Your fees contribute directly to the effective regulation of pharmacy in the public interest

The annual fee to renew an individual certificate of registration for 2024 is $872.45 (+HST) for Part A pharmacists and $436.25 (+HST) for Part B pharmacists. The annual fee to renew an individual certificate of registration for pharmacy technicians for 2024 is $581.65 (+HST). Please see the complete 2024 fee schedule for full details.

Revenue from annual fees is necessary for the College to meet our legislated obligations and regulate the profession in the public interest. College by-laws approved by the Board of Directors in 2020 set an annual increase in fees to be tied to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index (Ontario all items) as of September 30th of each year. The intention is to reduce the need for large increases in fees in any single year by keeping up with inflation, which impacts everyone and contributes to higher costs for all organizations, including the College.

The Consumer Price Index as of September 30, 2023, was 3.6%. Therefore, annual fees for 2024 will increase by 3.6%

As the work of the College is set out in legislation, your fees are essential to our duty to regulate the profession in the public interest. Like all self-regulated healthcare professionals in Ontario, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must be registered with their licensing body to practice. This means that as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician, you must register (and renew) with the Ontario College of Pharmacists, and pay the required fee, to legally practice in the province.

Your fees contribute directly to the effective regulation of pharmacy in the public interest.

The College is required to do several important things to fulfill our mandate, including meeting the “objects” spelled out in the Regulated Health Professions Act, which applies to all health professional regulators in Ontario. Our role is to ensure those who are registered to practice in Ontario are qualified and competent and are providing care that meets expected practice and ethical standards so that the public can be assured that the services they receive from their pharmacy professional are safe, ethical and focused on their interests.

The College uses annual fees to deliver on this mandate and Board-defined priorities. In other words, your fees fund the College’s activities and the regulatory programs we deliver. For example, we:

Manage registration and quality assurance programs. 

We do this by:

• Registering qualified and competent professionals to practice in Ontario, assuring the public that they can expect quality, safe and ethical care from their pharmacy professionals. This includes processing first-time registration applications and related activities, the annual renewal of certificates of registration and administration of the Registration Committee.
• Overseeing the quality and safety of the practice of Ontario’s approximately 25,000 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes conducting coaching-focused practice assessments and supporting practice improvement and competence, developing policies, providing guidance, establishing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy and administration of the Quality Assurance Committee.
• Overseeing the quality and safety of Ontario’s 4,800+ community and 230+ hospital pharmacies. This includes conducting operational assessments, applications and renewals and administration of the Accreditation and Drug Preparation Premises Committees.

Promote quality and safe pharmacy practice.

We do this by:

• Ensuring standards and policies are continually reviewed and updated to ensure that they remain relevant and reflect current practice and the evolving needs of Ontario’s health system.
• Supporting the well-being of pharmacy professionals through its voluntary Ontario Pharmacy Health Program which encourages and supports registrants to seek treatment for substance use or other mental health disorders that may affect their ability to practice safely.
• Updating and making regulations to ensure the ongoing safety of the public as pharmacy professionals expand their scopes of practice.
• Providing relevant and timely guidance, information and other resources to promote safe, quality pharmacy practice.

Respond to concerns about registrant conduct.

We do this by:

• Investigating complaints and concerns about the practice or conduct of pharmacy professionals. This includes responding to complaints and reports, conducting thorough and impartial investigations, promoting remediation and practice improvement and the administration of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee.
• Holding professionals accountable for conduct that falls below expectations of the profession. This includes legal and other costs associated with preparing for, conducting and concluding proceedings of the Discipline Committee and Fitness to Practise Committee.

Ensure we have the resources and infrastructure necessary to fulfill our mandate effectively and efficiently.

We do this by:

• Establishing and maintaining the technology, facility and information infrastructure to carry out our regulatory duties. This includes equipping and maintaining technology that supports a remote workforce and having systems that safely manage and secure our data.
• Ensuring that we are accountable and responsible stewards of our budget and the fees we collect in the administration of our mandate.
• Implementing good governance practices and supporting the administration of Board and Committee activities across the College.

Registrants may pay their annual fees when it is time to renew their certificates of registration, usually starting in mid-January of each year through to mid-March. Please watch for specific details and deadlines communicated before and during each annual renewal period.

Registrants can pay their fees in several ways, including online through the secure registrant portal available on OCP’s website. Specific payment options will be confirmed by OCP before and during each renewal period.