Starting with applications for the Spring 2009 Certification Examination in Family Medicine (deadline date for applications October 1, 2008), the College of Family Physicians of Canada will require all applicants for the Certification Examination in Family Medicine, who completed their undergraduate and/or postgraduate medical education outside Canada, to register their credentials with the Physician Credentials Registry of Canada (PCRC) .

PCRC source verifies physicians’ credentials that were obtained outside of Canada. In addition, it serves as a centralized repository of a physician’s source-verified core medical credentials. This allows physicians to establish a confidential, lifetime professional electronic portfolio that may be shared with other stakeholders which may require verified credentials. Organizations currently using PCRC services include the Medical Council of Canada and several provincial regulatory authorities.

There is a one-time registration fee to initiate an account with PCRC and an additional fee for each document submitted for source verification. Fees are paid directly to PCRC.

The College will require ONLY those documents obtained outside Canada which are relevant to confirming eligibility for the Certification Examination in Family Medicine to be source verified by PCRC:

• Medical school diploma
• Medical licensure/registration certificates
• Post-graduate training certificates

Candidates will receive detailed instructions which will help to determine which documents they should submit to PCRC for source verification.

All documents submitted to PCRC for verification must reach the stage:

• “verification in process” (or later) before the examination application deadline
• “verification returned – pass” no later than six weeks prior to the examination date

Applications for which the documentation has not reached the required status by the deadlines outlined above will be delayed to the next sitting of the examination. Examination fees paid by the candidate may be transferred to a later exam date with no penalty.

Candidates should note that it will normally take approximately 15-21 days, after reception of their documents in PCRC to reach the “verification in process” stage. This is assuming that there are no delays in processing and that the documents submitted meet the PCRC criteria. It is in the candidates’ best interest to register with PCRC well in advance of the deadline date for the examination. 

The time it will take for documents to reach “verification returned – pass” status depends on the issuing institutions. Candidates should monitor the status of their documentation through their PCRC Online account and follow-up with the relevant authorities to ensure timely verification.
All applications for the Certification Examination in Family Medicine are subject to review by the Board of Examiners of the College of Family Physicians of Canada which will make final rulings on all questions of eligibility. In the event that, after due process, some documents are deemed by PCRC as “unable to be source verified”, an applicant may appeal to the Board of Examiners to have source verification waived for this document.