Registration Renewal Instructions

You may renew your 2024 registration online beginning Friday, September 29, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. by accessing your renewal form under “Registrant Login.” There is “Five (5)  Steps Process”. It is important that you read each and every step, and accurately complete the required fields.

Before you proceed, please note the following:

  • Avoid renewing last minute, you may be subject to review.
  • Have your log in information ready.
  • Do not use Internet Explorer, as it is no longer supported by Microsoft. Please use Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge …etc.
  • If you experience any log in difficulties, try clearing the browser history or switching to another browser or device.
  • For online payment, Visa or MasterCard credit cards are accepted, debit cards are not. You may also pay by a cheque or money order.

1
Step 1 - Home page

Go to http://optometrybc.com/ Click on Registrant Login. Once you log on to your profile under “Home page” you will see the following options:

Complete my renewal:

“Full” – Therapeutic Qualified, Non-therapeutic Qualified and Limited registrants, click on “Renew” button and you will be taken to “Instruction” page.

Non-Practising” – Non-practising registrants click on “Renew” button and you will be taken to “Instruction” page. Please note,  in accordance with section 56(2), registrants who have held non-practising registration for three or more consecutive years may not renew their registration online.

  • To change your registration from “Therapeutic qualified” to “Non-practising” registration, click on “Renew” button under “Non-practising”. You will be able to proceed and submit your renewal form. However, before proceeding to payment, you must complete and notarize Form 8, which must be received by the Registrar on or before October 31, 2022.
  • Reinstating from “Non-practising” to “Therapeutic qualified” registration: Please contact the College office to request the change as you will not be able to proceed with online Registration Renewal.

Change my registration:
Inactive – Should you wish not to renew your registration with the College, click on “Change”, and you will be taken to “Instruction” page.

2
Step 2 - Profile

Since this step details the deadlines, fees, late fee, refund policy, privacy policy, etc., we urge you to read carefully before you proceed. When you are ready to proceed with profile update, click “Next”.

3
Step 3 - Update your registrant profile

Please ensure each section under “Your Profile” is reviewed and updated accordingly. At any time during the year, you may update your profile information through “My Profile.” After completing profile update click “Next”, and you will be prompted to complete a page two of the renewal form, “Declarations”.

4
Step 4 - Complete the renewal form

Declarations: Knowingly making a false declaration for the purpose of registration renewal is, in itself, unprofessional and may, upon investigation, be determined to be professional misconduct. To avoid the apprehension of professional misconduct, registrants should collect and maintain proper records supporting all declarations made in the course of registration renewal. In accordance with section 104, those records must be retained for minimum of seven years. Registrants are reminded that they may be required to provide those records to the Registrar at any time.  

Criminal Record Check: It is mandatory that you declare: (1) criminal records to the college on the annual renewal form, and (2) criminal records any time during the current registration year should a criminal record arise in which case you must provide a new authorization for a criminal record check. Criminal record checks are also required every five years. 

Quality Assurance Program: Please note that you must fulfill the requirements of the Quality Assurance program established in part 5 of the Bylaws and Quality Assurance, 2.6.1 Continuing Education Requirements of the Policies. Quality assurance requirements include both continuing education requirements and completion of the Professional Enhancement program requirements for this cycle.

 

As a conditional of annual registration renewal, all registrants are required to achieve at least 20 continuing (CE) hours, either College or COPE approved obtained from November 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023. To Self-Record your CE hours, please click on Edit.

 

Registrants, who are enrolled in the OE Tracker program, must ensure that their OE Tracker account will reflect the CE hours obtained at the time of their renewal, as well as to record their CE hours in their online profile. The College understands that it may take OE Tracker some days to post your CE hours. A false declaration on your registration renewal is a serious offense and is not taken lightly by the College.

 

If you receive an error message when logging into your OE Tracker Account then log out and log back in.  

 

Registrants who are not enrolled in OE Tracker must provide original CE certificates along with the completed CE Record Form and $100.00 administrative fee to the College, by registered mail before their registration can be renewed

CPR certification: Full registrants must ensure that they hold CPR certification that is no more than three years old when renewing their registration, as per section 73(3) of the College Bylaws, as well as update their online profile by entering their CPR effective and expiry date.

Practise in other jurisdiction(s): If you are registered or licensed to practise optometry in any other jurisdiction, indicate which jurisdiction and confirm that you are in good standing in those jurisdictions.

Insurance requirement: As per section 61 of the Bylaws, each full registrant or academic registrant must obtain and at all times maintain professional liability insurance with a limit of liability not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence insuring against liability arising from an error, omission or negligent act of the registrant.

Practice currency: Provide the most recent date when you provided optometric services.

Non-practising registrant: If you are renewing as a non-practising registrant, acknowledge your declaration that you will not provide the services of the profession of optometry in British Columbia while registered in the college as a non-practising registrant.

Academic registrant: If you are renewing as an academic registrant, acknowledge your declaration that you will not provide optometric services in British Columbia except for educational purposes in an instructional setting.

 

Please note the following:

  • You may save and returned to work on the form at any time.
  • When the form is completed click “Next’.
  • If you select the wrong form, go to the very end of the form and select “Withdraw” to start over.

Once all requirements have been completed, click on “Next” button. Your registration will not submit if any of the information are missing. Once you submit your renewal form, you may expect one of the following:

  • You will be taken immediately to the payment page, or
  • Your renewal form will be forwarded to registration for review. Staff of the College may be in touch via email. Once the form is approved, you will receive an email that will take you to the payment page.
5
Step 5 - Payment(s)

The annual renewal fee payable to the College of Optometrists of BC is $1,390.00 for all registration classes. To pay your invoice, select the “Pay” button, you will be taken to the payment page. All receipts can be found on your home page.

 

Manual Renewal

To renew your registration manually, you must complete Form 10: Registration Renewal Application and submit it along with payment (a cheque or money order in Canadian funds, payable to College of Optometrists of BC), and mail to the following address:

Attn: Registrar
College of Optometrists of BC
906 – 938 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1N9

Important Note: If you choose to submit the Registration Renewal Application by mail, and your documents are not received by the Registrar, or are received but incomplete or illegible, or your payment by cheque is delayed in any way, you will be subject to a late fee, as set out in Schedule E of the College Bylaws. Please consider sending your Registration Renewal Application by registered mail and making your payment by certified cheque.

2024 Renewal Deadline

The deadline to renew your 2024 registration is Tuesday, October 31, 2023

If you have any questions regarding your renewal/non-renewal, please contact the College office at college@optometrybc.ca or by phone 604-623-3464.