Registered Opticians

Important update for opticians suspended for over 3 years

As a result of recent changes to the College’s Registration Regulation, all opticians who have been administratively suspended for 3 years or more will be automatically revoked on July 1, 2025. This includes opticians who have previously advised the College that they have retired.

If you plan to return to practice in the future, or if you are unsure but want to keep your options open, you can select one of the following options:

• Join the new Inactive Class to maintain a non-practising status with the College: If you wish to maintain a non-practising status with the College beyond July 1, 2025, you may consider joining the new Inactive Class intended for non-practising opticians. 
  
  As an Inactive Optician, you renew your inactive status every year and pay a reduced (1/3) annual fee. You can remain in the Inactive Class as long as you wish. If you decide to return to practice, you may need to complete a refresher program before resuming practice, depending on how long you have been out of practice.  For more information see the Reinstatement and Changing from Inactive to Active Practice policy.
  
  To apply to join the Inactive Class, please complete the request form here.
   
• Apply to reinstate your certificate of registration as a Registered Optician: If you wish to reinstate to full practising status with the College, you may apply to do so up until July 1, 2025. To reinstate as Registered Optician, you will be required to undergo a Competency Gap Analysis (CGA) to assess currency of your knowledge and skills, pay the applicable fees, including the annual registration fee, and provide proof of professional liability insurance.

To apply to reinstate your certificate of registration, please complete the Reinstatement Form and email it to the College at registration@collegeofopticians.ca.  

If you do not plan to return to practice in the future, you can select one of the following options:

• Resign your certificate of registration: Resigning will end your registration with the College. To return to practise, you would be required to reapply to the College as a new optician and meet the registration requirements in place at that time. The public register will display your registration status as “resigned”. If you resign your registration due to retirement, you will also have the option to also display “retired” as the reason for your resignation.
  
  To resign your certificate of registration, please submit the online Resignation Form.
   
• Take no action: If you decide to take no action, your certificate of registration will be revoked on July 1, 2025.

Opticians practising in another Canadian province 

If you are currently practising opticianry in another Canadian province, you can choose to maintain an Inactive registration in Ontario by joining the new Inactive Class. If you decide to return to Ontario in the future you will be eligible to transfer back to the Registered Optician class and practice under the same registration number as before.

If you take no action or voluntarily resign your Ontario registration, after July 1, 2025 you will no longer be registered in Ontario. However, should you wish to return to Ontario in the future, you will be eligible to apply as a Labour Mobility Applicant as long as you are a registrant in good standing with another Canadian opticianry regulator. Upon registration, you will be issued a new registration number.

For more information see the Labour Mobility Policy. 

If you have any questions regarding the above changes or require assistance, please contact the Registration Team at certificate@collegeofopticians.ca or by phone at (416) 368-3616, ext. 200.

Registrant Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of every registrant of the College to be familiar with the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, the Opticianry Act, 1991, Regulations, Bylaws, and Standards of Practice  that govern the profession of Opticianry. The College relies on these publications to govern every individual using the controlled title “Optician”.

As a Registered Optician, you have the following responsibilities:

1. You may perform the controlled act of dispensing prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses and sub-normal vision devices, provided the following conditions are met:

• You are registered with the College and are entitled to practice.
• You have professional liability insurance, either personal or through your employer (if your employer provides your liability insurance, you must have professional liability insurance for every company with which you are employed), in the amount of no less than $1,000,000, and provide a copy of the certificate along with a completed Insurance or Undertaking Form to the College.

2. Your identification badge must be worn while practicing Opticianry.  If you lose your badge, please complete and submit the Document Request Form.

3. If there are changes to your personal information, you must update the College within 30 days of the change.