Renewal

Registered Opticians and Inactive Opticians are required to renew their certificate of registration on or before January 15 on an annual basis.

The College sends an email to all registrants on October 31 letting them know that the renewal portal is now open.

The effect of not renewing your certificate of registration has changed. Here's what you need to know.

A new Registration Regulation came into effect on July 1, 2024 that has a significant impact on opticians who do not renew their certificate of registration on an annual basis. 

Under the previous regulation, opticians who did not renew could remain “administratively suspended” indefinitely. If and when they wished to return to practice, they could apply for reinstatement. Opticians who were suspended for more than 3 years would have their application reviewed by the Registration Committee and would typically be required to undergo a competency assessment and/or complete bridging activities.

Under the new regulation, opticians who do not renew their certificate face the following possible consequences:

• Automatic Revocation after 3 years of Inactivity: Under the new regulation, opticians who do not renew will be automatically revoked if they do not reinstate their certificate within 3 years from the date of suspension. “Revoked” means they will no longer hold a certificate of registration and will not be eligible for reinstatement. Revoked opticians who wish to resume practice will need to reapply to the College and meet the registration requirements in place at that time. 
• Challenges in meeting ongoing currency requirements: Beginning in 2025, all Registered Opticians will need to demonstrate that they are maintaining ongoing currency. “Currency” means a certain amount of recent practice experience that establishes that the optician’s knowledge and skills are up to date. For opticians to be considered current, they must declare at least 500 practice hours over a rolling 3-year period. The ongoing currency requirement is not paused during periods of administrative suspension. This means that once a suspended optician reinstates their certificate, they will still need to demonstrate at least 500 practice hours over the previous 3-year period in order to be eligible to retain their RO status. As a reminder, suspended opticians are not permitted to dispense in Ontario, even under the supervision or delegation of another authorized dispenser.  By contrast, when an optician changes their status to the Inactive class, the currency requirement is paused. This means that when an Inactive optician changes their status back to Registered Optician, they will have three years to reestablish currency. 
• Higher financial impact to maintain a non-practising status: Opticians who do not renew their certificate of registration will be automatically revoked after 3 years if they do not reinstate their license. To avoid revocation, opticians may reinstate their certificate of registration before the 3-year mark. However, opticians are only eligible to reinstate into the same class that they were in when they were suspended. This means that a registrant who held a certificate of registration as a Registered Optician when they were suspended is only eligible to reinstate as a Registered Optician, and must pay the full Registered Optician fee. By contrast, a Registered Optician who changes their status to the Inactive class can maintain that status indefinitely and continue paying the reduced registration fee. 

Opticians who plan to return to practise in the future should consider joining the Inactive Class

A new Inactive registration class is now available for opticians who are not currently practising. Non-practising opticians should consider joining the Inactive class for the following reasons:

• Opticians can hold Inactive status indefinitely: Non-practising opticians may remain in the Inactive class as long as they wish. When an Inactive Optician is ready to resume practise, they can submit Class Change request to the Registered Optician class, and follow the steps set out in the Reinstatement and Changing from Inactive to Active Practice Policy to demonstrate that they are practise-ready. This may include completing a refresher program or competency assessment.
• No need to maintain ongoing currency while inactive: Opticians’ ongoing currency requirements are paused while they are in the Inactive class. This means that when an Inactive optician returns to the Registered Optician class, they will have three years to demonstrate at least 500 practice hours. 
• Avoid automatic revocation: Inactive Opticians who renew their Inactive certificate annually will avoid automatic revocation, which occurs after an optician has been administratively suspended for a period of 3 years. For more information about the Inactive Class, visit our website here. 

Submitting request for class change

Opticians who wish to transfer between the Registered Optician class and the Inactive Optician class must submit a request for class change before renewing their certificate of registration.

Important: Requests for a class change during the renewal period must be made by no later than January 5. Any requests received between January 6 and January 15 will be processed AFTER the renewal deadline of January 15.

To submit your request for class change, please log in to your registration portal, access the renewal portal by selecting ‘Renew your Registration’ on the right side of the screen, select that you wish to change your class of registration, and complete the class change request form.

Please note that class change is not an immediate process and may require up to 10 business days for the College to process your application. Once your application for class change is approved, we will notify you when you may log into the portal and renew in your new class of registration.

Renewing Your Certificate using the Registrant Portal

Please ensure you have the items listed below ready when you begin the renewal process:

Passport-sized photo

If your photo needs to be updated, you will see a message on the main page of your registrant portal prompting you to upload a new photo. 

To meet our requirements, please use a passport photo that:

• was taken within the last 6 months
• is high quality (i.e., is clear, sharp, and in focus)  
• has no shadow, glare or flash reflections
• is taken against a plain white background
• shows your face and shoulders centred and squared to the camera, not tilted in any direction

To watch an instructional video on how to upload a photo, please click here. If you prefer to submit a hard-copy photo, it must contain your signature on the back.

Employment Eligibility

If your employment eligibility status has changed or expired, you must update your information with the College and provide current and valid documentation. Please review the employment eligibility requirements for the list of acceptable documents.

Education

If applicable, please provide details of any new post-secondary education completed in 2024 and upload a copy of your diploma.

Professional Licenses

Please report if you are or were licensed or registered to practise a profession other than opticianry in Ontario or any other province, state, or country.  

You must also report if you are or were licensed or registered as an optician outside of Ontario and provide your registration details. Do not include your registration with the College of Opticians of Ontario. 

Insurance

You are required to provide a copy of your Professional Liability Insurance certificate to the College as part of your renewal. Please have an electronic copy/image of your insurance certificate available for upload prior to beginning the process.

If you are covered by an INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL insurance plan, please ensure that you upload a valid insurance certificate that includes your name, the name of the insurer, the policy and/or certificate number, policy amount and expiry date. 

If you are covered by a GROUP/BUSINESS insurance plan, please ensure that you upload a valid insurance certificate that includes the name of the insurer, the policy and/or certificate number, policy amount and expiry date. The certificate does not need to include your name, however the College reserves the right to request additional evidence at any time, such as an insurance certificate that includes your name and/or a letter from your employer.

Please note: you must provide proof of insurance coverage for 2025. Insurance certificates that expire on or before December 31, 2024 will not be accepted.   

If you wish to renew your Certificate of Registration but do not have Professional Liability Insurance at the moment, you may sign an undertaking not to practise until proof of your Professional Liability Insurance is submitted to the College. Your status on the public register will be displayed as “Not entitled to practise”.  

Please bear in mind that that this is a short-term option intended for opticians who are temporarily unemployed or in the process of changing jobs and do not have insurance coverage. If you do not intend to practise for an extended period of time, consider joining the Inactive Class of registration instead.

New: Currency of Practice Requirement

Effective July 1, 2024, Registered Opticians must demonstrate, on an ongoing basis, that their skills and knowledge are “current”, e.g. up to date, based on recent practice experience. You will be required to declare your practice hours every year at annual renewal. Those who have engaged in at least 500 practice hours within the previous three-year period will be considered current. 

During this renewal cycle, Registered Opticians will be asked to declare their practice hours for 2024 for the purposes of the new ongoing currency requirement for information gathering only. The actual requirement to demonstrate currency hours will only start to be counted in 2025 onward.

Detailed information about the currency requirements may be found here.

New: Renewal for Contact Lens Mentors has moved online

Renewal of your contact lens mentor status has now moved online. If your Contact Lens Mentor status expires between October 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025, you will be prompted with an option to renew it as part of the annual renewal process. Your renewed mentor status will be valid until December 31, 2027. 

Renewal Deadline

The College is mandated to send suspension notices to all registrants who have not renewed by January 15.

To avoid late fees, to confirm there are no outstanding requirements, and to ensure you are eligible to practice for the upcoming year, please renew prior to January 15. 

Renewal Outcomes

To complete the renewal process, you must provide all of the information requested and upload the required documents, including proof of insurance and a photograph, where requested. Once you submit your renewal, you will receive an email from the College either approving your renewal or notifying you of any outstanding requirements. Please review this email to ensure you have met all the renewal requirements and there are no outstanding requirements pending.

If any documents or information are not included with your renewal, your renewal will be considered incomplete and will be put on hold until the information/documents are received. It is your responsibility to ensure that any outstanding information/documents are uploaded to the portal before the January 15 deadline.

Opticians whose renewal is still incomplete after the January 15 deadline will receive a notice that their registration will be administratively suspended on February 18, 2025. 

Tax Receipt

Once you have completed your renewal, please allow up to 48 hours for your tax receipt to become available. To access your receipt, please login to the Registrant Portal, click the Documents tab, and select the year in which you made your payment.

Renewal Assistance

If you require any assistance with your renewal, please contact the Registration Team.

Phone: (416) 368-3616 ext. 200
Email: registration@collegeofopticians.ca