Recognized Accounting Bodies

How to apply

Please read the following instructions carefully before you begin your online application:

• Gather all documents listed in the "Required Documents" section before starting your application.
• All documents can be uploaded into the online application form except when originals are required.
• In addition, you should gather information regarding your membership with your accounting body, including Membership ID, date of admission, and date of exam completions, as well as any other information that should be considered by the Registrar when assessing your application.

Please note: If you have previously registered with a provincial body/territory, or Bermuda (PTB), please contact our team to be provided with information on how to apply using your previous ID number.

First-time users will first need to create a basic profile by providing your name, email address and phone number. You will also be asked to create a password.

In the "Tell Us More About Yourself" section, you will need to select your answers from drop down menus. Candidates applying for admission under a Mutual Recognition Agreement will need to answer the questions below as follows:

• I want to…Use my designation from another accounting body to register to become a CPA Ontario member
• I am a… Member in an accounting body outside of Canada not previously registered with CPA Ontario
• I would like to… Apply directly to membership through a Mutual Recognition Agreement between my international accounting body and CPA Ontario

To begin, complete the online application to become a CPA Ontario member.

After applying

Once you have submitted your application and online payment through My Portal, you will receive an email confirmation. Applications are not considered complete until payment is received. You can check the status of your application my logging in to My Portal. Additional information may be requested so please check your email regularly.

It is your responsibility to ensure the application is complete and accurate and is received by the Registrar. If you have any questions about the process, please contact us.

For more information on how to access your records, please see our Access to Records Policy.

Eligibility

CPA Ontario is responsible for promoting and protecting the public interest by ensuring our members meet the highest standards of integrity and expertise. This includes regulating the practice and professional conduct of individuals as CPAs providing services to clients in Ontario. Applicants to CPA Ontario should be either residing in, moving to or in the process of immigrating to Ontario.

In order to qualify for admission to membership, you must:

• be a member in good standing with a recognized accounting body and did not obtain that membership by virtue of a mutual recognition agreement
• make an application in the appropriate form for membership and pay the prescribed fees and dues
• provide evidence of good character satisfactory to the Registrar by answering declarations contained in the online application
• not be an undischarged bankrupt
• have provided all information and produced all documents requested by CPA Ontario
• not have been registered with CPA Ontario, a regional body, or a provincial body as a student in the five years prior to, or at the time of, writing any part of the normal qualifying examinations

In addition to the above, if you wrote one or more parts of the normal qualifying examinations of the reciprocal membership body while you were a resident of Canada, you must have obtained either:

• a university degree as a result of having attended the institution in person for classroom instruction on a full-time basis
• at least one year of full-time practical experience in accounting in the country of the Recognized Accounting Body

If you are a member in good standing of a reciprocal membership body but you do not meet the eligibility criteria set out in Regulation 7-1, you may be eligible to complete the CPA Certification Program via the Member of Accounting Body Outside Canada pathway.

CPA Reciprocity Professional Development Course

In order to maintain your membership with CPA Ontario, you will be required to successfully complete the CPA Reciprocity Professional Development Course (CPARPD) by the second anniversary of your date of admission to membership. CPARPD consists of approximately 20 hours of online study in Canadian tax, law and rules of professional conduct in a modular form. The Registrar may grant an exemption from this requirement only if the applicant has successfully completed the CPA Reciprocity Examination within two years of having obtained membership in CPA Ontario.

Required documents

The following documents are required for your application to be considered complete. All documents must be provided in English. If necessary, it is your responsibility to have documents officially translated.

Proof of I.D.

If the name on your document is different than your legal name document, you must also provide a proof of legal name change document or a marriage certificate.

• Proof of identity (please provide a copy of one):
  • birth certificate or equivalent government-issued documentation
  • passport
  • both sides of a Canadian citizenship certificate card
  • both sides of a Permanent Resident card, or landed immigrant papers
  • Canadian driver’s license
  • Nexus identification card

Residency documents

The following documents are required for proof of residency:

• memorandum prepared on a supplementary sheet outlining, in sufficient detail, your residency pattern at the time of writing the normal qualifying examination(s) - the memorandum must also provide clarification as to whether you maintained a home or mailing address in Canada at the time of writing the normal qualifying examination(s)
• documentation showing the date you first landed in Canada or memorandum stating that you have not yet landed in Canada
• documentation showing the year you first filed a Canadian Income Tax Return (if applicable)
• copy of Canadian Customs and Immigration Landing Documents (if applicable)
• copy of Canadian visas held (if applicable)
• copy of passport page(s) containing immigration stamp(s) to support Canadian entry/exit dates and/or residency pattern at the time of writing the normal qualifying examination(s)

Please compile these documents into one PDF attachment and upload into the application.

Letter of Good Standing (LGS) and transcripts

• Provide an original letter of good standing and transcripts from the accounting body. These documents must be sent to CPA Ontario directly through mail or via email from the accounting body. CPA Ontario cannot accept emailed letters of good standing and transcripts from the applicant directly; they must be received from the accounting body. Physical document(s) mailed by the applicant will be accepted if unopened.
• You are solely responsible for contacting the accounting body and requesting this information be provided directly to CPA Ontario.
• Transcript information should include exams taken, dates of completion and results.
• You can still apply before your accounting body sends the letter to CPA Ontario. However, your application will not be considered complete until this confirmation is received.

LGS from all other accounting bodies (if applicable)

• Original letter(s) of good standing from all other professional accounting bodies in which you hold membership.

Detailed chronological resume

• Detailed chronological resume listing all work experience and education history.

Two referee recommendation forms

• Please download the Referee Recommendation Form, ask your two referees to complete the form, and upload into the application.
• Your references do not need to send these forms directly to CPA Ontario but they should be made aware that CPA Ontario may contact them.
• Reference forms must be completed on your behalf by individuals who are members of a provincial body/territory or Bermuda (PTB).

Practical Experience Certificate Form for Internationally Trained Accountants

• Please download the Practical Experience Certificate Form, ask each of your relevant (current or former) employers to complete the form, and upload into the application.
• If you have more than one form, please compile them into one PDF attachment and upload into the application.
• Your employers do not need to send these forms directly to CPA Ontario but they should be made aware that CPA Ontario may contact them.

Alternative documentation

In extraordinary circumstances where required documents are not obtainable for reasons beyond their control, applicants can take steps to explore acceptable alternative documentation. Requests to consider alternative documents are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please see CPA Ontario’s policy on this matter for details.

Parallel Processing

You can submit your documentation in any order and complete your application if you have not yet gathered all of your documents at the same time. Third-party documents, such as letters of good standing can be sent after your application has been submitted.

Appeal rights

An applicant who is refused admission with CPA Ontario for a reason other than good character or credibility, or whose admission is made subject to terms and conditions, may appeal the decision to the Admission and Registration Committee. The parties to an appeal are the applicant and the Registrar. The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with Regulation 6-1: Admission and Registration Committee. The decision of the committee is final.

In circumstances where an applicant does not provide evidence of good character or a credibility assessment is required, the Registrar shall refer the matter to an oral hearing before the Admission and Registration Committee. The parties to the hearing are the applicant and the Registrar. An applicant may appeal an order of the Admission and Registration Committee to the Appeal Committee. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.