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Understanding "As of Right": what it is and how it works

What is "As of Right"

Under OLMA s. 10.1 and O. Reg. 199/25, eligible applicants certified in another province or territory can be deemed certified in Ontario for up to six months after the regulator issues a notice of receipt acknowledging a complete "As of Right" application, provided the applicant meets the prescribed requirements the regulator may impose under the regulation. This allows them to begin working while pursuing full certification through the standard labour mobility process.

Why it matters

"As of Right" sets clear limits on documentation that regulators can require upfront as a condition of certification. This is intended to reduce lengthy processes where applicants must provide more substantial documentation, saving time, and preventing lost employment opportunities. "As of Right" aligns with Ontario's obligations under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) on certificate‑to‑certificate recognition.

Who is covered and who is not

"As of Right" rule applies to non‑health regulated occupations in which certified by Ontario regulatory authorities listed under the OLMA.

All authorizing certificates, including specialized licenses, that are subject to the OLMA are subject to "As of Right." The OLMA applies to authorizing certificates issued by the regulatory authorities listed in Table 1 to the Act. An authorizing certificate is defined as "a certificate, licence, registration, or other form of official recognition, granted by a regulatory authority to an individual, which attests to the individual being qualified to practise an occupation and authorizes the individual to practise the occupation, use a title or designation relating to the occupation, or both."

Certain regulated health professions (e.g., physicians, nurses) have a separate "As of Right" framework led by the Ministry of Health. If you are a health regulator or health applicant, refer to the Ministry of Health’s “As of Right” guidance.

What regulatory authorities must do

Regulatory authorities must provide a notice of receipt to an applicant who meets the requirements for "As of Right" certification within 10 business days of receiving the applicant's complete application. The applicant is then deemed certified in Ontario and can start working right away for up to 6 months while completing the standard labour mobility application process.

Regulators must publish "As of Right" information on their websites. As a starting point, they can use the following overview comparing "As of Right" and standard labour mobility pathways.

Regulators must meet standard labour mobility timelines by issuing a certification decision within 30 calendar days of receiving a complete standard application.

Comparing "As of Right" to standard labour mobility — at a glance

Regulators must make both pathways available and publish clear information about each on their websites.

"As of Right":

  • Purpose: Provide a streamlined path to employment by limiting up‑front requirements to those prescribed in the "As of Right" regulation.
  • Timing: 10 business days to issue a notice of receipt of a complete "As of Right" application; work up to 6 months under deemed certification while completing the standard labour mobility application process.
  • Documentation: Attestations and other selected requirements allowed under the "As of Right" regulation (see "What regulators may require").

Standard labour mobility:

  • Purpose: Full certification decision based on certificate‑to‑certificate recognition.
  • Timing: 30 calendar days to issue a certification decision after a complete standard application is received.
  • Documentation: Documents permitted under standard labour mobility rules (no material additional training/experience/exams unless an exception).

Note: Regulators must make both pathways available and publish clear information about each on their websites.

What regulatory authorities may require under "As of Right"

Read more about when regulators can require "As of Right" applicants to meet requirements in the following categories:

Attestation by the applicant

Regulatory authorities may require an "As of Right" applicant to attest (one or more of the following):

  • each authorizing certificate in respect of the regulated occupation issued to the individual by an out-of-province regulatory authority by which the individual is currently certified is in good standing
    • Note: Generally, this could include an attestation respecting the individual's currency of practice. This is consistent with the Guidelines for Meeting the Obligations of the Labour Mobility Chapter of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which provide guidance on the standard labour mobility process. Under the standard labour mobility process, a regulatory authority can require "evidence of good standing" as a condition of certification (provided certain other requirements are met). According to the guidelines, this evidence may sometimes include "confirmation that there has been no substantial breaks in practice."
  • no out-of-province regulatory authority has refused to certify the individual in the regulated occupation within the past two years
  • the individual is not currently subject to any professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity proceeding, or any similar proceeding in respect of the regulated occupation
  • the individual has not had a finding of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity made against them in relation to the regulated occupation

Documentation

Regulatory authorities may also impose certain other requirements, typically to support public safety or consumer protection objectives, only if they already do so under the existing labour mobility process:

  • paying an application or processing fee — subject to special rules (cannot exceed the fee for your standard process and must be deducted later if the applicant proceeds with the standard process)
  • obtaining insurance (for example malpractice) or similar protection, where applicable
  • undergoing police record checks (one of 3 types) meet your specified standards (only if these are also part of your standard process)
  • be employed/authorized/sponsored by a licensee/registrant (where this is part of your standard process)
  • attesting to language proficiency (English or French) only if your standard process includes language proficiency and the applicant has not already demonstrated equivalent proficiency elsewhere

Exams and local knowledge

If your standard process includes a jurisdictional knowledge exam (non‑material), you may:

  • require an attestation of local knowledge; or
  • require the same exam used for standard applicants, subject to the timing rules below

A regulator must make the exam available to the "As of Right" applicant no later than 10 business days after receipt of all other information required for the application.

A regulator must notify the individual of the result of that exam no later than 10 business days after the individual has taken the exam. If the regulator fails to do so, they are required to still provide the notice of receipt that commences the individual's "As of Right" certification by that deadline (provided the individual has submitted all other information required for the application).

If an individual fails, the regulator must make the retest available to the applicant no later than 10 business days after notifying them of failure. That retest must follow the same format as the regular exam.

If the regulator fails to provide an exam on time, they are required to still provide the notice of receipt that commences the individual's "As of Right" certification within 10 business days of receiving all other information required for the application (or, if the exam is a retest, within 10 business days of notifying the individual they failed the initial exam).

Conditional certifications

If a worker has terms, conditions, or limitations on their out-of-province certification and applies for "As of Right" certification in Ontario, their deemed certification is subject to equivalent terms, conditions, or limitations.

However, if the regulatory authority does not impose equivalent terms, conditions, or limitations as part of their regular certification process, the individual is ineligible for "As of Right."

When "deemed certification" ends

Deemed certification ends when:

  • the applicant submits a complete standard labour mobility application to the Ontario regulatory authority for certification in the regulated occupation under Section 9 of the OLMA and the authority approves and certifies the individual
  • the applicant submits a complete standard labour mobility application to the Ontario regulatory authority for certification in the regulated occupation under Section 9 of the OLMA, and the authority denies the application, and either:
    • the period to request an internal review or appeal has expired without action, or
    • the denial is upheld after an internal review or appeal, and the decision has been communicated to the individual
  • the regulatory authority determines that any information provided by the individual was inaccurate at the time of submission or has since become inaccurate
  • the six‑month period expires

Where an applicant meets all requirements, and those requirements are the same as those applied under "As of Right", the regulator may issue certification under Section 9 (standard labour mobility) immediately. The 6-month deemed certification period is a maximum, not a waiting period.

Exceptions (Canadian Free Trade Agreement article 707)

Individuals are not eligible for "As of Right" if they are certified in a province or territory in respect of which Ontario has adopted a labour mobility exception that applies to their occupation. These exceptions, which are authorized by article 707 of the CFTA, allow regulators to impose additional material certification requirements for occupations were doing so is necessary to achieve a legitimate objective for labour mobility, such as consumer protection or public safety.

Regulators should link to the public exceptions list and verify applicability before advising applicants.

"As of Right" timeline

Step 1: Applicant notification and submission

Applicant notifies the Ontario regulatory authority that they would like to pursue the "As of Right" process. Applicant provides the regulator with a valid authorizing certificate from their home jurisdiction and meets any other requirements imposed by the regulator under the "As of Right" regulation.

Step 2: regulatory authority review and notice of receipt

Regulatory authority provides the applicant with notice of receipt of their home jurisdiction certificate of qualification and other application materials within 10 business days.

Step 3: deemed certification period

Applicant is now deemed certified with the Ontario regulator for up to 6 months and able to work while they pursue a standard labour mobility application.

Step 4: final registration decision

Regulatory authority issues a standard process decision within 30 calendar days of receipt of a complete standard application; deemed certification ends per the conditions above.

Public posting guidance

Section 9 of the O. Reg. 199/25 requires regulators to post information about “As of Right” on their website.

Regulatory authorities must publish a plain‑language description of the "As of Right" process and identify who is eligible or ineligible. They should also explain any terms, conditions or limitations that will carry over during deemed certification.

Regulatory authorities must also set out the prescribed requirements they may impose — such as attestations, fees, insurance, police or credit checks, sponsorship or employment, and language proficiency—as a condition of "As of Right" certification. They should include the rules for examinations, covering availability, result notifications and retests.

In addition, they should publish service timelines, including that they are required to issue a notice of receipt within 10 business days of receiving an "As of Right" application that meets their requirements as well as timelines for scheduling exams and providing notification of results.

Regulatory authorities should provide links to Ontario's labour mobility page and the CFTA exceptions list and include contact information for questions about their "As of Right" process.

Regulatory authorities must also meet separate public posting requirements for the standard labour mobility process. For example, they must post that they are obligated to issue a certification decision on a standard labour mobility application within 30 days of receiving the complete application. These posting requirements are set out in section 11 of the OLMA and section 1 of O. Reg. 287/25.

Oversight and accountability

During the deemed certification period, the individual is treated as certified for all purposes in the occupation and is subject to the same laws, obligations and enforcement processes that apply to other certified workers.

Regulatory authorities should work with their monitoring ministry for support on implementation and compliance expectations (including public posting and service timelines).

Monitoring and enforcement of regulators' compliance with "As of Right"

The OLMA authorizes oversight ministries to review regulatory authorities' labour mobility processes and, where appropriate, to issue compliance requests. If a regulatory authority fails to comply with a compliance request, the oversight ministry may initiate an administrative monetary penalty, in accordance with section 18 of the OLMA and Regulation 286/25.

Appendices

Appendix A: Links

Appendix B: Definitions

Labour mobility - Chapter 7 of the CFTA establishes certificate-to-certificate recognition. Labour mobility allows a worker certified by a regulatory authority in any Canadian jurisdiction to be recognized to practise that occupation in another Canadian jurisdiction without meeting any requirements for material additional training, experience, examination or assessment (subject to limited exceptions).

The "As of Right" framework expands on this principle. It is intended to allow out-of-province certified workers to begin working in Ontario through faster and simpler processes than currently exist under labour mobility rules.

Labour mobility applicant - A worker who is certified in an occupation in another Canadian province or territory and has applied for certification in that occupation in Ontario.

Licenses - All authorizing certificates covered under the OLMA fall under "As of Right". An authorizing certificate is a certificate, license, registration, or other form of official recognition that attests to an individual being qualified to practice an occupation and authorizes the individual to practice the occupation, use a title or designation relating to the occupation, or both. The OLMA applies to authorizing certificates issued by the regulatory authorities listed in Table 1 of the Act.

"Standard" labour mobility application - An applicant for certification in regulated occupation under the standard labour mobility process, as opposed to the "As of Right" process.

For the standard labour mobility application, an Ontario regulatory authority may only require documents or information that are allowed under section 9 of the OLMA.

The Ontario regulatory authority must make a certification decision and communicate it to the applicant within 30 calendar days of receiving the complete application.

Regulatory authority - A body or individual authorized by law to certify individuals in an occupation.

Regulated occupation - A profession or skilled trade in a province or territory that is covered under legislation and overseen by a regulatory authority.