Applicants Who Graduated Outside Canada More Than 5 Years

1. The original document entitled Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec (Comparative Evaluation of Studies outside Quebec) issued by the ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec. (The waiting period to obtain this document may be several weeks. We therefore encourage you to obtain this document before engaging in any other procedures with the OOAQ.)
2. The Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology equivalency request form, on the OOAQ Portal.
3. A certified true copy of your diploma.
4. Transcripts, stamped by the university where you received your training.
5. Attestations of clinical practicum hours, stamped by the university where you receive your training.
6. University course syllabi, specifying the content and number of hours related to each course. Syllabi must describe the training content that was current in the period during which the applicant took the courses.
7. Attestations of employment since you obtained your diploma.
8. Proof of knowledge of the French language, as set out in section 35 of the Charter of the French Language. If you cannot submit such proof at the time of your application, you may be eligible for a temporary permit.
9. Attestations of continuing education since you obtained your diploma.
10. Proof of successful completion of online training related to the functioning of the Quebec professional system and the healthcare and education systems. (You will receive instructions to register for this training once all the documentation required to process your application has been received.)

What is a certified copy?

This is a photocopy of an original document that is certified as a true copy by the issuer or by a recognized authority of the country or territory that issued the document. Certified true copies of original documents must be clear, legible and complete.

Important instructions concerning required documents that you must upload

• Required documents must be legible (ideally, nothing handwritten).
• You must upload each required document individually, in either PDF, Word, JPEG or Excel format.
• Required documents may be comprised of several separate originals (for example, required document No. 6 “Course Syllabi” may be made up of several original sheets of paper). You must merge separate original pages together into one uploaded document, and this applies to each document required.
• If you are unable to merge your separate originals together into a single document, please find a resource to do so before uploading your required documents. 

Language of Documents 

If you are submitting documents written in languages other than French or English, you must provide a French or English translation, certified as accurate by a member of the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec (professional order representing translators, terminologists and interpreters in Quebec) or an authorized consular or diplomatic representative.

Missing Documents

If you do not have access to a diploma, transcript or course syllabi, you must send a declaration, given under oath, specifying the reasons why these documents are missing from your application for equivalence and confirming the existence of such documents in the past. It would be useful to provide a list of courses you took and a summary of the course content, as the case may be.

Recovery of Original Documents Submitted

All documents submitted to the Order for examination of your file will be digitized and destroyed once your application has been processed. If you send original documents and wish us to return them to you, please specify this in your submission. You will be billed for mailing costs.

The application fee is $966.94 CDN (taxes included). This fee is non-refundable.

You may pay the fee by credit card directly through the Portal or by cheque. Your application will not be processed until we receive your payment.

Once your application has been processed, you may register on the membership roll by paying the membership dues, professional liability insurance and contribution to the Office des professions. The amount of the dues is revised annually and varies according to the period of the year when you register. Details regarding charges related to registration on the membership roll for the current year are located in the “Documents” section of the Candidat de l'international page. Please note that when you register for the first time, an admission fee of $250.65 (taxes included) will be charged.

When your application is complete, it will be submitted to the Admissions Committee, in accordance with the Règlement sur les normes d’équivalence aux fins de la délivrance d’un permis par l’Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec and according to the date of its next meeting. Please consult the meeting schedule to determine the best time to submit your application.

Committee members will issue recommendations to the Board of Directors, which will render a final decision regarding your equivalence.

The Board will contact you within 15 days following its decision. You will receive a copy of this decision via email, along with instructions on the procedure to follow and the date on which your permit will be issued.

Since files are submitted to two separate bodies, you must allow at least 6 weeks for processing, not counting vacation periods.

If you do not meet the requirements of the Charter of the French Language regarding the appropriate level of knowledge of French but you do meet the conditions for practice of the profession, you may obtain a temporary permit valid for a maximum of one year.

This “temporary” permit will be issued by the Order, along with a registration form for the French exam given by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF).

The “temporary” permit may be extended three times with permission from the OQLF. For each renewal, the applicant must sit the exams held in accordance with OQLF regulations. Once these authorized renewal periods have expired, applicants must have passed the OQLF exam in order to obtain a regular permit from the Order.

Applicants whose diploma or training equivalence is not recognized by the Board of Directors, or whose training equivalence is only partially recognized, may request a review within 30 days following the date on which they received the Board’s decision. They may then submit their comments in writing or ask to be heard by the members of the Equivalency Review Committee.

To appeal a decision, please fill out the form (in French only) provided for this purpose and email it to the attention of the Order Secretary at: secretariatgeneral@ooaq.qc.ca

Reviews are conducted within 60 days following the date on which the Equivalence Review Committee received the request.