If you are an internationally educated pharmacy technician applicant, follow the steps below to register as a pharmacy technician in Ontario.
If you do not have an international pharmacy degree or diploma that is recognized by the PEBC, you cannot pursue registration as a pharmacy technician through this pathway. Instead, you must graduate from a CCAPP-accredited Canadian pharmacy technician program.
Step 1: PEBC Certification Process
- Your education and professional credentials must be evaluated and ruled acceptable as part of the PEBC application process
- Successfully complete the PEBC Pharmacy Technician International Evaluation to become eligible to apply for the PEBC Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Exam.
- This assessment process is administered by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada
Step 2: Bridging Education
- Successfully complete bridging education*:
- You must provide to the College satisfactory evidence from the bridging education providers that you have successfully completed the bridging course and program before you may proceed to Step 3
- Your education must be current when you submit any application for registration (i.e., within two years of successful completion of the bridging education or the PEBC Qualifying Exam). If you do not meet the currency of education requirement, your application will be referred to a panel of the Registration Committee
Note: An alternative option to this bridging education would be to successfully complete a CCAPP-accredited pharmacy technician program and register with OCP through the registration pathway for CCAPP graduates.
Step 3: College-administered requirements
Create an online account with the College
- Login from the OCP homepage
- Pay the initial application fee
- Submit supporting documentation of your evidence of identity, your citizenship or status in Canada, and your education
Register as an Intern Technician
- Obtain personal professional liability insurance
- Submit a police background check
- Login to your account to apply
- Submit supporting documentation of your evidence of language proficiency
- Pay the application fee
- Enter and maintain your practice information in your OCP account under the Workplace tab for every site where you will be practicing as an intern technician
- Your intern technician certificate of registration is valid for one year and is required for you to be able to perform the authorized acts of the profession. If your intern technician certificate expires before you register as a pharmacy technician and you wish to continue practicing the authorized acts, please contact [email protected]
Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism Exam*
- Successfully complete the Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism exam
- Login to your account to apply
- Pay the exam fee
Practice Assessment of Competence at Entry (PACE) *
- Successfully complete PACE for pharmacy technician applicants
- Login to your account to apply
- Your intern technician certificate of registration must be valid while you are preparing for, applying for and completing PACE
Step 4: PEBC Qualifying Exam
- Successfully complete Parts I and II of the PEBC Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Exam*
- You may complete this exam at any point after you have successfully completed Step 1
- The exam is administered by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada
- You must submit your PEBC number to the College so that your results can be confirmed
Step 5: Final Application for Certificate of Registration as a Pharmacy Technician
- Obtain/maintain personal professional liability insurance
- Login to your account to apply
- Pay the final application fees
- Application fee
- New applicant registration fee
- Your police background check and evidence of language proficiency must be current to proceed
- If more than two years have passed since you successfully completed the bridging education or the PEBC Qualifying Exam, your application will be referred to a panel of the Registration Committee for not meeting the currency of education requirement.
- Update your personal and practice information, including identifying a Designated Practice Assessment (DPA) site in Ontario
Time & Cost Estimates
Many of the requirements for registration have expiry dates to ensure that your knowledge, skills and judgment are current at the time of your final application. The Fees & Timelines chart lists all registration-related fees and timelines to help you anticipate the time and costs required to register as a pharmacy technician in Ontario.
Timelines can vary depending on the PEBC evaluation process and the format selected for each of the bridging education courses. After successfully completing the bridging education, a person who plans ahead to meet application deadlines and completes each requirement in the minimum time may finish the remaining registration process within five months.
Estimated fees paid to OCP are $884 plus the annual fee. These fees are outlined in the Schedule of Fees.
Estimated fees paid to third parties are $5,908 plus the annual liability insurance premium.
*Non-exemptible requirement