Registration Exam FAQ

The exam is offered twice a year, usually in the spring and fall.

Upcoming exam dates are posted on the Registration Exam page.

Information about the development, structure and format of the registration exam can be found in the Entry-to-Practice Registration Examination Resource Manual.

Additional information about the Registration Exam is available by visiting COMPASS’ website and in the Information Guide for Candidates (sent directly to candidates who successfully register to write the Exam by COMPASS).

The exam is administered using an on-line platform, using remote proctoring. This means that you write it from your home or office. Candidates are responsible for using a safe, secure, and private area when writing the exam. Candidates must meet the established minimum requirements for internet connectivity, technical hardware, and testing environment. Candidates’ hardware requirements and Internet bandwidth must be pre-checked through MonitorEDU.

Limited in-person seating is available to candidates with accessibility issues or accommodation needs (whether temporary, transient, or permanent) that prevent remote proctoring.

Yes, the exam may be written at an alternate location provided it meets the minimum standards for a secure testing environment.  Regardless of where you plan to write the exam, it is important that the internet connectivity and technical hardware are pre-checked through MonitorEDU at least 5 days before the Exam to ensure all minimum standards are met.

Candidates have three (3) hours to complete the exam.

For detailed information, please see Steps to Writing the Registration Exam.

For detailed information, please see Conditions for Completing the Registration Exam on the Registration Exam page.

If you are unsure about your deadline to write the exam, please see Exam Attempt Deadline Dates.

The exam fee is $545 + HST. The fee to write the Registration Examination is set by and paid directly to COMPASS, the third-party organization that developed and administers the exam. The full amount is required for each subsequent attempt. If you require a receipt for the exam fee, please contact COMPASS directly.

The Registration Exam is offered exclusively via online remote proctoring. Registrants will take the exam from the comfort of their own home, provided it meets the minimum standards for technological requirements as set out in the Candidate Agreement. Registrants will be prompted with this agreement at the start of the exam. For detailed information on the technical requirements, please review the following resources:

• Registration Exam Resource Manual – This document provides a one-stop informational guide for test-takers. It provides detailed information about the exam structure and format and information about remote proctoring. This document also outlines the technical requirements for remotely proctored exams and the testing environment requirements. It also includes several frequently asked questions and tips for navigating the examination environment.
• Technical Requirements and Testing for Online Exams – This document outlines the testing environment requirements (i.e., the room where you will write your remotely proctored exam) and the technical requirements for remotely proctored exams.
• Remotely Proctored Online Exam Requirements – This document provides an overview, and information about who to contact with questions.
• Pre-Exam Check – Registrants must complete this check with Monitor EDU to test computer hardware and internet at least five days before the exam.
• Online Exam Tip Sheet – This document outlines what registrants must do before the exam, and what they must do, can do, and cannot do on exam day.
• Video About Live Remote Proctoring – Registrants should watch this video prior to exam day to be familiar with remote proctoring.

No. A computer is required to take the exam. Additionally, your computer webcam and the camera in your mobile device must both be functional to permit the remote proctor to monitor your activities.

Once you have paid to write the Registration Examination, COMPASS will provide you with the name of a contact person to whom you may explain your circumstances. Exam fees are non-refundable; however, you may, in exceptional circumstances, be permitted to write the examination at the next available sitting (which could be six months or more in the future). Such requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and supporting evidence will be required.

You are eligible to write the exam if:

1. You have been issued a certificate of registration in the Qualifying category, and
2. You have successfully completed your psychotherapy program. CRPO must have received your final transcript/credential assessment directly from the education institution/credential assessment agency.

For more detailed information, please see under Eligibility Requirements on the Registration Exam page.

No. The status of your clinical experience hours does not determine your exam eligibility status.

The exam is offered twice a year (spring and fall). For the spring exam, the deadline for receiving final transcript/credential assessment is usually by the end of January. For the fall exam, the deadline for receiving final transcript/credential assessment is usually by the end of July. The absolute deadline date for receiving final transcript/credential assessment will be provided to Qualifying registrants when they receive a message from CRPO about an upcoming sitting; the exam timeline varies by each sitting. The absolute deadline date for receiving final transcript/credential assessment also gets posted on the CRPO website, prior to an upcoming sitting.

If you had applied to CRPO when you had substantially completed your program, documentation received from the institution confirming that all requirements to graduate have been met is required prior to signing up for the exam.

CRPO will accept a final transcript, letter from the institution, or diploma from the institution. If you have not yet graduated, the documentation must confirm that all requirements have been met and indicate the expected date of graduation. The documentation must be sent directly from the institution to CRPO via email to: info@crpo.ca.

If you applied when you had substantially completed your program and the program was outside Canada, a final credential assessment confirming that all requirements to graduate have been met is required prior to signing up for the Registration Examination. If you have not yet graduated, the documentation must confirm that you have met all requirements and indicate the expected date of graduation. If you have already graduated, the documentation must confirm the date of graduation. The final credential assessment must be sent directly to CRPO by the third-party evaluator.

Applicants who have submitted an application but who have not yet been approved and issued a certificate of registration are not eligible to sign up for the exam. If the exam surveying period is still open when your application is approved, we will notify you in a message. Applications are processed in the order in which they are received.

Registrants will be provided with exam information, sign-up and exam booking deadlines, and details on how to sign-up for the next available exam typically 3-4 months prior to the actual exam date. For the spring exam, registrants are typically contacted by CRPO staff in late January. For the fall exam, registrants are typically contacted by CRPO staff in late July.

Registrants that have accessibility/accommodation needs for the exam should submit their request for exam accommodations at the same time they sign-up for the exam/confirm their intent to write the exam.

In all cases, the accommodation request form and documentation, either from your regulated health care professional or from the post-secondary education program from which you graduated, must be submitted by the deadline for candidates to confirm their intent to write the exam. All documentation must be specific to your accessibility/accommodation request and must include a description of the accessibility/accommodation need. For more detailed information, including access to the accommodation request form, steps for accommodations, and evaluation of accommodation requests, please view the Exam Accommodations page.

Once the exam booking/purchase window opens, registrants who had previously confirmed their intention to write by the deadline will receive further information, including information on what to do if they wish to withdraw and the deadline to request a withdrawal to receive a refund. Important Note: if you purchase the exam and decide to withdraw, COMPASS will apply a $20 transaction/processing fee for refunds.

We strongly encourage registrants to review all the exam preparation resources that are available on the Registration Exam page, including the Exam Resource Manual.

The Registration Examination is a competency-based, simulation-style examination. Anyone planning to write the exam may choose to download and work through the Competency-Based Case Study Workbook from the COMPASS website. This workbook contains case studies  focused on linking therapeutic processes to the core competencies for entry-to-practice psychotherapists. The reader is invited to consider the broad questions that follow each study in the context of the Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile for Registered Psychotherapists, the CRPO Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics. It is estimated that each case study will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. At the conclusion of the workbook is a key to major competency areas typically used by practitioners to address the circumstances described in each case study. The key highlights the contexts in each case and is not intended to be exhaustive.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to review the Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile for Registered Psychotherapists and to reflect on each competency area. Gauging your preparedness to apply these competencies to a variety of therapist-client settings will assist you in determining whether you need to revisit some of the practice-based texts you used during your education and training program or elsewhere, that focused on a particular competency area. Candidates may also review the Entry-to-Practice Registration Examination Resource Manual for detailed information about the development, structure and format of the exam. Though not exhaustive, the Manual also contains an informal list of the most commonly used entry-to-practice textbooks for the psychotherapy and counselling profession.

Note: Candidates will also receive an additional electronic information guide directly from COMPASS once they have successfully registered to write at the next sitting. In addition to a review of the structure and format of the exam, the information guide outlines the administrative procedures associated with writing it.

The Registration Examination is a competency-based assessment that tests CRPO’s entry-to-practice competencies . The exam resources created by COMPASS – the exam administrator – are posted on the exam page of CRPO’s website. These include a resource manual, workbook, and self-assessment tool, along with a video about the exam.

Outside of those resources, CRPO and COMPASS do not endorse specific authors, exam preparation courses or study materials in relation to the exam.

CRPO’s accepted bridging program offers preparation for the exam, and some of the CRPO recognized programs incorporate it into their program. We have been made aware of other preparation courses that are being offered to exam candidates, but we cannot comment on their quality, veracity or usefulness. Individuals and programs offering exam preparation courses must ensure they are not inappropriately using COMPASS’ copyright protected materials.

Candidates do not receive a ‘grade’ but will be notified of a pass or fail.

Results will be available six to eight weeks after sitting the exam. COMPASS will notify candidates of the results directly by email. Results will also be sent to CRPO.

Registrants generally perform well on the exam. The average pass rate on the exam over the past 8 years has been 85%.

A Qualifying member who attempted but did not successfully pass the Registration Exam can continue to practise with clinical supervision while preparing to retake it at the next available sitting. Upgrading activities may be required if you fail the second attempt and before the third and final attempt can be made.

Registrants that have failed for a second time, are required to undergo the completion of the CRPO Supervision Tool with their supervisor and to develop a learning plan for consideration by the Examination Committee.

The learning plan proposal will be reviewed by a panel of the Examination Committee, where they will approve the learning plan either: as presented, with additional optional activities, or with additional required activities.

The registrant must complete the learning plan activities to the satisfaction of the Registrar prior to writing the exam for the third time. Evidence of completion of the learning plan must be provided to CRPO within six months of the date the learning plan is approved by the Examination Committee.

Note: Staff will send a formal notice that outlines these next steps in the upgrading process to registrants who have failed for a second time.

For more information, please see Third Exam Attempt Policy.

If a Qualifying registrant fails their third exam attempt, their certificate of registration expires; if they want to re-apply to the College, they will have to complete a new psychotherapy education program prior to re-applying for registration. Please see section 6(6) of the Registration Regulation.

The Registration Regulation also states that the third and final attempt is permitted only after the Qualifying registrant has completed upgrading activities, if any, required by a panel of the Examination Committee. The third attempt must be made no later than five years after the date of application for registration in the Qualifying category, unless additional time is permitted by the Examination Committee, in exceptional circumstances.

For more information, please see Qualifying Expiration Policy and Process.

General questions about the Exam (e.g., eligibility requirements, proposed dates for sittings, fees) can be sent to the College at info@crpo.ca.

A member who has been notified of their eligibility to write the Exam and confirmed their intention to write, can submit questions directly to COMPASS at info@compassexams.ca.