Find your occupational therapist
COTO ensures occupational therapists are qualified, meet professional standards and practise ethically. If you are working with an occupational therapist, you can verify their license and history on our public register.
Choosing a registered occupational therapist
There are over 7,000 registered occupational therapists in Ontario. It’s important to choose one who is registered with the College. It’s illegal for someone to use the title “occupational therapist”, the initials “OT”, or any variation of the title if they are not registered.
We’re here to help you find a qualified occupational therapist in your area. Learn more about their qualifications and experience to find who’s right for you.
What can you find out about your occupational therapist?
There are a few things to know when you’re making a choice about who to work with on your occupational therapist journey. That basic information can be found in the public registry and is separated into three categories:
- Full name, former names, and any other name used in practice
- Ability to practise
- Language(s) they speak
- Current employment information – address and telephone number
- Practice information – practice setting and ages of clients served
- Professional corporations in which the occupational therapist is a director or shareholder, its address and telephone number
- Current registration status and category of registration
- Dates of registration
- Registration expiry date
- Past registration statuses and categories
- Registration number
- Notation of every suspension or revocation
- Name of any other regulatory organization, inside or outside of Ontario, where the occupational therapist is or has been registered
- Details of discipline and incapacity findings that have been made by any other regulatory body on or after January 1, 2016 that the College is aware of
Information about concerns and/or conditions
In order to keep the public’s trust, we openly share information about any past concerns or conditions with registered occupational therapists. This includes the following:
If known, the College posts details of any existing conditions or restrictions (such as bail conditions) imposed by a court or other lawful authority, except if the publication of such information would violate any publication ban known to the College.
If known, the College posts details of any finding of guilt made by a court or other lawful authority (unless it has been reversed on appeal or judicial review) made on or after January 1, 2016, related to a criminal offence; any offence relating to the prescribing, compounding, dispensing, selling, or administering of drugs; and any offence relevant to an occupational therapist’s suitability to practise occupational therapy.
If known, the College posts details of any pending criminal charges laid against occupational therapists as well as details of charges laid for non-criminal offences, provided the non-criminal offences are relevant to the occupational therapist’s suitability to practise occupational therapy. The College only publishes this information for charges laid on or after November 1, 2017.
If an occupational therapist has had, or is having, interactions with the Discipline Committee, the information is posted on the public registry.
The Fitness to Practise Committee can find an occupational therapist to be incapacitated if they are experiencing a physical or mental condition or disorder (e.g. substance use disorder, mental health disorder) which requires either a suspension from practice or terms, conditions or limitations to be placed on their practice in order to maintain public safety.
If an occupational therapist was the subject of an investigation that resulted in one of the following outcomes, it will be posted on Find an Occupational Therapist. This applies to complaints and reports reviewed by the ICRC on or after May 30, 2017. This include caution-in-persons, Specified Continuing Education or Remedial Programs (SCERPs), and undertakings.
If known, the College posts any findings of malpractice or professional negligence made on or after June 4, 2009.
If known, the College posts details of discipline and incapacity findings that have been made by any other regulatory body on or after January 1, 2016.
Terms, conditions, and limitations (TCLs) may be imposed on an occupational therapist’s registration by the Registration, Discipline or Fitness to Practise Committee. These generally limit or restrict the occupational therapist’s practice. They can also outline conditions that the occupational therapist must meet. And may also require the occupational therapist to complete an educational course, or attend some type of training.
What information you won’t find
Not everything is in our public registry for occupational therapists. Our public registry does not provide information about:
Fees for services
Where the occupational therapist received their education
Any additional training obtained after graduation
Specific conditions the occupational therapist treats (ie: autism, stroke, arthritis)
Gender of the occupational therapist
Whether the occupational therapist works with support personnel. These are sometimes called occupational therapist assistants.
If you want to know the above information or anything else, you’ll have to contact your potential occupational therapists directly.
Relevant resources
Need help finding an occupational therapist?
If you can’t locate a specific occupational therapist, please get in touch with the College and we will help in any way we can.