Open ProvincesGetting your foreign credentials recognized in Canada
Regulated vs unregulated occupations, how to find your regulatory body and when you need an educational credential assessment.
Recognition is handled mainly by the provinces and territories, which delegate the work to regulatory bodies that assess skills and credentials and license qualified applicants. If your occupation is regulated (for example doctor, nurse, engineer, electrician), you cannot work in it until the regulator accepts you. If it is not regulated, an employer decides.
Steps
- Use the federal Foreign Credential Recognition ↗ page and tool to check whether your occupation is regulated where you plan to live and to find the regulatory authority. Contact it ideally before you arrive: the process varies by occupation and by province.
- For some immigration programs and some occupations you need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) from a designated body. Doctors, architects and pharmacists must use the body for their occupation (for example the Medical Council of Canada, the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada). See Educational credential assessment ↗.
- Trades: certification is provincial or territorial; the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials gives assessment information for regulated trades.
Counts of regulators differ between sources (roughly 500 to 600): use the official tool rather than a list.
Sources and limits
Read on November 14, 2026. Rules differ by occupation and province: contact the regulator.
General information based on federal and national rules; provincial rules may differ. Confirm with the official body before acting. Last reviewed : 2026-11-14.