In 2024, CHCPBC announced that the College would undertake a Fee Restructuring project to develop a fee structure that can provide sufficient revenue to fully cover the College’s ongoing costs and reserve needs in the future. This project has now concluded, and the CHCPBC Board accepted the fee structure recommendations on September 19, 2025.
This decision follows on the College’s commitment to review the fees for all professions to determine what, if any, changes are required for the College to maintain our ability to regulate professions well.
The following are questions and answers about the Fee Restructuring Project:
What are the registration renewal fees for all professions regulated by CHCPBC?
The 2026/2027 registration renewal fees (full practising registration) for all nine professions regulated by CHCPBC, with the 2025/2026 fees provided for comparison, are as follows:
| Professionals | 2026/2027 Renewal Fee | 2025/2026 Renewal Fee | Change | Renewal Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audiologists | $770 | $1,075 | -28% | March 31, 2026 |
| Dietitians | $745 | $705 | +6% | March 31, 2026 |
| Hearing Instrument Practitioners | $1,165 | $1,075 | +8% | March 31, 2026 |
| Occupational Therapists | $720 | $610 | +18% | March 31, 2026 |
| Opticians | $1,005 | $745 | +35% | March 31, 2026 |
| Optometrists | $1,195 | $1,390* | -14% | March 31, 2026 |
| Physical Therapists | $875 | $610 | +43% | March 31, 2026 |
| Psychologists | $1,630 | $1,380** | +18% | March 31, 2026 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | $1,000 | $1,075 | -7% | March 31, 2026 |
*2025/2026 Renewal fee for optometrists is prorated for a period of 4 months, December 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026. Optometrists will renew again prior to March 31, 2026 for a period of 12 months at the 2026/2027 rate.
**2026 Renewal fee for psychologists is prorated for a period of 3 months, January 1, 2026 – March 31, 2026. Psychologists will renew again prior to March 31, 2026 for a period of 12 months at the 2026/2027 rate.
Why are fees increasing now when some professions have already seen increases in the last year since amalgamation?
We appreciate that this new fee schedule will bring a second increase in fees since 2024 for most professions CHCPBC regulates, which in some cases may be a significant percentage increase from legacy college fees. The fee increases already experienced by some professions were an interim step towards creating a simplified and equitable fee structure as we worked to undergo the Fee Restructuring Project.
Shortly after amalgamation, CHCPBC shared that the Fee Restructuring Project was underway to recommend a fee structure that will provide sufficient revenue to fully cover the College’s ongoing costs and reserve needs in the future. The project completed this past summer, and the Board was presented with recommendations based on the results.
The fee schedules of the legacy colleges had an array of fees that were in many cases inconsistent across the professions. In some cases, these fees had served a historical purpose that had become outdated with the emergence of new technologies and ways of doing business. In many cases, the fees no longer bore any obvious relationship to the cost of providing the service.
How was the Fee Restructuring Project conducted?
The College undertook a comprehensive, principle-driven Fee Restructuring Project designed to address the significant variations inherited from seven legacy colleges. The project was grounded in six core principles: financial sustainability, cost recovery, equity and risk-based pricing, minimizing cross-subsidization, administrative efficiency, and market considerations, ensuring that decisions were made systematically rather than arbitrarily.
The methodology employed a rigorous four-step analysis: projecting long-term costs accounting for amalgamation completion and HPOA implementation; adjusting revenue requirements based on realistic investment income and reserve needs; establishing activity-based fees tied to actual service delivery costs; and allocating registration fees proportionally based on each profession’s regulatory burden and risk profile, supported by historical data. This approach ensures that registrants pay for the regulatory oversight that is required and that higher-risk professions requiring more intensive regulatory oversight bear appropriate costs, eliminating the unfair cross-subsidization that existed previously.
Can you explain more about how the restructuring project was conducted?
In the first of four phases of the analysis, the determination of the College’s long-term cost structure, assessments were done on all current areas of spending to determine whether more or less was needed, registration volumes and inflation were considered, staffing levels were assessed, and new regulatory requirements were considered. The conclusion of the analysis was that the budget for the coming fiscal year should be $17.04 million, which would be an increase of almost 8% from the current year. Approximately 90% of that increase was due to the need for the College to adapt its operations to the new operating environment required under the changing provincial regulatory regime. In the second phase of the analysis, it was estimated that in a normal year, the College should be able to make about $252,000 in interest income on balances held as a result of collection of registrant fees and that this would therefore would not be required to be collected from registrants. The College would, however, need to run a projected surplus of $471,000 (about 2.8% of its budget) to enhance its reserve funds. The College maintains reserve funds, as almost all regulatory colleges do, to serve as insurance against future contingencies and in case large capital projects are required. The reserves the College inherited from legacy colleges are not currently sufficient to protect against large potential unexpected costs and need to be enhanced. Taking these two areas into account, College needs to collect $17.259 million in revenue ($17.04 million less $0.252 million in interest income plus $0.471 million in desired surplus to add to reserves).
In the third step, application (including reinstatement application) fees, assessment fees, examination fees, health professional corporation fees and certification fees were determined based on the principle of cost recovery (fees equal the estimated cost for the time associated with providing this activity plus appropriate overhead costs) and applied consistently across professions wherever possible. Based on estimated volumes, these revenues would raise $1.155 million. Subtracting these fees from total revenue leaves $16.104 million, which is allocated to registration fees.
In the final phase, core registration fees were set by looking at College’s costs to provide the three pillars of its regulatory mandate – licensure, quality and compliance – determining the relative contribution of each cost area. Compared to each other, licensure represents 30% of costs, quality 24% and compliance 46%. Licensure and quality costs were allocated to professions in proportion to their relative size within the College (as it should cost similar amounts to licence and provide quality-related services to each registrant regardless of profession as systems and programs are unified and developed). Compliance costs were allocated based on a combination of the volume and complexity of complaints per registrant (over the last five years) and external costs (such as legal and investigatory costs) associated with dealing with these complaints. Once allocated to professions, the amounts were divided by the projected number of registrants within the profession to determine the annual fee. The result are fees that reflect the costs associated with providing registrants core services.
Why hasn’t amalgamation brought efficiencies and cost savings?
Amalgamation has resulted in cost savings in certain areas already. Examples are audit, investment management, banking and Board compensation. In other areas, progress is being made towards cost efficiencies, such as having a single consolidated registration system, which should also result in cost savings in payment processing.
In many areas, costs tend to move with volumes of activities and amalgamation did not change this. Amalgamation would not in and of itself change the total number of complaints, for instance. Therefore, there should not be an expectation that costs associated with handling complaints should decline.
In certain cases, costs actually rose as a result of the amalgamation. A good example of such a circumstance was the BC Employer’s Health Tax. Prior to amalgamation, no legacy college met the threshold to pay this tax (which is based on total wages paid). The amalgamation meant that the combined college rose to the payroll threshold required to now pay this tax to the BC government. This tax alone is estimated to cost the College about $173,000 in the coming year.
The College is actively working to merge legacy systems, processes, and programs inherited from the former colleges and these estimated costs savings have been accounted for in the budget estimates used to calculate the new fees.
Why doesn’t the College consult registrants about fee increases?
Fees are determined and approved by the Board based on analysis of the needs of the College to fulfill our mandate to regulate in the public interest. As oversight for the College, the Board is in the best position to make these decisions to maintain good regulation for the public.
Does the College get revenue from sources other than registrants?
Yes, however the primary source of revenue is from applicants (registration fees) and registrants (renewal fees). This revenue accounts for over 90% of the College’s income. Other limited revenue sources are interest on investments, health profession corporation fees, and fines or other investigation (or disciplinary) tariffs applied to registrants.
Did the College consider the average salary of each profession when determining the new fees?
No, the salary of the professions was not considered when developing the new fee structure. The new fees were determined based on each profession’s regulatory burden and risk profile to regulate effectively.
Can I pay the fee in installments?
No, fee payment in full is a requirement for all fees.
Will the fee change apply to other fees?
Yes, the changes to fees will apply to most fees including licensure and certification fees and health profession corporation permit fees. Registrants can expect to pay the renewal new fee during the 2026/2027 registration renewal period that ends on March 31, 2026. The effective date for other fees is January 12, 2026.
Why are the fees for most professions increasing while some have decreased?
The approach to determining the fees was universally applied across all professional groups. The recommendations by profession differ with most fees increasing and some decreasing based on regulatory burden and risk profile. Fees for all nine professions were reviewed as part of the Fee Restructuring Project.
What are the certification fees for audiologists, dietitians, hearing instrument practitioners, opticians, and speech-language pathologists?
Effective January 12, 2026, the fees for certifications are as follows:
| Audiologists, dietitians, hearing instrument practitioners, and speech-language pathologists | |
|---|---|
| Application for certification | $250 |
| Annual renewal of certification | $50 |
| Reinstatement of certification | $100 |
| Opticians (no change) | |
|---|---|
| Application for certification | $80 |
| Annual renewal of certification | $80 |
| Reinstatement of certification | $80 |
What are the corporation fees?
Optometrists and physical therapists can register and renew health profession corporations. Effective January 12, 2026, the fees for corporations are as follows:
| Health Profession Corporation Permit Fees | |
|---|---|
| Corporation application fee | $300 |
| Corporation renewal fee | $120 |
What other changes have been made to fees?
Other changes to fees resulting from the Fee Restructuring Project include:
- One fee of $380 for initial application for registration of any profession regulated by CHCPBC.
- No fee for verification of registration requests.
- One fee of $265 for reinstatement of registration for any profession regulated by CHCPBC.
- Applicants who register on or after October 1 of any year will pay 65% of a full year’s registration fee.
- A late renewal fee of $350 will be charged to registrants who fail to renew on or before March 31 but renew their registration within 30 days of that deadline.
- A registrant licensed in more than one profession regulated by the College will only pay a single annual renewal fee — whichever is the highest of the fees associated with their professions.
Can the college make registration fees the same for all the professions it regulates?
The outcome of the Fee Restructuring Project did not support a single registration fee for all professions. Fees for professions are now based on the actual cost of regulating each profession and their risk profile to the public. This means that annual registration fees will vary by profession depending on administrative requirements and risk to public safety based on the profession’s complaint history and regulatory complexity.
While the annual registration fees for professions are different, many of the fees established through the Fee Restructuring Project are now consistent across professions. These include:
- $380 for initial application for registration of any profession regulated by CHCPBC.
- $265 for reinstatement of registration for any profession regulated by CHCPBC.
- $350 late renewal fee for registrants who fail to renew on or before March 31 but renew their registration within 30 days of that deadline.
What specific improvements will I see from this increase?
These fees will ensure that the College can continue to regulate professions well and deliver on its mandate of public protection as defined in legislation. Additionally, these fees will also support several of the projects we shared with registrants last year, including:
- Process improvements to provide more efficient and timely services including licensing and complaints management;
- Continued practice support and resources for the public and registrants;
- Adequate staffing to support the College regulatory functions and workload;
- Technology improvements including an integrated registrant management software system (a single database for all registrants);
- Meeting our commitments to Indigenous cultural safety and humility, and Indigenous specific anti-racism; and,
- Planning for the implementation of the Health Professions and Occupations Act.
How does this compare to fees in other jurisdictions?
Fees for several other Canadian jurisdictions in Canada were reviewed as part of the Fee Restructuring project. The fees established in our new structure closely align with fees charged for professions in Alberta and/or Ontario.
It is important to note that there are no comparable multi-disciplinary regulators in Canada regulating the same group of professions.
Will there be further changes to fees in the future?
As we transition under the Health Professions and Occupations Act and get a better understanding of the cost to regulate with this legislative framework, there will likely be more fee increases in future years, though with this current restructuring of fees, we anticipate the changes will be less significant and more sustainable in the long term. Any future adjustments will be communicated to registrants well in advance of their effective dates.
Why do staff wages make up the majority of College expenses?
For the College, people are the primary resource; these staff deliver complex regulatory work, direct services, and operational functions essential to public safety and professional oversight. Consequently, employee compensation (which includes employee wages, extended and retirement benefits and a series of employer taxes such as CPP and EI contributions, Employers Health Tax and Workers Compensation) represents approximately three-fifths of the College’s costs, broadly similar to the proportion of costs spent on employee compensation by other health regulators in British Columbia.
How can I provide feedback about these changes?
We welcome your feedback and constructive suggestions. Please send any comments or concerns through CHCPBC’s Contact Form by selecting “Fees” in the “Subject of Enquiry” section.
