Required Registration Documents for Students

Proof of legal name

Accepted documents for proof of identity and legal name are:

• birth certificate
• passport
• both sides of a Canadian citizenship certificate or card
• both sides of a permanent resident card
• landing immigration papers
• Canadian driver’s licence
• Nexus identification card

Proof of legal name change

You are required to provide an official document that supports any change of legal name. The document can be a marriage certificate or legal name change endorsed, signed and dated with “this is a certified true copy”.

If you have already registered with CPA Ontario under a different name and want to have it changed, you can log in to My Portal, select Obligations and Requests ► Student Requests ► Legal Name Change and complete the form.

Official transcript requirements – Educated in Canada or outside of Canada

You are required to provide one of the following official documents as part of your transcript assessment:

• official transcript(s) showing course information and degree conferral for all courses and/or degree programs completed in Canada
• a course-by-course credential evaluation carried out by World Education Services Canada (WES) through their International Credential Advantage Package(ICAP) for all courses and/or degree programs completed outside Canada

All documents must be sent directly to CPA Ontario from the institution’s Registrar’s Office, an approved education credential platform or from WES.

Exemption reasons

Students can be exempt from providing official documentation if they fall into one of the following categories:

• The student is enrolled in their final semester at a Canadian post-secondary institution. You are required to submit an unofficial transcript(s) if this applies to you.
• The student has completed all the academic requirements but has not conferred their degree. You are required to submit an unofficial transcript(s) and Letter of Good Standing if this applies to you.

All exempt students must provide an official transcript(s) showing degree conferral within four months from their Professional Education program (PEP) or preparatory course commencement date.

Read Appendix E to Regulation 9-1 for information on transcript assessment policy.

Unofficial transcript(s) – Educated in Canada

If you are enrolled in your final semester at a Canadian post-secondary institution, you can provide an unofficial transcript issued by a college or university or printed directly from the institution’s website. An unofficial transcript must show the following:

• candidate name
• institution (university or college) name/logo or URL
• course name and course code of all courses completed
• date, year or semester of completed courses
• grade and credit-hours acquired in courses
• list of all previous institutions attended (as applicable)
• list of credits earned through a foreign institution or exchange program (as applicable)
• list of transfer credits and letter of permission courses (as applicable)
• show advanced placement, General Certificate of Education, International Baccalaureate or college transfer credits (as applicable)

Note: Screenshots are not accepted.

Official transcripts from all previously attended post-secondary institutions – Educated in Canada

You are required to send official transcripts for the following:

• Advanced Placement (AP) credits
• General Certificate of Education (GCE) credits
• International Baccalaureate (IB) credits
• college transfer credits
• foreign exchange transfer credits
• letter of permission courses
• other post-secondary institution transfer credits

Transfer credits – Educated in Canada

You are required to provide an official Transfer of Credit letter for all transfer credits granted towards your degree. View CPA Ontario’s Policy on the Recognition of Transfer Credit Courses in Regulation 9-1, Appendix F.

Letter of good standing – Educated in Canada

If you have completed your degree requirements and have not yet been awarded your degree, you are required to provide official documentation from your post-secondary institution Registrar’s Office. The letter must indicate that you are eligible to graduate.

Requirements to have your course syllabus reviewed for recognition – Educated in Canada and outside of Canada

You can submit a syllabus to be reviewed if you have completed a degree credit course not listed on the CPA-approved course charts. The syllabus you submit will be reviewed by CPA Ontario to ensure the course sufficiently covers key topics contained in the CPA competency map. Only syllabi that are relevant to program prerequisites and cover key topics are needed.

Important considerations before submitting:

• CPA Ontario only accepts course outlines provided by a post-secondary institution.
• Brief course descriptions will not be accepted for course recognition.
• We request an electronic copy of the course outlines in PDF format.
• Any non-English syllabus needs to be translated by an approved ATIO translator.

A course syllabus must include the following:

• post-secondary institution letterhead
• corresponds to the year the course was taken
• course details (course name/number, term, year)
• course overview including learning outcomes or objectives
• deliverables or course structure (assignments, quizzes, midterm, final exam, group project, case analysis reports)
• grading scale (used by your post-secondary institution)
• course material required (textbook, reading materials)
• detailed weekly breakdown (course topics, textbook chapters covered)

World Education Services (WES) verification – Educated outside of Canada

You are required to submit a third-party verification of transcripts through WES Canada if you have completed relevant education outside of Canada. All international transcripts require a WES International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) evaluation to ensure the authenticity of international documents and their translations. Visit the WES website to find out how to arrange for your official transcripts to be sent to WES and then delivered directly to CPA Ontario as part of their evaluation.

Please keep in mind that you are required to submit a WES ICAP course-by-course evaluation submitted directly to CPA Ontario by WES.

Proof of enrolment – University Graduate – Conditional

You are required to provide a current dated proof of enrolment letter and an unofficial transcript from your post-secondary institution.

Proof of enrolment is a letter detailing your full-time enrolment for the current term. You can generate this letter from your post-secondary institution’s online student portal free of cost.

Mature registration references

Letters of reference should be current dated, and come from individuals who have known the applicant for at least one year including one from a CPA Ontario (or another CPA provincial/territorial body) Member in good standing, one from a current employer, and one from a non-professional contact attesting to the applicant’s personal character.

The letters should speak to the desire, capacity and commitment the student will bring to the CPA designation.

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Student reregistration request

To submit a reregistration request, a deregistered student must provide:

• a written explanation of the extraordinary circumstances that led to deregistration and how they impacted the student at the time, including any mitigating factors that might allow for reregistration
• relevant documentation supporting the extraordinary circumstances

Extraordinary circumstances are external, unanticipated and beyond the control of the individual.

Supporting documents may include, but are not limited to medical documents, birth certificate, death certificate or letter from an employer. Other documents may be requested on a case-by-case basis.

Written requests, along with supporting documentation, can be submitted to CPA Ontario.

Character declaration – criminal conviction

If you’ve made a criminal conviction declaration as part of an application, please submit the following:

• a completed questionnaire (downloaded from the application)
• a judge’s transcript
• a written commentary on the event in question and any reflective thoughts you may have on it
• three letters of reference from a CPA Ontario member, a post-secondary institution you attended or recent employer and a member of your local community

Character declaration – academic misconduct

If you’ve made a declaration of academic misconduct as part of an application, please submit the following:

• a written commentary on the event that resulted in the disciplinary notation and any reflective thoughts you may have on it
• a letter from the academic institute recording the event details and the decision of the investigation
• a signed release of information giving CPA Ontario permission to correspond with the academic institute regarding this matter

Bankruptcy declaration

If you’ve made a bankruptcy declaration as part of an application, please submit the following: 

• a completed bankruptcy questionnaire (downloaded from the application)
• a written commentary on the event in question and any reflective thoughts you may have on it
• any related documents as outlined in the questionnaire, (for example the certificate of discharge, certificate of full performance)
• summary from the office of superintendent of bankruptcy