Transition to Practice

Licensure

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia oversees the license to practice medicine in British Columbia.

Residents can apply for a full license to practice in BC once they have completed the residency training and successfully passed the LMCC II and CCFP exam.

CPSBC License Registration

All applications for graduating residents must be completed through the online Application for Medical Registration in Canada (AMRC) system, facilitated through the MCC’s physiciansapply.ca portal.

Important notes

  1. If the primary instructor of your medical degree was not in English, you are required to do the IELS examination.  This includes residents who graduated from Canadian Universities.
  2. Residents should wait for up to 6 days to commence practice after the completion of the program, particularly if you are off-cycle, or if you require a Certificate of Professional Conduct (CPC) for credentialing.
  3. Should you be unsuccessful in the CCFP exam, you may be eligible to apply for “provisional licensure”. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTIFY THE COLLEGE that you have been unsuccessful in your exam so that your file can be reviewed by the Registration Committee at the end of June.

The resources in this chart will also help you determine if you may be eligible for full or provisional registration to practice in British Columbia

Resources for Transition to Practice

There are a number of resources available to support residents in developing practice management skills.