Applying to Practice Physical Therapy in BC
A person must be registered with the College in order to practice physical therapy and use the title “Physical Therapist” in British Columbia. This includes working as a physical therapist; participating in a physical therapy clinical placement; or taking or teaching a course involving physical therapy treatment of the public and course participants.
The Registration Committee makes decisions about registration matters in accordance with the BC Health Professions Act and CPTBC Bylaws. The role of College staff is to advise an applicant about the application process and registration requirements.
A person may be registered as full, interim, temporary or student. Scroll down to view common registration situations.
Notice Regarding Interim Registration – Bylaw amendments filed with the Ministry of Health came into effect on May 29, 2023.
- The last day to submit applications for interim registration was October 31, 2023. This includes any and all necessary corrections and documents from third parties. No applications may be submitted or re-submitted after this date.
- The interim category will be completely eliminated as of April 1, 2024. Applications submitted by the October 31 deadline will expire no later than March 31, 2024.
- No interim registration permits will exist after March 31, 2024, regardless of the ACEBC date the interim registrant is scheduled for. Interim registrants who have not applied for and been approved for full registration by that point will have to stop practising.
Registration Categories
Full Registration
A full registrant may practice physical therapy in British Columbia. A full registrant has completed the Physiotherapy Competency Exam or is fully registered in another Canadian jurisdiction.
Interim Registration
An interim registrant may practice physical therapy under the supervision of a fully registered physical therapist in BC. An interim registrant has not completed the Physiotherapy Competency Exam.
Temporary Registration
A temporary registrant is a physical therapist who is registered to practice in good standing in another jurisdiction and intends to visit British Columbia for education purposes, emergency services or a purpose to be approved by the registrar for a maximum of 30 days.
Student Registration
Physical therapy students must be registered as students to participate in a clinical placement in British Columbia.
Questions?
For questions on registration, please contact registration@cptbc.org
A member of the Registration Team will be available for calls during the following times; if you are unable to reach us directly, please leave a message and we will call you back:
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- Monday 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Tuesday 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Wednesday 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
- Thursday 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
- Friday 7:30 am – 9:00 am
