Practice Permit Renewal

Know your login credentials

The email address to use is the one on your registration record. 

Renew your liability insurance policy

Before you apply to renew your practice permit, you must have liability insurance in place for after October 1, 2024. You must provide details of your insurance in place October 1, 2024 and beyond.

Complete your competence program activities

Each year, physiotherapists on the General Register take part in two activities before renewing their practice permit. One activity is a Self-Selected Activity and the other is a College-Selected Activity. 

Reporting on activities during the renewal process involves:

• Self-Selected Activity. Describe on the Practice Improvement Record what happened when you applied the new information or skill you learned making sure you include a reasonable response or description that covers each of the points on the form. The Practice Improvement Record is available in the Member Portal.
• College-Selected Activity. Declare on the renewal form that you completed the activity and meet the learning objectives.

Calculate your practice hours

Calculate the hours you will work from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 for each practice location. You may estimate hours until September 30, 2024 so you can renew early. Contact the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta in October if the estimated hours need to be changed. Practice hours can include physiotherapy services provided (assessment, diagnosis, treatment) or hours engaged in research, delivering education or administration with respect to health services delivery and the science, techniques and practice of physiotherapy. 

Ensure My Profile is up-to-date

• Ensure your contact details, employment, education, and registration in another jurisdiction is accurate in My Profile. 
• Ensure your employment details are complete. You will need to report practice hours for each location where you worked since October 1, 2023. If the location is not in your My Profile, then reporting is a two-step process. Sometimes adding a new practice location requires the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta's staff assistance which can delay the renewal process. 

A tip: Ensure your employment details are complete before you start the renewal process.

Payment

You may pay fees by MasterCard or Visa.

A tip: Complete all of the renewal steps early and then come back and pay for your renewal fee closer to September 16. This will eliminate any "surprises" which require staff assistance and could delay you paying the renewal fee.

Renewal applications are assessed to determine that the following requirements are met:

Liability insurance

All regulated members of the College must carry professional liability insurance as a condition of registration. You must have an active policy at all times.

Physiotherapists are autonomous health professionals accountable for their conduct and practice. As such, you are required to personally hold continuous professional liability insurance wherever you practice as a physiotherapist in Alberta, regardless of role, employment environment, or practice status.

The coverage you must have is $5 million per occurrence/patient and $5 million minimum for the policy year.

Liability insurance is offered through a variety of vendors. We've included a link to vendors who provide coverage to most Alberta physiotherapists. Not all policies offer the same coverage. You are responsible for reviewing each policy and making an informed decision. The College does not endorse a specific product or validate the information contained within each vendor’s website.

• BMS from CPA
• TRISURA from Hub International (Physiosure)

Experience

• You have either practiced 1,200 hours as a physiotherapist during the last five registration years or completed an approved clinical competency examination within the previous three registration years.
• Hours can include physiotherapy services provided (assessment, diagnosis, treatment), hours engaged in research and administration or delivered education with respect to health services delivery and the science, techniques and practice of physiotherapy.

Continuing competence

If you are a regulated member on the General Register, you have completed the Self-Selected Activity and the 2024 College-Selected Activity.

Character and reputation

You are of good character and reputation. There is no behaviour or conduct that would put the Alberta public at risk.

Fees are paid

$805 practice permit fee. A $130 late payment fee is applied when a complete practice permit renewal application (this includes full payment) is received after September 16.

Fees for the 2024/2025 registration year.

• $805. Fee for renewal applications completed (this includes full payment) before midnight September 16, 2024: practice permit only.
• $935. Fee for renewal applications completed (including full payment) after September 16, 2024 regardless of when received: practice permit and late fee.
• Fees are non-refundable and must be paid in full whether you intend to practice for the entire registration year or only a portion.  
• You may pay fees by MasterCard or Visa.
• Your tax receipt is available in the Member Portal immediately upon payment in full.

Practice permits issued to regulated members on the General Register expire September 30, 2024 and must be renewed for the upcoming registration year (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025).

• Renewal applications must be completed (including full payment) before September 16, 2024, otherwise the late fee will be applied. 
• Renewal applications are completed online through the Member Portal. Applications that do not require the College's review are approved immediately upon payment in full. 
• Once your renewal application is approved, a 2024/2025 practice permit is issued and appears in the Member Portal. You may download and print your practice permit as proof of registration. Employers may use our Public Registry to verify registration.  

If your renewal application, which includes payment in full, is not complete by September 30, 2024 you must stop practicing until a valid practice permit is issued.

Under the Health Professions Act, an individual practicing as a physiotherapist in Alberta and using the title physiotherapist or physical therapist must be registered and have a valid practice permit. If you are no longer practicing as a physiotherapist in Alberta, due to maternity leave, retirement, sabbatical, or any other reason, you have two options:

Renew your practice permit

If your absence from physiotherapy is for a short period, you can renew and receive a practice permit until September 30, 2025. This allows you the flexibility to return to work at any time before September 30, 2025 without submitting further information or documentation to the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta. You continue with your competence program activities, keep your My Profile current, and continue to hold professional liability insurance as a practicing physiotherapist.

Cancel your registration 

You may cancel your registration effective October 1, 2024 and then apply to reinstate your registration before returning to work. The reinstatement process is different from the renewal process which has different registration requirements and timelines.

• Fees. The application fee is waived if your registration is reinstated before September 30, 2025. You only need to pay the practice permit fee. After September 30, 2025 you must pay both the application and practice permit fee. 
• Insurance. From a registration perspective, the requirement to hold insurance does not apply when you are not a regulated member. However, patients can file a malpractice claim against you up to ten years after an incident. You need to check the terms of your insurance policy. Ensure that your insurance will cover you for a claim filed later related to an event that occurred while you were practicing and insured. Some policies provide coverage against this type of claim, sometimes called “tail coverage” or “extended reporting period coverage.” In contrast, other policies may require that you purchase additional coverage when leaving/retiring from practice.
• Competence program. When you apply to reinstate your registration, you must demonstrate that you completed the competence program activities for the last year registered, whether you were working or not. This means you must have completed a 2024 Self-Selected Activity which includes describing on the Practice Improvement Record in the Member Portal what happened when you applied the new knowledge or skill. Ensure you complete the Practice Improvement Record before you apply to cancel your registration if you have any plans to return to practice in Alberta as it will be required when you apply to reinstate your registration. You must also complete the 2024 College-Selected Activity.
• Currency requirement. The currency requirement is 1,200 of physiotherapy practice hours during the previous five registration years or completion of an approved clinical examination within the last three registration years. If you do not meet the currency requirement, the Registration Committee will review your reinstatement application to determine your options. To receive a decision takes several weeks.
• Good character and reputation. A criminal record check from every country where you have lived for 90+ days for the last ten years is a relatively new requirement. A criminal record check is only valid for 90 days, so even if you provided a report previously, you will need to do so again. Criminal record checks completed within Canada can be done within a few days if there are no issues; this is not the case for international checks, which can take several weeks. You will also need to provide information on your regulatory history from every jurisdiction where you have worked as another regulated professional since cancelling your registration in Alberta (limited to the last ten years).

A reinstatement fee is levied at the time of reinstatement for individuals who do not renew or cancel their registration.

• The email address to login to the Member Portal is the email address on your registration record. If you have access to that email account, you are required to use the original email address to login to the Member Portal and then change your email address on the My Profile form. If you no longer have access to the email address then contact the College. You can expect that we will ask verifying questions before making the change.
• College staff are here to help. Call between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday (except statutory holidays). Registration direct at 587.442.1088 or email registration@cpta.ab.ca