Retiring or Resigning Your Registration

Retiring

Opticians who are retiring from the profession must make a decision about whether they wish to maintain registration with the College. Please carefully review the options below:

• Take no action: Some opticians who are retiring simply stop renewing their certificate of registration. When this happens, the optician’s status on the register will be changed to “administrative suspension”. Then, three years after the date of suspension, the College is required to automatically revoke the certificate of registration, and the optician’s status on the register will be updated to “revoked”. Once a certificate is revoked, it cannot be reinstated. Should the optician wish to return to practice they would need to re-apply to the College and meet the registration requirements in place at the time. This option is suitable for opticians who do not intend to return to practise in the future. 
• Resign from the College: Opticians who do not intend to return to practice in the future can also opt to formally resign from the College. The difference between taking no action and formally resigning is that the optician’s status on the register will be permanently updated to “Resigned” (instead of “Revoked). If the optician chooses, the College can display “Resigned – Retired”. Importantly, once an optician resigns, their certificate cannot be reinstated. Should the optician wish to return to practice they would need to re-apply to the College and meet the registration requirements in place at the time. This option is suitable for opticians who do not intend to return to practise in the future.

For more information on how to resign, see the Resigning a Certificate of Registration section, below. 

• Change to the Inactive Class: Some retiring opticians may wish to preserve the option of returning to practice at some point in the future. If this is the case, opticians may wish to change to the Inactive class of registration. Opticians who hold an Inactive certificate of registration pay a reduced (1/3) annual fee and must renew their inactive certificate each year. Opticians can remain inactive as long as they wish, and may request that the College display their status as “Inactive – Retired”. Should an inactive optician wish to return to practise, they may apply to change their status back to Registered Optician. Opticians may be required to complete a refresher program prior to resuming practise. 

Detailed information about the Inactive Class including how to join is available on our website here.
 

Resigning a Certificate of Registration

If you do not intend to practise opticianry in Ontario, you may opt to resign your registration with the College. If you wish to resume practice in Ontario after you resign, you must apply for a new certificate of registration, pay all applicable fees, and meet all registration requirements at the time of your application.

If you wish to resign your certificate of registration during the registration year, please complete the Resignation Form and indicate the reason(s) for resignation. 

If resigning during the renewal season, please submit a notice of resignation through the online renewal portal and indicate the reason(s) for resignation.

You will be required to pay all outstanding fees, penalties, or other amounts owed to the College when resigning.

For more information, please refer to the Retiring or Resigning policy.