pages opened for this guide state the application and registration fees, the classes of registration, and the document checklist. They do not state the NOTCE exam fee, the processing time for a complete new application, a salary range for Ontario occupational therapists, or tuition for occupational therapy programs, so this guide gives none of those. The checklist describes fieldwork and program completion only through the university's own confirmation, so this guide does not attach an hours figure to the Ontario degree requirement.

Related guides:

• How to Become an Occupational Therapist in Canada — the national picture and the other provincial colleges.
• How to Start Getting Your Foreign Occupational Therapy Credentials Recognized in Canada — the ACOTRO assessment route for internationally educated therapists.
• How to Get Your Foreign Credentials Recognized in Ontario — Ontario credential assessment mechanics more broadly.
• How to Become a Social Worker in Ontario — a neighbouring Ontario regulated profession with a different college and no entry exam for its standard route.

Sources

• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Becoming a Registered OT — the education requirement of a Canadian Bachelor or Master of Science in Occupational Therapy or an equivalent degree, the ACOTRO review for internationally educated applicants, general registration without restriction, provisional registration while waiting to write the NOTCE, and the Registration Committee and HPARB appeal routes.
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Apply Now — the $226 application fee for new applicants and $45.20 for qualifying returning applicants, applications valid for one year, the June 1 to May 31 registration year with pro-rated first fees, the personalized checklist, the Vulnerable Sector check for every applicant, and the rule against working before written confirmation and a registration number.
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Fees and Tax Receipts — the 2026-2027 fee table: $788.63 full-year registration including HST, the quarterly pro-rated amounts, the $113 late payment fee, and the $45.20 Labour Mobility and As of Right application fees.
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Applying for Temporary or Provisional Registration — provisional registration for applicants waiting to write the NOTCE, registration for the next exam sitting, an employment offer, supervision by a therapist with at least one year of general registration, and the Provisional Registration Supervision Agreement.
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Hiring an Occupational Therapist — title protection and the OT Reg. (Ont.) designation, the public List of Registered Occupational Therapists, provisional practice under College-approved supervision, and the labour mobility forms for therapists registered in other provinces.
• College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, Registration Checklist — the checklist steps for new Canadian graduates: the $226 application fee, proof of work authorization, insurance certificate, Vulnerable Sector check, direct-from-university completion confirmation and transcript, NOTCE proof for provisional registration and NOTCE results for a general certificate.