Regular permit to practice
Consult the steps required to obtain a regular permit to practice.
You must hold a Doctor of Medicine degree that was issued in Quebec, Canada or the United States:
- by a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME);
OR
- by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) – Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree, leading to a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree.
You must have completed:
- a postgraduate training program in family medicine (24 months) or in one of the 59 other specialties (48 to 96 months) in Quebec and meet all the requirements;
OR
- a postgraduate training program in Canada that is accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) or the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) and meet all the requirements;
OR
- a postgraduate training program in the United States that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and meet all the requirements.
You will be granted full equivalence of training if you have passed the Royal College or CFPC certification examinations in a specialty that is recognized in Quebec. You may go on to Step 4 to continue.
If you completed your postgraduate training program to the satisfaction of the faculty of medicine and the Collège, you must pass the certification examinations of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). For the other specialties, you must pass the examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College).
If you passed a Royal College subspecialty examination, you must also pass the basic specialty (primary specialty) examination to be certified by the Collège des médecins du Québec.
LMCC – Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada
You must provide proof of your status as a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC).
This requirement does not apply to residents registered in Quebec, before July 1, 2009, in a postgraduate university program other than family medicine.
Please note
Candidates are exempt from providing proof of their status as a LMCC if they:
- hold a Doctor of Medicine degree from a faculty of medicine located outside Quebec and accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME);
- have completed postgraduate training in a postgraduate university program that is accredited in medicine by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME);
- have passed all three components of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
Section 23 of the Regulation.
ALDO-Quebec educational activity
You must have participated in the ALDO-Quebec educational activity on the legal, ethical and organizational aspects of medical practice in Quebec.
French language proficiency
You must provide proof of French language proficiency (this link provides information about the examination, French courses and exemption criteria) or pass the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) examination.
In addition, under section 37 of the Charter of the French language, a professional order may issue a temporary permit that is valid for one year to people from outside Quebec (M.D. from outside Quebec) who meet the requirements for the issuance of a regular permit to practice, but who do not have a working knowledge of French. This type of permit can be renewed subject to certain conditions.
Please note
As of the end of 1980, as stipulated in section 39 of the Charter, a temporary permit may not be issued to Quebec graduates.
Conditions for renewal of a temporary permit:
A temporary permit (s. 37 of the Charter) may be renewed three times with the OQLF’s authorization. Applicants may not apply for renewal unless they have taken the OQLF examination before their permit expires. In addition, the OQLF will give its authorization only if it considers it warranted by the public interest (letter of support from an employer in Quebec).
Once you have passed the French examination, you may apply to have the temporary permit converted to a regular permit by completing the online form Application to convert a temporary permit through the Collège’s transactional site and paying the required fee: please see the Fee schedule.
To submit an application for a regular permit to practice, from your personal account on the MCC’s physiciansapply.ca site, please select:
- Application for medical registration
- QC Collège des médecins du Québec
- Regular permit – Ready to practice
To find out the application fees, please see the physicansapply.ca services section on the Fee schedule.
Please complete your application at least one month before the scheduled practice start date.
If you wish to receive your permit between June 1 and August 31, you must submit your application no later than May 1.For information, write to: demandepermis@cmq.org.
- Acknowledgment of receipt of the application: 24 to 48 hours
- Issuance of the permit within 24 to 48 hours when the file is complete (all the required conditions are met)
Once you have received your permit to practice and your specialist's certificate (if applicable), you must take out professional liability insurance (in French only) and complete your first registration on the Roll of the Order. To do so, you must complete the online form First registration on the Roll of the Order on the Collège's secure site.
The Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) will be informed that you have registered on the Roll of the Order and your practice start date will be the date that you registered on the Roll.
To contact the Roll of the Order, write to: tableau@cmq.org.
RAMQ
Please allow 7 to 10 business days for processing and receipt of documents by mail from the RAMQ.
For information regarding opening your file with the RAMQ and the steps to take for obtaining your compensation, please refer to the page relevant to your situation.