It is important for the College to have accurate information about all registered optometrists at all times. If your professional information has changed, you should update the College as it increases transparency and helps the public to identify the registration status of optometrists and verify whether they are in good standing.
Optometrists are required to update their information within 14 days (reference: s16.01(2) of the College By-laws).
It is your responsibility to update the following information using your College account throughout the year, not just during the annual membership renewal period.
If any of the information below changes, please log into your College account and update your information:
Click a topic below to learn more about how you can update your information.
Contact/Mailing Information
It is important that the College can reach you to provide you with information, so please ensure that your home address, telephone number and email are current. This information will not appear on the public register.
It is your responsibility to update this information using your College account throughout the year, not just during the annual membership renewal period.
Contact Information (Home Address)
A registrant can update their home address in the “Member Profile” page of their College account and select their preferred mailing address.
Phone Number
A member can update their phone number in the “Member Profile” page of their College account.
All registrants are required to provide the College with an email address. A registrant can update their email for communication with the College in Membership Record > Member Profile in the College portal. This email is used by the College to correspond with the registrant. In addition, please ensure the domain name @collegeoptom.on.ca is on your safe sender list so that College emails are not going directly to your junk or spam folders.
PRIVACY
All Contact\mailing information will only be used for College-related business. This information will not be shared with third parties and will not be posted on the College public register.
To update your contact\mailing information, please log into your College account and enter the “Membership Record” page, choose the “Member Profile” tab, and then “Edit” button.
Professional Liability Insurance Information
All registrants (excluding those who have Non-Practising Status) must hold Professional Liability Insurance as it is a condition of College membership.
It is your responsibility to update this information using your College account throughout the year, not just during annual membership renewal period.
Practising registrants must have valid Professional Liability (Malpractice) Insurance as required under the By-laws of the College of Optometrists of Ontario (occurrence-based insurance – $2 Million per occurrence and $5 Million annual aggregate with a deductible of not more than $5,000 per occurrence). Occurrence-based covers claims for incidents that occur while the coverage is in place. It does not matter when the claim is filed.
Registrants are responsible for keeping their professional liability insurance information current by accessing their College account and updating their insurance information.
The College may request proof of adequate Professional Liability Insurance at any time. When the College requires proof from a registrant, it will inform the registrant of the specific type of proof it needs. For example, it may be a letter or a certificate of insurance from their insurance provider.
You can read about the College’s policy on Professional Liability (Malpractice) Insurance here.
To update your Professional Liability insurance information, please log into your College account and enter the “Membership Record” page, choose the “Registration” tab, and then “New Insurance” button.
Self-Reporting Information
Regulated health professionals in Ontario must report to their College certain information that is pertinent to the conditions of their registration. The following are mandatory self-reporting obligations by optometrists:
- Current registration with
- another optometric regulatory body outside of Ontario.
- any other regulatory body in any jurisdiction.
- A finding of professional misconduct or incompetence from any other regulatory body in any jurisdiction.
- A finding of professional negligence or malpractice.
- Being charged with OR found guilty of any offence in any jurisdiction.
- Any bail conditions or release restrictions currently in place.
These reports help the College fulfill its public protection mandate and maintains trust in the profession and the regulatory process.
It is your responsibility to update this information using your College account throughout the year, not just during the annual membership renewal period.
The College reviews every report that it receives and assesses what steps should be taken. This may include initiating a formal investigation where appropriate by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee. If an investigation is initiated, you will be notified and provided the opportunity to respond.
The failure by an optometrist to make a mandatory self-report may result in disciplinary action by the College.
You can find more information on mandatory self-reporting here.
To self-report, please log into your College account and complete the Self-Reporting Form.
Practice Location Information
Optometrists must report all practice locations, bricks-and-mortar or virtual, to the College, regardless of the number of days practised at any location. All current practice sites are automatically published on the public register.
It is your responsibility to update this information using your College account throughout the year, not just during the annual membership renewal period.
The College By-Laws require registrants to provide written notice of any change to information previously provided to the College within 14 days of the change. This includes notifying the College of any change of practice location or any additional locations where a member may practise.
You can find the College’s information on practice locations here.
To update your Practice Location(s) information, please log into your College account and navigate to the “Practice Location” tab under the “Membership Record” page:
- To add a new location, Select “Add New Location” at the bottom of the page.
- To delete a location, enter an end date.
- You may not edit an actual existing address (if there is an error in the actual address, please contact the College to assist you). However, you may edit all the other details under an existing address.
One current practice site must be designated by a practising registrant as their primary practice site.
Please note: A practising registrant without a primary location will not be allowed to vote in a College election.
All Other Information
Some of the information found within your College account is only accessible to you during the annual membership renewal period.
To update all other information other than the information listed above outside of the annual membership renewal period, please contact the College at info@collegeoptom.on.ca