Optometrists

The College of Health and Care Professionals of BC Bylaws were recently amended to align renewal cycles for registration, certification, and health profession corporations to March 31, across all nine professions regulated by CHCPBC, by March 31, 2026. These amendments were approved by the Board following a period of public consultation that ended March 14, 2025.

Renewal process for 2025 and 2026

October 31, 2025 is the renewal deadline for optometrists.

Optometrists who choose to renew will do so for a truncated (or “stub”) year, for 4 months (December 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026) at a prorated fee of $463.33.

Following the completion of the stub year, optometrists will renew their registration by March 31, 2026 for a period of 12 months (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027). Going forward, optometrists will renew their registration by March 31 of each year for a period of 12 months (April 1 – March 31 of the following year).

Each year registrants must renew their registration to practice optometry in BC. As per the College bylaws, you must ensure that all requirements for registration and optometric corporation renewal are received by the Registrar, on or before October 31, 2025.

Before proceeding with your registration renewal, please ensure each section under “My Profile” in the Registrant Portal is reviewed and updated accordingly.

Registrants who wish to renew their registration but are unable to meet requirements for renewal by October 31, 2025, will be assessed a late registration fee and have until November 30, 2025 to complete their registration renewal.

Any registrant who has not successfully completed their registration renewal by November 30, 2025 ceases to be registered as of December 1, 2025. A registrant whose registration has ceased must not practice optometry in this jurisdiction until their registration is reinstated in accordance with the CHCPBC Bylaws.

If you are not renewing your registration

You must complete Steps 1 through 3 in the Registration Renewal Instructions below. You are also required to ensure that the applicable form(s) have been received for each place of practice, in accordance with Schedule 14 sub-paragraph 4.44 of the CHCPBC Bylaws (PDF) and Standards of Practice for Specific Patient Activities (PDF). Forms are available on the website under Places of Practice (Clinic) – Cease to Practice at a Place of Practice.

Failure to complete the online renewal or non-renewal process and submit the applicable forms by October 31, 2025, will result in late fees, as set out in Optometry Fee Schedule (PDF) of the CHCPBC Bylaws. If notification, applicable forms, and late fees have not been delivered to the Registrar by November 30, 2025 your registration will be cancelled.

Renew your registration online beginning October 1, 2025 by accessing your renewal form in the Registrant Portal. Renewal is a five-step process. It is important that you read each step and accurately complete the required fields.

Before you proceed, please note the following:

• Avoid renewing last minute, you may be subject to review.
• Have your log in information ready.
• Do not use Internet Explorer, as it is no longer supported by Microsoft. Please use Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.
• If you experience any log in difficulties, try clearing the browser history or switching to another browser or device.
• For online payment, Visa or MasterCard credit cards are accepted, debit cards are not.

Step 1 – Home page

Log in to the Registrant Portal. Once you have logged in to your profile, under “Home page” you will see the following options:

Option 1: Complete my renewal

“Full” –Therapeutic Qualified, Non-therapeutic Qualified and Limited registrants, click on the “Renew” button and you will be taken to the “Instructions” page.

“Non-Practising” – Non-practising registrants click on the “Renew” button and you will be taken to the “Instructions” page. Please note, in accordance with the CHCPBC Bylaws, registrants who have held non-practising registration for three or more consecutive years may not renew their registration online.

• To change your registration from “Therapeutic qualified” to “Non-practising” registration, click on “Renew” button under “Non-practising”. You will be able to proceed and submit your renewal form. However, before proceeding to payment, you must complete and notarize Form 8 (PDF), which must be received by CHCPBC on or before October 31, 2025.
• Reinstating from “Non-practising” to “Therapeutic qualified” registration: Please contact the College at registration@chcpbc.org to request the change as you will not be able to proceed with online registration renewal.

Option 2: Change my registration (Non-renewal)

“Inactive” – Should you wish not to renew your registration with the College, click on “Change”, and you will be taken to the “Instructions” page.

Step 2 – Profile

Since this step details the deadlines, fees, late fee, refund policy, and privacy policy, we urge you to read carefully before you proceed. When you are ready to proceed with profile update, click “Next”.

Step 3 – Update your registrant profile

Please ensure each section under “My Profile” is reviewed and updated accordingly. At any time during the year, you may update your profile information through “My Profile.” After completing profile update click “Next”, and you will be prompted to complete page two of the renewal form, “Declarations”.

Step 4 – Complete the renewal form

Declarations: Knowingly making a false declaration for the purpose of registration renewal is, in itself, unprofessional and may, upon investigation, be determined to be professional misconduct. To avoid the apprehension of professional misconduct, registrants should collect and maintain proper records supporting all declarations made in the course of registration renewal. In accordance with Schedule 14, sub-paragraph 4.42 in the CHCPBC Bylaws (PDF), those records must be retained for minimum of seven years. Registrants are reminded that they may be required to provide those records to the Registrar at any time.

Criminal Record Check: It is mandatory that you declare: (1) criminal records to the college on the annual renewal form, and (2) criminal records any time during the current registration year should a criminal record arise in which case you must provide a new authorization for a criminal record check. Criminal record checks are also required every five years.

Quality Assurance Program: Optometrists do not have to report their legacy quality assurance program (QAP) requirements (Quantified CE, PEP completion and practice assessments) to the College, effective July 1, 2025. In 2026, registrants will participate in transitional QAP activities. Details will be shared with you as soon as they are available.

CPR certification: Full registrants must ensure that they hold CPR certification that is no more than three years old when renewing their registration, as per the College Bylaws, as well as update their online profile by entering their CPR effective and expiry date.

Practise in other jurisdiction(s): If you are registered or licensed to practise optometry in any other jurisdiction, indicate which jurisdiction and confirm that you are in good standing in those jurisdictions.

Insurance requirement: As per the Bylaws, each full registrant or academic registrant must obtain and at all times maintain professional liability insurance with a limit of liability not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence insuring against liability arising from an error, omission or negligent act of the registrant.

Practice currency: Provide the most recent date when you provided optometric services.

Please note the following:

• You may save and return to complete the form at any time.
• When the form is completed click “Next”.
• If you select the wrong form, go to the very end of the form and select “Withdraw” to start over.

Once all requirements have been completed, click on the “Next” button. You will not be able to submit your registration if any of the information is missing. Once you submit your renewal form, you may expect one of the following:

• You will be taken immediately to the payment page, or
• Your renewal form will be forwarded to registration for review. Staff of the College may be in touch via email. Once the form is approved, you will receive an email that will take you to the payment page.

Step 5 – Payment(s)

The annual renewal fee payable to the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC is $1,390 for all registration classes. Optometrists who choose to renew will do so for a truncated (or “stub”) year, for 4 months (December 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026) at a prorated fee of $463.33. To pay your invoice, select the “Pay” button, you will be taken to the payment page. All receipts can be found on your home page.

Following the completion of the stub year renewal, optometrists will renew their registration by March 31, 2026 for a period of 12 months (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027). Optometrists will continue to renew their registration by March 31 of each year for a period of 12 months (April 1 – March 31 of the following year).

Step 1

Complete the Authorization to Prepare an Optometric Corporation (PDF) and apply to the College with your proposed name, which must end with “Optometric Corporation” — e.g., “Dr. John Doe, Optometric Corporation” or “John Doe O.D., Optometric Corporation.”

Step 2

Once the College approves the name, apply to the Registrar of Companies (via your lawyer) to register as a professional corporation.

Step 3 – Declarations

After you have successfully registered as a professional corporation with the Registrar of Companies, email copies of the following documents to the College at corporations@chcpbc.org:

• Form 15: BC Optometric Corporation Permit Application (PDF)
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Current Register of Directors of the Corporation
• Current Central Securities Register of Shareholders of the Corporation

Step 4

Upon receipt of the documents listed in Step 3 above, you will be assigned a temporary application number, and an invoice for the initial permit fee will be sent to you by email. Please make the payment electronically using your online College profile.

Once the above criteria are met, and the College verifies your payment, a BC optometric corporation permit will be issued to you, following which you are permitted to conduct business under the approved corporation name.

Forms

• Authorization to Prepare an Optometric Corporation (PDF)
• Form 15: BC Optometric Corporation Permit Application (PDF)

Optometric Corporation FAQ

1. How do I form an optometric corporation?
   Please refer to the steps set out in this page. Start by emailing the completed Authorization to Prepare an Optometric Corporation (PDF) to corporations@chcpbc.org. An approval letter with information on incorporation will be issued to you within 20 business days of receipt of your complete request
2. Can my optometric corporation name be anything of my choosing?
   No. The name of your optometric corporation must comply with section 6 of Schedule 27 of the Bylaws, which reads:
   6.1 The name of a Health Profession Corporation must end with the words “Optometric Corporation” and include:
   6.1.1 the Registrant’s surname and first name; or
   6.1.2 the Registrant’s surname and initials of the Registrant’s first and middle names.6.2 A Health Profession Corporation must not use a name that:
   6.2.1 is identical to that under which another Health Profession Corporation holds a valid HPC Permit issued under Part 1 of this Schedule;
   6.2.2 so closely resembles the name of another Health Profession Corporation which holds a valid HPC Permit issued under Part 1 of this Schedule that it is likely to confuse or mislead the public; or
   6.2.3 contravenes heading 3.0 of Schedule 14.
3. Can I provide optometric services once I obtain name approval?
   No. You are not permitted to provide optometric services under the approved corporation name until a BC Optometric Corporation permit is issued to you by the College
4. When is my optometric corporation permit issued?
   If your incorporation documents are deemed acceptable and meet all the terms and conditions set out in the Health Profession Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183 and Bylaws, a BC optometric corporation permit will be issued to you.

Resources

• Optometric Corporation Articles (PDF)

Please note that the articles do not have any provision for different classes of shares or rights and restrictions for the shares. These will normally be determined by you together with advice from your accountant and lawyer. These articles will be sufficient if you have only one class of common shares with no special rights and restrictions. Paragraphs 3.6, 3.7 and 13.4 in the attached proforma Articles of Association must be included in your Articles. Unless your Articles have these clauses or ones similar to them, your corporation documents will not be approved as an optometric corporation. Please review these sections closely and if you have any questions, please look at Sections 40 to 50 of the Health Profession Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183.

The College of Health and Care Professionals of BC Bylaws have been amended to align renewal cycles for registration, certification, and health profession corporations to March 31, across all nine professions regulated by CHCPBC, by March 31, 2026. These amendments were approved by the College Board following a period of public consultation that ended March 14, 2025.

Renewal process for 2025 and 2026

October 31, 2025 is the next renewal deadline for optometric corporation (OC) permits.

Optometrists who choose to renew their OC permits will do so for a truncated (or “stub”) year, for 4 months (December 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026) at a prorated fee of $66.66.

Following the completion of the stub year, optometrists who hold OC permits will renew their OC permits by March 31, 2026 for a period of 12 months (April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027). Going forward, optometrists who hold OC permits will renew their permits by March 31 of each year for a period of 12 months (April 1 – March 31 of the following year).

Each year, registrants who hold OC permits must renew their permits to practice optometry through an optometric corporation in BC. As per the College bylaws, you must ensure that all requirements including payments for OC renewal are received by the Registrar, on or before October 31, 2025.

Renew your OC permits online beginning October 1, 2025 by accessing your renewal form in the Registrant Portal. Once you log in click on “Renew” button next to “Corporation Registration”.

Step 1 – Instruction/Optometric Corporation

Permit Renewal Details

Since this step details the fees, penalties, refund policy, and privacy policy, we urge you to read carefully before you proceed.

Step 2 – Profile

If any item needs to be changed in your profile that requires contacting the College, you will still be able to successfully submit your optometric corporation permit renewal online.

Step 3 – Declarations

Complete the Statutory Declarations. Please note that in order to proceed to the next step, all of the declarations must be completed.

Step 4 – Payments

The Optometric Corporation Permit prorated renewal fee of $66.66 is payable to the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC.

If you are not renewing your Optometric Corporation Permit

If you are not renewing your optometric corporation permit for 2026, you must provide written notification to the Registrar, no later than November 30, 2025. Please note that an optometric corporation whose permit is not renewed on or before November 30, 2025, will cease to be an optometric corporation as of December 1, 2025 and a new permit must be applied for under Schedule 27: Health Profession Corporations: Optometry and Physical Therapy (PDF) of the CHCPBC Bylaws.

For reinstatement procedure, please contact the College at registration@chcpbc.org.

• Form 12 Reinstatement Application (PDF)