Key updates

Important notice for applicants for registration, including 2026 graduating residents

If you plan to apply for a licence to practise independently in BC during the spring and summer of 2026, please note the following timelines are in place due to the high volume of applications expected from graduating residents.

If you are a resident graduating from UBC:

  • Please apply on or after April 1, 2026.
  • You will receive information regarding the registration process directly from UBC and CPSBC in early spring.
  • If you are not planning to practise in a hospital setting, you should plan to commence practice on or after July 1, 2026.
  • If you are planning to practise in a hospital setting, due to the availability of the documents required by your health authority for credentialing and privileging, you should plan to commence practice on or after July 6, 2026.

If you are a resident graduating from a university within Canada, other than UBC:

  • Please apply on or after April 1, 2026.
  • Information regarding the registration process can be found here.
  • If you are not planning to practise in a hospital setting, you should plan to commence practice on or after July 1, 2026. Note: July 1, 2026 cannot be guaranteed as CPSBC does not have access to the same information for non-UBC graduating residents as it does for UBC graduating residents.
  • If you are planning to practise in a hospital setting, due to the availability of the documents required by your health authority for credentialing and privileging, you should plan to commence practice on or after July 6, 2026.

If you are graduating from a subspecialty program or a third-year family medicine added competency program (such as emergency medicine):

  • Graduating residents are physicians who will complete their first Canadian residency program in 2026 and who have not yet passed a certification examination. If you passed CCFP examinations in 2025 or you already hold primary specialty RCPSC certification, you are not considered a graduating resident. Please refer to the section below for instructions.
  • You cannot be recognized by CPSBC for your subspecialty or CFPC added competency until evidence of that certification is provided.
  • For Canadian internal medicine residents: As you sit the RCPSC examination at the end of the third year of training but are not awarded certification until the end of the fourth year (or first year of subspecialty program if pursuing this), if you sat the 2025 RCPSC examination, you are considered a 2026 graduating resident. If you will be sitting the 2026 RCPSC examination, you are considered a 2027 graduating resident and you will not be eligible for independent practice until your certification effective date in 2027, even if you are beginning subspecialty training in July 2026.

If you are an applicant that is not a resident graduating from UBC or within Canada:

  • If you require a licence for independent practice with an effective date between July 1 and August 15, 2026, you should submit your completed application prior to April 1, 2026, ideally by March 1, 2026.